I spent almost 20 years as a sailmaker/rigger/yacht broker, so I had plenty of experience repairing and installing roller furling systems. You picked a great day to do this, with very little wind. I almost always arranged to bring a boat to a dock and pull it bow first as far over the dock as possible. That made the entire operation much easier because some of it could be done from the dock rather than the confined area of the bow. I had wrist lanyards on all my tools so I didn’t lose them overboard. Your idea of capturing parts in a ziploc is pure genius! The only thing missing was a photo of the boat! What make/model is it?
spelunkerd I gained most of my sailing technique racing J24’s. By the end of my career I’d logged 6500 ocean miles between the US Northeast, Bermuda and the Caribbean, sailing on boats up to 83’.
Thanks Shawn for your support. The audience who will appreciate this will the the guys searching google to try and remember how this goes together. The first time I did it there was nothing available and I made irritating, time wasting mistakes.
Not necessary, but choose a day that isn't very windy, and any wind is on the bow. You'll need to count the number of extra wraps you have when the sail is tightly furled, pull it completely out to swap the line, then reproduce that when you're done. I removed the jib sheets to do that part. A little easier if the sail is off but not necessary. I switched my standard furling line to a smaller diameter high modulus line with the cover removed for the section in the drum, and it was less prone to jamming after that. The high modulus line is much more strong so you can get by with a smaller diameter, especially with cover removed. I retained the cover for the end that is held firm by the cleat in the cockpit. Note that bigger sails require more wraps to completely furl, so the decision as to where to bury the cover will depend on the sail you're furling.
A little Overkill with the plastic bag just be careful. I'm sure he gets chewed out by his wife or significant other all the time he probably loses his stuff all the time
Ha ha, yeah. One day my local sailmaker was helping on a boat and 'plop' went that little screw after tumbling off his fingers. You can't buy those things at a hardware store but he found one at the rigging shop a week later. Until then, you're screwed. Better to be safe, in some way. I've seen people use an upside down umbrella to catch small parts below.
