[Rhodes22-list] Replacing IMF Mainsail

[David Keyes]

Does anybody know what is involved in buying and replacing the R22 mainsail?  It has the inner-mast furling system.  (Everything is going to me new for me, since I don't have a trailer, do keep my boat in the water, and have never taken the mast down--although I have Stan's crane system and the instruction book.)

My question is the one above. The rest is just my story leading up to my queston.

My IMF sail got stuck for some unknown reason in the fully out position.  After several hours of trying to retract the sail--unsuccessful even with the help of two other sailboat owners, as all of us tinkered and struggled together, I wrapped it back and forth in front of the mast for a week and secured it (not well as it turned out) as high up as I could reach with bungee cords.  During the week, the wind picked up and caused the sail to beat against the spreaders.  I have a horizontal line at the height of the spreaders that is frayed all the way along that line from the roach of the sail in about 2/3 of the way to the mast.  Along the frayed area there are about 7 holes ranging from the size of a dime to a quarter, along with more beebe sized holes.  I could remove the sail and attempt a long patch repair, but after I go to the trouble to get the mast down--I will need to borrow a trailer from someone at the marina--my boat has never been out of the water except to be hauled out by a boatyard for bottom paint.  In lowering the mast, I will have to watch out for, among other things, my radio cable and antenna at the mast top, and the CDI furling system on the 175 genoa.

I can sail with my main as it is now, but it's got to be only a matter of time and maybe on a windy day when the sail rips.

Incidentally, when I returned to the boat after the week away, the sail retracted easily.  Go figure.   The obvious things I had checked the week before, such as that the blue outhaul line was free, and then I detached the clew shackle so as to completely free the sail, and it still wouldn't retract.  I removed the collar doughnuts and sliding block where the boom meets the mast, and I backed out screws to make sure none were binding anything, but the inner tube was mechanically caught on something.  It didn't appear to be a tought line or a binding at the top of the mast because the bottom was absolutely frozen.  Then, as I said, the next week with the sail worse for the wear, the sail retracted as easily as when new.

David Keyes
Lake Travis, TX
S/V Arrowhead