[Rhodes22-list] Tired of IMF

Wed Jul 7 15:40:02 EDT 2010

Good memory John!

We have found that the angle of the boom does make a big difference. 
Slightly below horizontal seems to work for us. If the boom is 
horizontal or above, it gets wrinkles as it furls. In fact if  feel 
any resistance to furling, we stop, let out the topping lift and then furl it.

We do have some problems with the furling line jamming in the 
fittings at the end of the boom but never with the sail itself 
jamming except twice.

Once was very early on and we got a secondary halyard wrapped in with 
it - had to cut the halyard and pull it free (nothing was on it - 
it's the one we now use for the UPS.)

The second time was recently after we had gotten our new vertical 
batten main and it seems to have jammed because the fabric of the 
sail wasn't wrapped tightly enough around the furling tube. We 
refurled, pulling on the outhaul to get a tighter wrap of the sail 
and then we were able to deploy the sail without too much trouble. We 
are trying to keep a little tension on the furling line so we get a 
tight wrap - just like you would with a jib furler but too much 
tension and it won't furl. The new sail is so much crisper than the 
old sail that it has a tendency to want to wrap loosely so right now 
(we've only sailed with it a 3 or 4 times) we are watching that 
carefully as we furl. I suspect it will be better once the fabric 
gets some memory for being wrapped around the tube.

Charlie, some other things occur to me.

You have had this problem for a long time and say your sail is pretty 
beat up. It could be that the condition of the sail itself is causing 
part of the problem.

You mention something about the sail being "too thick" coming out. I 
assume you mean because of the wrinkles which even if you drop your 
boom may be nearly permanent because you've had the problem for such 
a long time. The only other thing I can think of that would make it 
thick is if you trying to furl it too far. The sail is supposed to 
furl so that the forward edge of the suncover is just inside the 
slot. The sun  cover should be mostly exposed so that you have a 
visible triangle of (suncovered) sail.

An intermediate step in your dilemma might be to look for a used main 
in better condition than the one you have. I know that several people 
on the list have replaced their furling main with the new vertical 
batten sail. When we did that, we asked Stan if he wanted the sail 
and he said he had too many of them and no market. He might be 
willing to sell you one of those cheap. Might even take it in trade 
on a vertical batten sail if you get the system working and decide 
that is what you want.

Heck we'd sell you our old main cheap + shipping but it's somewhat 
soft and a little baggy (no rips or tears) - Stan may have one in 
newer condition.

Trying to adapt your current mast to a standard bolt rope, sail slug 
or sail track system seems to me to be a daunting task involving 
something kluged together to deal with the wide slot of the IMF mast. 
It would probably be as cheap to trade mast and rigging with someone 
including the shipping costs.

Someone mentioned poor sail shape because of the IMF and the 
loosefooted main. The "poor sail shape" is strictly the result of the 
cut of the IMF main (flat so it will furl and no roach so it will 
furl) and has nothing to do with the loosefooted part. Many racing 
boats use loosefooted mains which actually give you more control over 
the shape of the sail.

Hope some of this is applicable to the problem.

Mary Lou
1991 R22 Fretless
Rock Hall, MD
where there is a nice breeze but it is just too darned hot to sail
Charlie - send us some of that rain, we need it badly!

At 02:37 PM 7/7/2010, you wrote:
>Charlie,
>
>You might try some searches in the list  archives because I know this
>topic has been discussed before.  You are not alone in having a
>struggle with IMF furling from time to time.  However, it seems that
>most have overcome the problems with minor changes in procedure and
>setup, or proper lubrication, etc.
>
>For example, I remember one response (Mary Lou maybe?) that said the
>angle of the boom to the mast when operating the furler was fairly
>critical to getting a smooth furl.  Too low or too high and the sail
>bunches up in the mast?  Going from memory here, so I may not have the
>details right...
>
>Cheers!
>John Lock
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>s/v Pandion - '79 Rhodes 22
>Lake Sinclair, GA
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>On Jul 7, 2010, at 13:58, Charles Nieman wrote:
> > Rummy
> >
> > Best question I have heard asked of me .... I "found" this forum in
> > October of 07, but didn't think to ask all his experience until
> > today .... guess I am just a SLOOOOOOOOW learner .... that might
> > explain why I have been fighting this systenm for so long ......
> >
> >
> >
> > Located in Dallas, Texas .... don't see very many Rhodes out
> > here .... I have lubricated parts ... tried to rig the outhaul the
> > way Stan describes and even tried some of the approaches noted in
> > these responses (and don't get me wrong ... I REALLY appreciate to
> > massive response I am getting here) .... nothing seems to help...the
> > sail ALWAYS folds when pulling in and is too thick when coming
> > out  .....
> >
> >> From: R22RumRunner at aol.com
> >> Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2010 13:02:51 -0400
> >> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> >> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Tired of IMF
> >>
> >> Charlie,
> >> Yes, you are the only person on this planet that has problems with
> >> your
> >> IMF. Where are you located? Perhaps a knowledgeable Rhodie would be
> >> willing
> >> to help figure out your problem? It could be a physical/mechanical
> >> problem
> >> or something as simple as a lack of understanding as to how it
> >> actually
> >> works.
> >> Rest assured you will get many people with standard sails wishing
> >> to trade
> >> with you. DO NOT DO IT. Stan has a new IMF sail design which is
> >> manufactured by Doyle that adds a batten to the sail and a little
> >> more sail cloth.
> >> It's a wonderful upgrade.
> >> One last question? Why did it take you fifteen years to find this
> >> forum to
> >> fix your problem?
> >>
> >> Rummy
> >>
> >>
> >> In a message dated 7/7/2010 12:31:01 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> >> blue66corvette at hotmail.com writes:
> >>
> >>
> >> Apparently I am the only one in the world that has trouble with the
> >> IMF
> >> .... I have FOUGHT this thing for 15 years ,.... the sail jambs
> >> when coming
> >> out, it takes all of my 235 pounds to pull it in, I have taken the
> >> mast
> >> apart two or three times trying to understand and get it to
> >> work .... currently
> >> the edge of the sail has been worn by the mast and has torn along
> >> the seam
> >> .... I am apparently pretty stupid for not knowing how to use this,
> >> but it
> >> seems to me that sooner or later one decides to stop banging your
> >> head
> >> against the wall just to see if the headache stops.... I wopuld be
> >> glad to
> >> listen to advise on how to make this work, but I am at the point
> >> that part of
> >> my problem is the duct tape holding the sail together, I HAVE to
> >> replace
> >> the sail, and I can't see paying $800 for a new sail that is going
> >> to keep
> >> giving me headaches.....
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Charlie
> >>
> >> _________________________________________________________________
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> >> 
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