[Rhodes22-list] IMF Questions

[Todd Tavares]

I have some general questions about the IMF system. I have a standard mast
and mainsail, so I am not familiar at alll with the IMF, and I generally
bypass IMF discussions.
There were discussions about IMFs on another sailing forum which made me
curious. One sailor said his boat has a ZSpar brand IMF which has a slot he
can feed the mainsail bolt rope into and he raises it with a halyard like a
normal sail or furling headsail.

Can the Rhodes 22 IMF sail be installed without dropping the mast?
Does the Rhodes 22 IMF furler have a slot for a bolt rope or slugs and a
halyard?
I always thought the sail was fixed to the furling tube, like the old GB
genoa tube arrangement and had to be installed as a complete assembly from
the bottom of the mast.

I assume there is some way to raise or lower the sail on the furler because
there is an upper boom position. How is the Rhodes 22 IMF sail raised and
lowered? How is the luff tensioned?

Todd T