Roller furling mainsails

Since their development at the beginning of the 80s, roller masts and booms have made maneuvers much easier, but have not been free of technical problems, which deterred more than a few people at the moment of a potential purchase. Let’s take stock of the development and manipulation of this equipment which, aboard a modern multihull, nowadays makes perfect sense.
The wind is getting up; it’s time to reduce sail. Yes, but which system to use?
Modern catamarans are higher and higher. A roller system for the mainsail simplifies life when blue-water cruising.
Roller masts can do without a kicker, which suits catamarans whose mast is stepped just in front of a prominent coachroof. Here we can clearly see the endless screw, which has been made much more reliable these past few years.
Although enormous progress has been made with integrated vertical battens (here, the Selden system with its mechanism at 90°), the possibilities of having a good sail shape and a big roach are better with a boom than with a roller mast.
Although enormous progress has been made with integrated vertical battens (here, the Selden system with its mechanism at 90°), the possibilities of having a good sail shape and a big roach are better with a boom than with a roller mast.
We can see clearly that the boom profile is wide open, which does away with the possibility of trapping the sail, but be careful to roll with no folds when reefing, and keep the boom at an angle of 88° to the mast…
Roller systems can be customized as much as you wish: carbon shell, choice of paint…
Electric or hydraulic mechanisms are also in the catalogues, and highly recommended on sizes over 40’.
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Publié le 16/05/2017
Par Olivier Barret
Numéro : 154
Parution : Jul. / Aug. 2017
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MW154

If we are honest, we have to admit that we all have secret thoughts about no longer having to go to the mast foot to hook the tack of the second reef, no longer having to take in the kilometers of the 3rd reef pendant (inevitably the longest), not hesitating to take in the first or second reef, no longer having to untangle the mass of knots piled up at the mastfoot or in the cockpit, and being able to hoist (or rather unroll) without the lazy jacks getting in the way of the maneuver. Better still, without the pendants, lazy jacks and bags, your boat’s lines will be more refined, won’t they? An…

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