Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
Part (inexperienced) owner of a Capre 25. The main sail is hard to pull up and I was wondering if anyone had a diagram of the internal routing of the lines /ropes in the mast.
We're trying to solve the issue and not having luck. I believe there is a guide? bolt that was removed at one time and the lines went to either side perhaps.... and was not replaced with the lines in the right configuration???
I can't answer your specific question, but the most common reasons why a mainsail is hard to hoist are (1) the sheave(s) is/are defective or broken, or the halyard has jumped off a sheave, and (2) the mast kerf is dirty or salt encrusted. You should check those first, before you get into anything more complicated. The simplest answer is most often correct.
On my C&C 35, the culprit was a snatch block at the base of the mast that habitually turned sideways and bound the halyard.
Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind" previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22 Past Commodore
There are only 4 or maximum 5 lines going through our masts. I have 4 since I don't use a 2nd genoa halyard. But we had a ton of friction in our main halyard as well. I replaced the sheaves at the top and bottom of the mast with the black delrin versions from Catalina Direct. That did quite a bit of good. I still have some friction in the other halyards so I will re-run them this summer.
Always be sure to run through the basics as well and make sure when hoisting the main to have the vang and sheet off and maybe someone holding the boom up. Spraying some McLube in the mast track will help as well.
If the sheaves or halyard routing is not the problem, you might want to look into Sail Track Slides. Attach your mainsail to the slides, the delrin slides make it easier to hoist the mainsail. The downside is that they deteriorate in the sunlight. If you leave your main exposed to sun, then you need to replace the slides every year. I switched to the slides after about the second or third time fighting with the mainsail. Never looked back.
Fleet Kamikaze 1983 Hull #397 Lake Guntersville, AL
We have cleats on the main sail....however far from new.
I know the other 2 owners replaced acouple sheaves and ropes. that seemed to be the beginning of the issue. And they pulled that bolt mid mast which I believe the ropes had to be on one side or the other. QUESTION: Did those of you who have replaced sheaves on the mast find the right size (direct replacements?). Our Mast is black - Capri #270
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.