Furling the mainsail downwind

[Ailatan]

Hi all,

I have a furling mainsail and I'm really happy with the system. So far I've never had any problems, but I've always followed Selden's instructions to furl it by heading into the wind and letting the wind come slightly from the starboard side. I was wondering if it's possible to furl it while sailing downwind, when heading up into the wind is difficult, for example when you're sailing wing-and-wing.
Does anyone have experience with that maneuver?

[Happysailor]

I am curious about the experiences too. Done it once with jib over PS to open the pocket as good as possible. I found the sail to touch the mast too much which will increase the wear..

[Yngmar]

In light air no problem, but in strong wind it's tough. You sheet it in hard, pull the leech straight with the kicker if need be and keep careful control of the outhaul while furling in. Best done with two people, one controlling the outhaul and one furling. If you let the outhaul go too far it gets camber and gets too hard to furl.

Two things help, you can go motor at top speed, reducing apparent wind and you can furl with the crank handle in the mast winch, eliminating all the friction in the cockpit furling line loop.

We've done it a few times, it's possible if the situation requires it (e.g. going up a busy river), but it's far from ideal.

[Ailatan]

Thank you Yngmar. You confirmed what I was thinking of.
First, trim the mainsheet in as much as possible.
Second, easy the outhaul little by little and furl the mainsail at the same time.
I understand that it will be easier if the mainsail is on port side.
I'll try next time.
The idea of the engine is good. I also do that to bring the geenaker inside the sock