Once the sail had got to about half way up, I was into the 'easy gear' and then had to work hard to get her the rest of the way up.

The sail is pretty standard, fully battened.

I come from a Hallberg Rassy 29 which of course had a much smaller sail.

My question - does this 'work out' to manually winch up a mainsail sound about right?

Or - might I do well to check the halyard runs free, the mainsail runs free in the tracks etc?

(note - when I drop the sail she comes down very easily)

Many thanks

I was going to suggest some dry PTFE spray on the mainsail cars / track but you said it comes down quite quickly. I’m assuming the reef lines are all nice and loose. I certainly have to winch my 418 main up from about 1/3rd hoisted, using the easier gear for the last metre or so

 

Congrats great boat I have a 370 and came from a Sadler 29  so had same change as you from tiny main to large one 

Mine is battened with rollers goes up with no winch about 60 to 70 percent then if by possible we sweat it at mast but usllay needs winch for last 10 percent 

Half way for you sounds unusual sounds like you are checking the obvious stuff 

I have a similar issue with head sail  but think the bolt rope is too thick 

I use 10mm dyneema(hanse 370)

Hanse 315 and previously H301, both full battened main, yes heavy sails.

We make first hoist from mast; this avoids the extra friction around deck organisers and foot blocks.

After first hoist we reef and un-reef from cockpit no problem.

When short handed I use a clam cleat fitted low on mast and when main  hoisted I slip the halyard into cleat, return to cockpit and pull in halyard slack and tighten on winch. Important:--The clam cleat is positioned so the halyard pops out when winched, and doesnt catch halyard  on dropping main.

Note:  Hanse Halyards are far too thick polyester.

My Main Halyard 6mm Dyneema [H301] and 8mm Dyneema in h315.

With hind-sight I should have fitted 6mm Dyneema on 315.

Using the thin halyards of Dyneema has a big reduction of rope friction.

Use dry lubricant on sail slides and batten cars regularly to help minimise friction and make for fast sail drops.

Oh yes nearly forgot:-  mark main halyard at Clutch to identify the drop points for first, second and third reef. Then when reefing drop to mark, makes reefing easy if you work with marks.

Regards

Perry

Cowes

Isle of wight

On our 415 we can sweat the main up most of the way and just need the winch for the last metre or so, but we do have the roller batten cars.

Good luck

Paul

Thanks

Jon

Regards   

Both boats drop the sail in seconds by preparing the halyard on the cockpit floor and opening the clutch quickly once head to wind.  In stronger winds the sail movement may impede 100% drop.

All this is made possible by the MDS cars.  If your boat is pre 2015 it may not have the Selden rig so might be worth investigating alternative batten car options if you don't have these.

Enjoy the 385.  They are amazing boats.

I prefer to put some bright flourescent tape around the mast (suitably cut at the mast slot of course). These are positioned where the lower batten cars come at the first & second reefs. I am always looking at the sail when reefing & prefer not to have to look down for small marks on the halyard at night. They fade every couple of years but are simple to replace. There is less stretch in the setup there, as it is only 4-5 feet from the boom. Marks on the halyard are 25 metres from the start of the boom so stretch can vary the set even with laminate sails & dynema halyards. It also depends how much tension you want to apply to the sail each time.

I also find it better when reefing to winch the sail down with some friction in the halyard by leaving a turn on the winch when doing 2nd reef or slipping the clutch when doing the first one. If one drops the halyard in one go the lines can get tangled & a kink can catch in a block or a a bit of sail cloth can catch. I prefer to keep a little tension in the reef lines as I reef. I find that a neater option. But I sail SH so want avoid going on deck & a few seconds longer to reef is not always the issue. A decent sail set is.