Self furling jib
- Thread starter Lynn McT
- Start date
"Self-furling"? As in it furls and unfurls itself?
Signs and wonders...
I believe the nomenclature would be just plain "furler", but I like my CDI FF2. Simple and reefable.
Signs and wonders...
I believe the nomenclature would be just plain "furler", but I like my CDI FF2. Simple and reefable.
As far as I know there are self-tacking jibs and there are furling jibs, and there may be self-tacking jibs that are furling. Self furling ... ?
Harken makes a model called an ESP and I have the Size 0 version of that and love it.
Harken makes a model called an ESP and I have the Size 0 version of that and love it.
Lynn,
Welcome to sailing and welcome to the forum. Too bad no one else read your profile to see that you're a new sailor. They're right about the self-tacking jib and furling jib being different. You'll learn what things are called soon enough. You'll also learn that you'll get different opinions from everyone here. And we're all right! (Except for me. I have opinions on everything but am seldom right.)
I had to look up your boat since I had never heard of it. Looks like a sweet ride. Oh, my wife and I rode through Missisauga back in the summer of 2000 while on my very first trip to Canada, eh. It's quite lovely up there.
Good luck with your new boat and have fun!
Welcome to sailing and welcome to the forum. Too bad no one else read your profile to see that you're a new sailor. They're right about the self-tacking jib and furling jib being different. You'll learn what things are called soon enough. You'll also learn that you'll get different opinions from everyone here. And we're all right! (Except for me. I have opinions on everything but am seldom right.)
I had to look up your boat since I had never heard of it. Looks like a sweet ride. Oh, my wife and I rode through Missisauga back in the summer of 2000 while on my very first trip to Canada, eh. It's quite lovely up there.
Good luck with your new boat and have fun!
Welcome Lynn;
I do not know the boat but can you tell us a little more. What is the length of your sailboat and do you have a trailer for it? If you do have a trailer, are you planning on trailering your boat a lot? More information would be helpful to include a photo of your boat.
I do not know the boat but can you tell us a little more. What is the length of your sailboat and do you have a trailer for it? If you do have a trailer, are you planning on trailering your boat a lot? More information would be helpful to include a photo of your boat.
The manufacturers all appear to offer a range of furlers to meet varying price points. What that means is you can buy a furler from a good name but it has weak components. Talk to local riggers and ask how many and what furler they install. Factor in your budget and tolerance for balky furlers. My rigger sneers at my ProFurl, and advocates for Harken. He has not yet made his case, and what I have works fine.
Hi Lynn,
This is SBO. We give no quarter, take no prisoners! But don't let the unshaven, rum filled, hammock hogging bilge swillers scare you off. Lots of good folks here with lots of great information to share.
So, you're a gal (I have an Uncle Lynn so the name is not necessarily a giveaway). Some great ladies Denise and Donna to name a couple. What are you sailing? Are you new to sailing? If some know those answers they might temper their responses appropriately. Maybe!
I think you're looking for a roller furler (sometimes called an auto-furler but I have burns on my hands that attest to the fact that there is nothing "auto" about it!) Some folks love them like me. Others hold the opinion that if you don't go forward and hank on a different fore sail every time the wind changes, well, you jess aint sailin'. I like the convenience of mine; the ability to reduce sail without leaving the cockpit. Nice. However, by rolling the sail onto the "foil" you change the shape of it and loose efficiency. At about 30% furled, just put it away. All it's doing is pushing you over. THAT'S when a smaller jib or a storm tri would really come in handy. But . . . when the wind gets feisty is when you have to go out on the foredeck and take care of business.
Welcome to the asylum,
Don
Biddeford, ME
Since you are in Ontario, you are more than likely unstepping the mast each fall. Before you buy a furler, check how easy (or not) it is to attach it at the bow.
I had a Furlex for several years and it was a breeze (and they are extremely well made).
I have a Harken A00 and it is a pain to re-attach it each spring (the preferred method is to levitate in front of the boat holding the furler with one hand, a very special pin (around $70, special order) in the other and a cotter pin in the third hand).
Either is probably fine (as far as the quality and operations go).
Marek
I had a Furlex for several years and it was a breeze (and they are extremely well made).
I have a Harken A00 and it is a pain to re-attach it each spring (the preferred method is to levitate in front of the boat holding the furler with one hand, a very special pin (around $70, special order) in the other and a cotter pin in the third hand).
Either is probably fine (as far as the quality and operations go).
Marek
I second the motion on the quality of the Selden Furlex 200. I don't know how it compares to the ESP brand you mention. I do know the Furlex I have is at the pricey end of the market, but I believe it offers high quality in return.
Edel 665 huh? That is a slick looking boat. http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=117 Looks like the Edel has a lot of boat in just 22' of length.
In my small boat cruising area, with boats up to 24', there are a predominance of CDI Flexible Furlers, and Schaefer Snap Furls. Actually, there are more FFs than Snap Furls. For small boats with masts that are typically unstepped for storage, the extruded plastic foils seem to be much more forgiving than say an aluminum foil on a larger boat. These foils go over the forestay, and rotate around the forestay. The sail slides up a channel on the foil, and rolls up around the foil. A jib needs to have a luff tape properly sized to slide up the slot in the furler. This is very much like the bolt rope going up the slot in the mast for the main sail, only smaller. If you have a jib that attaches to the forestay with hanks, then you need to get a sailmaker to convert your sail by adding a luff tape. A furler jib should also have UV resistant strips along the foot and leech of the sail to protect it from sunlight when it's rolled up. There should be reinforcement patches in the foot and leech for common reef points to prevent stretching. And finally, foam strips in the luff take up excess fabric when rolled partially for reefing and provide better reefed sail shape.
Back to the furlers, CDI is pretty simple, and many people are happy with it. It uses its own integrated halyard, leaving your existing jib halyard free if you wanted to use that for a UV protectant sock instead of strips attached to the sail. UV strips on a sail can weigh it down and it won't fly as well in light winds.
The Schaefer seems to be more favored among a performance crowd, because it uses the existing jib halyard to allow for altering the tension of the jib luff. CDI luff tension is limited to the compressive load the plastic foil can handle (which in my experience isn't all that much.)
You can avoid all the hassle of converting a hank on jib to roller furling, and avoid the cost of roller furling, by rigging a simple jib downhaul line. This allows you to douse the jib without having to go forward to the foredeck. Once the jib is down on the foredeck, cleating off the downhaul and cleating off the sheets centered on the foredeck adequately controls the jib from blowing around until you get into port and then go forward under controlled conditions to deal with stowing the jib. You can even use a deck back to cover up the jib, allowing you to leave it hanked to the forestay. I can give you more info on a simple downhaul (which I call "poor man's roller furling") if you need.
There is another kind of furling known as wire luff furling. In this type of roller furling, there is a pocket in the luff with a wire that runs up and down. The tack is attached to a rolling drum, and the head has a swivel attached in line with the halyard. The jib halyard raises and lowers the sail, but the sail stays free of the forestay. It can then be rolled up around the wire in the luff of the sail. In your sized boat, rigs like this typically have a winch to tension the jib halyard, and keep the luff from sagging as much as possible. These types of furlers typically are used only to roll up or deploy the sail, not to reef the sail, though I know of people who do reef with wire luff furlers. My experience with a poorly implemented wire luff furler is that the luff rolls up unevenly, which wouldn't be good for reefing. Because of the uneven rolling, the UV strips didn't line up well and left gaps in the exposed sailcloth.
As for being a newbie sailor, please don't be put off by the lingo. People aren't using the terms against you or to make you feel stupid. We'll help you learn terms so that you can be accurate describing stuff. Whachmajiggers and whoosits are also acceptable terms of nomenclature! (Me, I'm pedantic, so I'm always trying to use the right terms. Which I screw up from time to time. Doh! )
In my small boat cruising area, with boats up to 24', there are a predominance of CDI Flexible Furlers, and Schaefer Snap Furls. Actually, there are more FFs than Snap Furls. For small boats with masts that are typically unstepped for storage, the extruded plastic foils seem to be much more forgiving than say an aluminum foil on a larger boat. These foils go over the forestay, and rotate around the forestay. The sail slides up a channel on the foil, and rolls up around the foil. A jib needs to have a luff tape properly sized to slide up the slot in the furler. This is very much like the bolt rope going up the slot in the mast for the main sail, only smaller. If you have a jib that attaches to the forestay with hanks, then you need to get a sailmaker to convert your sail by adding a luff tape. A furler jib should also have UV resistant strips along the foot and leech of the sail to protect it from sunlight when it's rolled up. There should be reinforcement patches in the foot and leech for common reef points to prevent stretching. And finally, foam strips in the luff take up excess fabric when rolled partially for reefing and provide better reefed sail shape.
Back to the furlers, CDI is pretty simple, and many people are happy with it. It uses its own integrated halyard, leaving your existing jib halyard free if you wanted to use that for a UV protectant sock instead of strips attached to the sail. UV strips on a sail can weigh it down and it won't fly as well in light winds.
The Schaefer seems to be more favored among a performance crowd, because it uses the existing jib halyard to allow for altering the tension of the jib luff. CDI luff tension is limited to the compressive load the plastic foil can handle (which in my experience isn't all that much.)
You can avoid all the hassle of converting a hank on jib to roller furling, and avoid the cost of roller furling, by rigging a simple jib downhaul line. This allows you to douse the jib without having to go forward to the foredeck. Once the jib is down on the foredeck, cleating off the downhaul and cleating off the sheets centered on the foredeck adequately controls the jib from blowing around until you get into port and then go forward under controlled conditions to deal with stowing the jib. You can even use a deck back to cover up the jib, allowing you to leave it hanked to the forestay. I can give you more info on a simple downhaul (which I call "poor man's roller furling") if you need.
There is another kind of furling known as wire luff furling. In this type of roller furling, there is a pocket in the luff with a wire that runs up and down. The tack is attached to a rolling drum, and the head has a swivel attached in line with the halyard. The jib halyard raises and lowers the sail, but the sail stays free of the forestay. It can then be rolled up around the wire in the luff of the sail. In your sized boat, rigs like this typically have a winch to tension the jib halyard, and keep the luff from sagging as much as possible. These types of furlers typically are used only to roll up or deploy the sail, not to reef the sail, though I know of people who do reef with wire luff furlers. My experience with a poorly implemented wire luff furler is that the luff rolls up unevenly, which wouldn't be good for reefing. Because of the uneven rolling, the UV strips didn't line up well and left gaps in the exposed sailcloth.
As for being a newbie sailor, please don't be put off by the lingo. People aren't using the terms against you or to make you feel stupid. We'll help you learn terms so that you can be accurate describing stuff. Whachmajiggers and whoosits are also acceptable terms of nomenclature!
(Me, I'm pedantic, so I'm always trying to use the right terms. Which I screw up from time to time. Doh! )
I'm with Brian on a down haul.
I've owned 8 sailboats and only my last two have had roller furling. And only because it already had it when I bought it. I would not spend the money to buy one new. It is okay but I don't think the convenience is worth the price and you do suffer some performance loss. I'd rather hank on a smaller head sail. I've had a down haul system on my last two boats. You can rig one for the price of a decent block (pulley). You can try it with a cheap pulley from Lowes ($5) and see if you like it before you spend $900 on a roller furler. When you partially roll up a roller furled head sail, the shape gets all wrong and the sail does not perform as well. Like Brian, I also have diagrams I could share with you if you choose to go that route.
Thanks @Kermit
I especially liked "semipedantically".... I think I could turn that into a really nerdy insult.
To avoid showing my pendanticalness, (which is nothing more than a pipe dream) I simply post a picture and ask what's this thingy? Works every time with this crew on SBO. I have truly learned the nomenclature in less than a year for most thingys from this awesome forum.
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