Cal-21 Jib Furler

Sep 28, 2020
14
Cal 21 Cow Island NH
I want to add a jib furler to my Cal 21. I’m interested in recommendations for the type of furler to purchase as well as the best jib size to use with a furler. Thanks
 

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,410
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Hi Pete.
Your reason to put a furler on a 21 foot boat?

Sails are generally easy to handle on a 21 foot boat. Hank on sails provide a better entry into the wind than a sail on a furler. Easier to add and remove hank on sails.

Furlers can be an expensive item to put on a small boat. Harken makes good furlers, but there are others just as good.

Furlers as complication to a boat.
 
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jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,410
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
What size of sails do you have on your boat now?
 
Sep 28, 2020
14
Cal 21 Cow Island NH
I have a 100% jib and a storm Jib but the wind is so variable for me that I thought it would be nice to be able to change on the fly.
 
Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
You might have already found this reference but it looks like it might have some info about your boat. It mentions a 117 and a 150.

Personally I wouldn’t go any bigger than the original design but if you are thinking furler and perhaps a new headsail you might want to consider bigger than the 100 you have now.

How do you reef your main now? Maybe cheaper and easier to have another reef point in main to reduce sail area and stay with the headsail as is???

 

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,410
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I thought it would be nice to be able to change on the fly.
That makes sense Pete. Where do you fly the storm jib?

It would appear that both 100% and the Storm Jib use the same fore stay.
 
Sep 28, 2020
14
Cal 21 Cow Island NH
You might have already found this reference but it looks like it might have some info about your boat. It mentions a 117 and a 150.

Personally I wouldn’t go any bigger than the original design but if you are thinking furler and perhaps a new headsail you might want to consider bigger than the 100 you have now.

How do you reef your main now? Maybe cheaper and easier to have another reef point in main to reduce sail area and stay with the headsail as is???

Thanks... the main is reefed by a rolling boom not easy to do while under sail I will check out that info
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,548
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Thanks... the main is reefed by a rolling boom not easy to do while under sail I will check out that info
I had a boom roller on a Mac 22 in the past. It is great for shaking out a reef but nearly impossible to do well without getting knocked overgoard as the wind pipes up. I got a new main with reef points and switched to slab reefing.
reefing2.png


However when done for the day, I still rolled my main up on the boom. Made a very nice way to stow the sail.... AND!!!! If I was leaving the dock on a windy day, I used the roller boom system to reef my sail. Then as the day went on and the wind died down, I could very easily shake out my main.

On sail handling for your jib. Have you thought about putting in a down haul system for your foresail? It will make dropping and taming your sail during a blow a joy. AND IT IS VERY CHEAP TO INSTAL. If you want to test if it is for you, just get a few cheap pullys from Lowes and see if you like it. You can upgrade to real blocks later if you decide to keep the down haul system. If you keep one of the sheets tight as you drop the sail, it will flake the jib nicely along a gunwale and it will stay there nice and neat until you have time to deal. And now it is safe to go forward without getting beat up by the clew of your jib sail and you can hank on the storm jib in peace.

If you are unfamiliar with a jib down haul, I have made this crude drawing.
DownHaul.png


Before you drop the jib, pull one of the jib-sheets tight and then release the jib halyard and pull on the down haul. That is it!
 
Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
I want to add a jib furler to my Cal 21. I’m interested in recommendations for the type of furler to purchase as well as the best jib size to use with a furler. Thanks
This is an article that might assist in your decision.

 
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Likes: PeteTheri
Sep 28, 2020
14
Cal 21 Cow Island NH
Thanks... the main is reefed by a rolling boom not easy to do while under sail I will check out that info
I had a boom roller on a Mac 22 in the past. It is great for shaking out a reef but nearly impossible to do well without getting knocked overgoard as the wind pipes up. I got a new main with reef points and switched to slab reefing.
View attachment 186388

However when done for the day, I still rolled my main up on the boom. Made a very nice way to stow the sail.... AND!!!! If I was leaving the dock on a windy day, I used the roller boom system to reef my sail. Then as the day went on and the wind died down, I could very easily shake out my main.

On sail handling for your jib. Have you thought about putting in a down haul system for your foresail? It will make dropping and taming your sail during a blow a joy. AND IT IS VERY CHEAP TO INSTAL. If you want to test if it is for you, just get a few cheap pullys from Lowes and see if you like it. You can upgrade to real blocks later if you decide to keep the down haul system. If you keep one of the sheets tight as you drop the sail, it will flake the jib nicely along a gunwale and it will stay there nice and neat until you have time to deal. And now it is safe to go forward without getting beat up by the clew of your jib sail and you can hank on the storm jib in peace.

If you are unfamiliar with a jib down haul, I have made this crude drawing. View attachment 186387

Before you drop the jib, pull one of the jib-sheets tight and then release the jib halyard and pull on the down haul. That is it!
Thank you for the info