Hunter 27 (1984) - Furler Clearance Issues

[Hunter Enthusiast]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a Hunter 27 (1984) and have spent most of this season getting her back in shape.

The most recent issue I've encountered is the very limited clearance between furler drum-head and the pulpit. The clearances are so tight that during furling, there is standardly a complete stoppage. Not only is this frustrating, as single-handed sailer, it's just dangerous!

Does anyone have any ideas on how I might be able to effectively address this issue?

 

[LloydB]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a Hunter 27 (1984) and have spent most of this season getting her back in shape.

The most recent issue I've encountered is the very limited clearance between furler drum-head and the pulpit. The clearances are so tight that during furling, there is standardly a complete stoppage. Not only is this frustrating, as single-handed sailer, it's just dangerous!

Does anyone have any ideas on how I might be able to effectively address this issue?

Just from the looks of it I would guess that the pulpit had been run into something solid, not that that would ever happen to a nice boat like that. a simple solution might be to tie a hard line onto the pulpit and back away from the shore based anchor point. I only point out this possible solution based on my extensive experience as a teenager. YEMV

 

[shemandr]

Those can be rough years.
I considered raising the whole pulpit. But that would create greater leverage someone fell against it. And I'm not sure that you can raise it enough.
I considered cutting the cross member off - I'm not sure it's necessary other than to mount the bow light which could be relocated. I've been on many boats without a crossmember like that. Bracing is nice but a little flex in the bow pulpit might not be that bad.
I considered who set this up. It's clearly a problem. I'm assuming no pre-purchase survey otherwise this should have been noted.
In the end it's a poor installation and the cure is a new furler that fits.

 

[dlochner]

Just from the looks of it I would guess that the pulpit had been run into something solid, not that that would ever happen to a nice boat like that. a simple solution might be to tie a hard line onto the pulpit and back away from the shore based anchor point. I only point out this possible solution based on my extensive experience as a teenager. YEMV

I found a photo of a Hunter 27 from that era and the bent pulpit leg appears to be a design feature.

Given the age of the boat, I suspect no one thought about putting roller furling on the 27. I also don't know what the thinking was about the open front on the pulpit.

The only solution I see are modifying or replacing the pulpit or finding a roller furling unit that fits better.

 

[kloudie1]

Move the headstay attachment one hole aft in the bow fitting .. I see a hole just aft of the current hole being used.
maybe use vice grips judiciously and slightly flatten the aft side of that cross brace?

 

[jssailem]

@Hunter Enthusiast .I have not yet had the opportunity to say Hi. Welcome to the SBO Forum. Congrats on finding your Hunter.

I can see the problem in your images. Looking for a solution the images all show the same parts of the furler. Can you post images of beneath the furler?

Often boats like yours have 2 or more spots to attach a furler on the bow stem. I think I see a bit of stainless beneath the edge of the furler drum. If so, I would look to attach the furler a step or two further back from the pulpit. Additional considerations with this solution is that the length will appear to be longer on the furler. As you move it away from the pulpit the distance between the bow connection and the top of the mast gets shorter. You might need to address that. I can not tell from here. The additional pictures may serve to help.

Best of luck. Enjoy sailing your boat.

 

[Hunter Enthusiast]

Just from the looks of it I would guess that the pulpit had been run into something solid, not that that would ever happen to a nice boat like that. a simple solution might be to tie a hard line onto the pulpit and back away from the shore based anchor point. I only point out this possible solution based on my extensive experience as a teenager. YEMV

Good evening,

I appreciate your reply/insight.

I'd not considered that possibility and given the boat's age/experience, I should have. Acting on your suggestion, I've since inspected the pulpit much more closely. There is no obvious damage that I'd releate definitively to an bow area impact but I've not discounted the possibility.

I'll likely remove the pulpit this winter and inspect it's fasteners; I would expect them to be clearly bent if an impact of any significance previously occurred.

Thank you again; I appreciate your thoughts on this matter.

 

[Hunter Enthusiast]

Those can be rough years.
I considered raising the whole pulpit. But that would create greater leverage someone fell against it. And I'm not sure that you can raise it enough.
I considered cutting the cross member off - I'm not sure it's necessary other than to mount the bow light which could be relocated. I've been on many boats without a crossmember like that. Bracing is nice but a little flex in the bow pulpit might not be that bad.
I considered who set this up. It's clearly a problem. I'm assuming no pre-purchase survey otherwise this should have been noted.
In the end it's a poor installation and the cure is a new furler that fits.

Good evening; I appreciate you taking the time to offer your thoughts on this.

Cutting the cross-member is a great idea (and right now, it's my most likely solution); removing it will for sure give the furler ample room to work properly. My only reservation in removing the cross-member is I really don't like destroying OEM parts on vintage anything; I strongly suspect someone out there is looking for the exact part (i.e., pulpit) I'm about to cut.

Additionally, a rail mounted bow-light can be easily installed (once the cross-member is cut).

The furler is poorly installed and that was missed by the pre-purchase survey.

Consideration given to comparable costs, I can have a "new" pulpit fabricated for about 1/3 of what a new furler will cost; this would allow complete use of the already in place furler.

Again, appreciate your thoughts on this.

 

[Hunter Enthusiast]

I found a photo of a Hunter 27 from that era and the bent pulpit leg appears to be a design feature.

Given the age of the boat, I suspect no one thought about putting roller furling on the 27. I also don't know what the thinking was about the open front on the pulpit.

The only solution I see are modifying or replacing the pulpit or finding a roller furling unit that fits better.

Good evening,

I truly appreciate you taking the time to offer your thoughts on this matter. I really like your idea to replace the pulpit with a more compatible one. I've looked into this option (cursorily) and it's far less expensive than I initially thought.

Again, thank you for your thoughts on this; I appreciate it.

 

[Hunter Enthusiast]

Move the headstay attachment one hole aft in the bow fitting .. I see a hole just aft of the current hole being used.
maybe use vice grips judiciously and slightly flatten the aft side of that cross brace?

Good evening,

I'm going to check into this option sometime during the week-end.

Thank you very much for you thoughts on this matter; I certaonly appreciate it.

 

[Hunter Enthusiast]

@Hunter Enthusiast .I have not yet had the opportunity to say Hi. Welcome to the SBO Forum. Congrats on finding your Hunter.

I can see the problem in your images. Looking for a solution the images all show the same parts of the furler. Can you post images of beneath the furler?

Often boats like yours have 2 or more spots to attach a furler on the bow stem. I think I see a bit of stainless beneath the edge of the furler drum. If so, I would look to attach the furler a step or two further back from the pulpit. Additional considerations with this solution is that the length will appear to be longer on the furler. As you move it away from the pulpit the distance between the bow connection and the top of the mast gets shorter. You might need to address that. I can not tell from here. The additional pictures may serve to help.

Best of luck. Enjoy sailing your boat.

Good evening,

I truly appreciate you taking the time to offer your thoughts on this matter; I expect to get additional pictures (from different angles) sometime this week-end; I'll post them presently.

Thanks again.

 

[David in Sandusky]

Welcome, Enthusiast!

I did a tour of some of the h27 (75-84) pictures on this website ( HunterOwners.com Owner Photo Album ) where the bow pulpit is clearly shown, and I found none that had the cross piece configuration that is interfering with your furler. Our '77 model does not have the crosspiece. With boats as old as ours, it's hard to know what is original equipment, and what is a result of action by a prior owner.

The key input is that a number of the pictures, including ours, show pulpits with no crosspiece. Many of our boats have performed well for 40+ years without a crosspiece. So I am very comfortable recommending that you simply cut out the crosspiece, taking care to cover the open ends.

 

[Hunter Enthusiast]

Welcome, Enthusiast!

I did a tour of some of the h27 (75-84) pictures on this website ( HunterOwners.com Owner Photo Album ) where the bow pulpit is clearly shown, and I found none that had the cross piece configuration that is interfering with your furler. Our '77 model does not have the crosspiece. With boats as old as ours, it's hard to know what is original equipment, and what is a result of action by a prior owner.

The key input is that a number of the pictures, including ours, show pulpits with no crosspiece. Many of our boats have performed well for 40+ years without a crosspiece. So I am very comfortable recommending that you simply cut out the crosspiece, taking care to cover the open ends.

Good afternoon Dave (in Sandusky),

I very much appreciate your thoughts on this matter; thank you!

Your're exactly right when you say:

"With boats as old as ours, it's hard to know what is original equipment, and what is the result of action by a prior owner."

I never thought about the pulpit having possibly been replaced; that now seems likely.

Once I cut the cross-member off, I'm thinking of using some style of bar wrap (similar to what you see on racing bicycle handle-bars) to hide/protect the remaining holes.

Have you any thoughts on that?

Respectfully,

Mark

 

[dlochner]

Hold on. Before you go cutting things off, do some more research. Here's photo of a Hunter 27 with a pulpit that looks similar to yours. That cross piece is not there just for looks and to mount the running lights, it is part of the life line system. The pulpit was likely orlginal to the boat.

The spacing problem is most likely one of two errors, 1) buying an incompatible furling system or 2) an incorrect installation. To rule out the second cause we really need to see how the furler is mounted to the stem head and to know the make of the furler. The second photo below shows an installed furler, sort of looks like a Schaeffer, but can't be certain from the photo. So furlers can be installed on an H27, just have to find the right one.

 

[shemandr]

I think the pulpit of the OP and the pulpit of the Hunter 27 in post #14 are different. The difference being that the OP pulpit has a continuous top rail from port to starboard. The rail in post #14 doesn’t have that top continuous rail and the mentioned cross piece is the connection from port to starboard.

 

[Hunter Enthusiast]

Hold on. Before you go cutting things off, do some more research. Here's photo of a Hunter 27 with a pulpit that looks similar to yours. That cross piece is not there just for looks and to mount the running lights, it is part of the life line system. The pulpit was likely orlginal to the boat.

The spacing problem is most likely one of two errors, 1) buying an incompatible furling system or 2) an incorrect installation. To rule out the second cause we really need to see how the furler is mounted to the stem head and to know the make of the furler. The second photo below shows an installed furler, sort of looks like a Schaeffer, but can't be certain from the photo. So furlers can be installed on an H27, just have to find the right one.

View attachment 227307

View attachment 227305

Good evening,

I certainly appreciate your thoughts on this matter; thank you.

Before I make any decision to cut the cross-member, I am still doing research. I'm very new to sailing and this is my first sail-boat; needless to say, I am learning much!

Getting a second (compatible) furler system is the absolute final option; I can have a new pulpit fabricated for less than a new furler system (and would likely go that route before buying another fulrer system).

As you've already pointed out, there is a possibility the furling system is not properly mounted.

The furler system on my boat was manufatctured by CDI (Model No. FF4).

I've also attached additional photos showing the way my furler is currently mounted; any in-sight and/or thoughts you may have would be especially appreciated.

 

[Hunter Enthusiast]

Good evening,

I truly appreciate you taking the time to offer your thoughts on this matter; I expect to get additional pictures (from different angles) sometime this week-end; I'll post them presently.

Thanks again.

Good evening,

As previously discussed, I've attached additional pictures related to my plight.

Do you see any additional options?

 

[Sailor Sue]

Do you see any additional options?

Yup. Move the forestay to one of the two holes behind the tack hooks. Since you have a furling system you won't need to use the tack hooks. You might need to get a couple of short link plates so the furling drum clears the two hooks.

 

[jssailem]

Is the sail contacting the bar on the pulpit? It should not. The sail should be above the black round plastic piece of the furler base.

 

[Marmalade]

I'd start with a quick check of mast rake, particularly if your rig is dropped every season.

Quick google for a H27 tuning guide didn't find much, but there was a thread on here that says 8" of rake. So see how close to this you are, or maybe someone has a better target.

Granted, based on quick napkin math... on a 34ft mast height, 8" of rake will only make ~3/16" clearance to this bar, it's still something to check. Can't believe someone "lived" with this for a long time... so checking the basics and inspecting for damage as mentioned previously are good things to check.