I am thinking of adding a furler to my Catalina 22 and was wondering how people dealing with their furlers and blades.
Thank you
Thank you
Furlers and trailering
- Thread starter Rltgold
- Start date
Just tie it off to the mast I used to have an extra board to support the end of the furler if it stuck past the end of the mast but otherwise its not hard to handle. It really wasn't a big deal just make sure to support it along the mast and lash it in a few places so it doesn't move too much.
When raising/lowering it usually takes at least one person to handle the furler to ensure it clears the spreaders and stay straight. There is enough flex in the foils so that they can handle being raised and lowered, the main thing is just to not get a kink in the foil.
Have fun,
When raising/lowering it usually takes at least one person to handle the furler to ensure it clears the spreaders and stay straight. There is enough flex in the foils so that they can handle being raised and lowered, the main thing is just to not get a kink in the foil.
Have fun,
When I bought my boat it came with a Furlex furler, and I pondered how I was going to deal with the foil at mast stepping time. I ended up building a winch rig similar to what Steve Hock posted at this youtube video.
Instead of attaching the end of the winch cable to a piece of wood on the trailer as he did, I route the cable through a hardware store block attached at the bow stem plate, back to the end of the furler. This keeps the foil tensioned and straight as you winch the mast up, and there is no need to have someone on the ground pulling on the foil. With this rig it goes right up, the furler isn't dragging on the deck, the foil stays nice and straight and mast stepping is still a one man job.
I was also uncomfortable bouncing down the road with the furler hanging on the end of the foil, so I took a piece of aluminum tube (an old pool umbrella tube) that fits in the end of the mast, put an eye in it and clip the furler to it when I am trailering.
So far this arrangement has been working for me
I was also uncomfortable bouncing down the road with the furler hanging on the end of the foil, so I took a piece of aluminum tube (an old pool umbrella tube) that fits in the end of the mast, put an eye in it and clip the furler to it when I am trailering.
So far this arrangement has been working for me
We have a CDI Furler.
When trailing, the bottom of our mast sits on a wooden cradle which itself sits on the pulpit.
The cradle has a arm that extends forward that the furler drum sits on/is strapped to.
I then use a mixture of ball bungees and snap buckle straps to secure the standing rigging and furler foil.
Stepping the mast is not a problem. I just use a bungee attached between the furler drum and the pulpit.
As I raise the mast, the bungee pulls the drum forward.
FWIW: @Norton750s not only has good taste in motorcycles, but I may just switch to his mast raising method.
When trailing, the bottom of our mast sits on a wooden cradle which itself sits on the pulpit.
The cradle has a arm that extends forward that the furler drum sits on/is strapped to.
I then use a mixture of ball bungees and snap buckle straps to secure the standing rigging and furler foil.
Stepping the mast is not a problem. I just use a bungee attached between the furler drum and the pulpit.
As I raise the mast, the bungee pulls the drum forward.
FWIW: @Norton750s not only has good taste in motorcycles, but I may just switch to his mast raising method.
I also do something similar. Using a large shock cord "rubberband," wrapped around the furler drum, and then led to the bow or trailer, is a huge help in keeping the floppy roller furler in line with the mast, and centered. Cut the "rubberband" to length, so that it is stretched fairly taught when the mast is down. The big problem with the roller fuler, in my opinion, is its tendency to flop out of line with the mast, and go to the side. Once the furler slides out to the end of the spreaders, it gets very difficult to control the mast when raising or lowering. Norton750's idea is also great, and I'd have gone with that if I had thought of it.We have a CDI Furler.
I then use a mixture of ball bungees and snap buckle straps to secure the standing rigging and furler foil.
Stepping the mast is not a problem. I just use a bungee attached between the furler drum and the pulpit.
As I raise the mast, the bungee pulls the drum forward.
FWIW: @Norton750s not only has good taste in motorcycles, but I may just switch to his mast raising method.
I also use the winch on mast technique, and the man who came up with it is a genius IMO.
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Uh oh, Leeward has outed me, bikes are another expensive hobby of mine!
Nice bike ! I blew a chance to get a very nice BSA 650 cheap. It now sits on shelf in a dealership without being used.
Are you kidding? He doesn't show any of the setup, does he sail with that big honkin' winch attached to the mast? what about the cable he used to raise it with, the one still attached to the trailer and running up to a block at the masthead? Where does that go when sailing? If he trailers with the mast sitting on that high aft support, he must have to watch for low underpasses and bridges. When I raise my mast, the hardest part is moving the mast from trailering position to step. The balance point is just inboard of the transom. I can see having a high aft brace like his would make that part much easier. Is it adjustable? Does he slide the mast up it or lift it into place? The modifications you describe, Norton, make so much more sense.
-Will (Dragonfly)
@Will Gilmore the whole thing is removable. The back mast support is telescoping and makes raising the mast much easier. The strap attaches to the board on the pulpit to help raise the mast. Complete plans and detailed pictures were published in the c22 main brace and I believe are now also part of the updated tech manual. When I get to the age that raising the mast becomes the difference between sailing and staying home you bet I would build one of these.
I have decided on a Schafer CF-700 and new genoa from Pattison sail. The Genoa will have 2 additional vertical reinforcement areas sewn into it for reefing.
PS Does anyone know how much longer the jibs sheets need to be for a roller furling sail verses hanked on sails?
I'd expect at least the chord of the sail plus some extra for wrapping a few times.
Both starboard and port, of course.
I must be doing it wrong. Converted my RF sail to hank-on by adding grommets and hanks to the luff. Put in a downhaul. the simplicity was worth it. Plus, I started using the original high-cut jib on windy days, and the 140 on light days.
Not having to deal with that monster, partially furled or not, on a gusty day was a huge improvement.
Not having to deal with that monster, partially furled or not, on a gusty day was a huge improvement.
Very excited to get my new furling system installed on my 22. I went with a Schafer cf700 and a new genoa from Elliot Pattison sails.
