A furler Crotch for trailering

[Joe11688]

I just installed a new roller furler on my boat, and of course when the mast is laying in my mast carriers on my boat for trailering, the furler is going to stick out a little further than the mast step. So instead of using a board to tie to the mast to support the furler and drum, I built a furler holder out of 2" Schedule 40 PVC and a couple of blocks of wood to hold it together. I sawed the pipe in half, length-wise and fashioned the blocks of wood to take the shape of the half round pipe, so that half the pipe fits on top of the mast near the mast Hinge, and the furler fits into the other half of the pipe, there-by keeping the furler nice and straight. I've since done up and secured that line a little better than what is shown in the picture, and everything is tied together to the mast, for the 8 mile trip down to the club.

 

[chuckd]

Looks good

Joe, Looks like you could go 800 miles with that set up. I'm not surprised that you went above and beyond the normal "board lashed to the mast" option. When you get boared, there are a few projects on my boat you can work on. I still haven't gotten to that cabin step.- Chuck D

 

[Joseph Alves Jr.]

Thanks Chuck!

My friend Walter just got his Mac 26 home from Maine where he bought it, and I'm going to let him use my furler crotch to get his boat to the club when he gets his boat the way he wants it. Then he can use his time to do the modifications that are needed on his boat. I got the idea of the crotch from him, originally. The companionway step is something that you need to take your time on, Chuck. My boat is in and my furler works great! Smooth Sailing!Joe

 

[AircooledPatriot]

Awesome

This is a great idea. I'm gonna' convert my board to this setup.

 

[Joe11688]

Furler crotch

If you do make one of these, you may want to consider adding a small plate on each side of the front block of wood on the crotch, where-by, it would lock right over the mast Tabernacle plate so the it doesn't turn. You could drill a hole in each plate that would match up with the holes on the Tabernacle, and bolt it, too. I tied it down real good, and fortunately it stayed where I tied it. I let my friend Walter borrow it yesterday so that he can get his Mac 26 down to the club in a week or two when he's through working on it. Walter was the guy who told me about this gadget and described it to me. Man, what a difference that furler makes on my boat!