Adding roller furling to older boat

[Mary Laski]

I have a 1974 Catalina 27. Now that the boat, I and my friends are getting older, I think it's time to add roller furling. I would like to hear from someone who has done this. Is there a catalina kit available? Can I use one of the 3 jibs I have and have it re-cut?Thanks. Mary Laski

 

[Trevor]

Installing furling

Hi Mary -I installed a Schaefer 1000 unit on my old Islander 28 years ago. I was able to install it myself, but you could have any local yard do the job. If your rigging is sound, there should be no need to replace the forestay. You just need some basic tools (including hack saw to cut the top extrusion to fit). I had my working 135% genoa fitted with a UV cover from a sail maker. If you have hank-on sails instead of a tuff-luff or similar foil installed on the forestay currently, you'll need to convert the luff of your jib(s) to fit the slide. Furling will enable you to sail much more!Good luck!Trevor

 

[mjbliemel]

Schaefer 750

I just had a Schaefer 750 installled several months ago on my '78 C27. Very nice unit, I can recommend it highly. I opted for new sails all around at the same time. This was part of a full standing rigging replacement job. Click the link and look for pictures of the roller furling, or click on Start Slideshow near the top right of the page.