CDI Roller Furling

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J Cianflone

Does anyone have anything nice to say about CDI roller furling? I am saving my sheckles for one to be installed on a 1980 Hunter 27. Most of my sailing is in protected waters but i go out into the gulf every once in a while. I think the ff6 model will work on my boat.
 
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David

CDI

I have had three boats with Cruising Design furlers. Never any problems.
 
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Ed Hebert

easy to install?

How easy/difficult is it to install roller furling?
 
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Bob Cassel

I've got the CFI FF2 on my 26S

Wouldn't be without it, it's bulletproof and guaranteed for life, yours, not the boats. The FF3 and above I believe had bearings where mine has a bushing, but it works great as is.
 
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Justin - O'day Owners' Web

Love mine

I have a CDI FF4 on my boat. One of the previous posts thought everything over the FF3 has bearings - my FF4 (three years old) has a bushing. I'd buy another in a heartbeat. Simple, inexpensive and rugged. You give up the ability to control halyard tension on the fly but I don't really care. You get to use your existing jib halyard for a drifter or chute. Make sure when you do this you get your sail cut right. Immediately budget for a new jib designed for roller reefing with a foam luff pad. Makes a great difference. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
 
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andy

made a great ridge pole for my winter cover

no pesky bearings to fail, no need for the halyard, no sail tension problems, just dedicate a winch to turning it
 
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Mike

Another "yea" for the ff4

I have the ff4 on my Oday 23; not a single problem. No need for a winch either. I put my 100% jib on the furler, and use the former jib halyard to fly my 150 genoa. I saved a lot of money by not having a new sail made. Even if you just have your existing sail recut to fit the furler, you should replace the headstay (and all of the standing rigging) before you install the CDI or any other furler that uses the existing headstay. As far as ease of installation goes, I am very glad that the yard guys were there while I was putting it on; we ran into a couple of problems that I could not have fixed myself, yet they were able to take care of in less than an hour.
 
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Tom Ehmke

Ditto the positives about CDI, but a question

about the bushing vs. bearing. Has anyone had experience with both who would recommend the bearing? I'm considering replacing the bushing in my CDI unit with a bearing. I fly a 155 jenny of rather heavy-weight cloth. This was a decision that I made after consulting the sailmaker. I wanted a durable jenny which I could use for power in variable to 10-15k winds and reefed in foul weather or higher wind. Sail shape is relatively good when the jenny is reefed, but I'm getting a little older and want to avoid struggling with reefing or furling. I can still handle both in most cases without reducing the power in the sail, but I'm thinking ahead, and I don't want to use a winch unless there is no other alternative. (Male pride, I guess...) Tom
 
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Bill

Ok maybe I don't get it

I'm looking at a roller furling for my Pearson. Why does the CDI price seem to be a fraction of other furlers? Ias there something I'm missing? Bill
 
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Rob

No Halyard?

I read that the CDI has a "built in halyard". Does this mean that you don't use your current jib halyard?
 
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Al

Rob, you are correct...

The CDI RF has it's own built in halyard line. That is another benefit of the CDI RF, it frees up the jib halyard for other uses... For more info on CD RF features see: http://www.sailcdi.com/ffmain.htm
 
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EJ Tews

CDI

I installed a CDI last spring on my O'day 25 and have nothing but good things to say about it. EJ Tews O'Day 25 _/) Jennifer Lea
 
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Rob

Negatives?

There must be negatives to this or they would be on every boat. What do the "big guys" (Haarken, Profurl, etc) offer?
 
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Mike

Never heard a bad word...

about any of the name-brand furlers. Assuming we are comparing apples to apples (all flexible foil type furlers), I don't think you should assume that just because one costs more that it is intrinsically superior. I am a big believer in the old axiom that you get what you pay for. However, CDI's products are not cheap by any means; they cost significantly more than the budget products from the big name companies. Given what I see in the various magazines and catalogs, it appears that Harken's and Profurl's advertising budgets are significantly higher than CDI's. I have also seen them as sponsers at sailing events and shows. All these costs are recovered in the price of their products. CDI's lower costs must at least partly reflect these different corporate strategies.
 
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George B.

Negative Word

The problem with furlers with integral halyards like CDI is you cannot effectively put halyard tension on them. The 1/4 inch "halyard" stretches too easily and it is hard to maintain proper headsail shape - especially when the wind picks up. There isn't room where the halyard exits the foil to get enough purchase to "sweat" some tension on it before cleating it off.
 
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John Visser

Price advantage?

I don't understand the supposed price advantage statements - the Profurl street price is less than $100 more than CDI, for equivalent systems (LCI-32 v. FF 9.0). I bought Profulr, so perhaps I'm biased, but Profurl seems to be quite bulletproof, and a true roller-reefing system, i.e., reefed under load. Can you reef the CDI furler with a load on it? jv
 
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Jeff

Internal halyard

Not all internal halyards are difficult to tighten. I have a Famet which is just about foolproof. No bearings to junk up. The halyard is stainlees wire that has a stainless bicycle chain which is lead through a sprocket and then tightened with a crank. It will get as tight as you want. Great revieww in Practical Sailor several years ago. Small company but great product.
 
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