Do-it-yourself Furler Install?

[Jason Howard]

All,I'm considering purchasing a Harken furler (unit 00a) on my Hunter 22, but I am a little worried about the installation, specifically the modification of the headstay (length). I am usually a die-hard-do-it-yourselfer, but cutting the stay has me a little worried. Harken advertisements boast that this unit fits over the existing headstay, but the manual I saw on their web site indicated that it might be necessary to shorten it.I contacted a local rigger who gave me a price of $1000 including the unit. That seems a little steep to me since the part is only $670. The rigger indicated that the system did in fact fit over the exisisting headstay without modification which leads me to believe that I should give it a go.Anyone install a small boat roller furling system? If so, would you do it again?Also, I hadn't properly considered the modifications that would need to be made to the 150 that I plan on using (most of the time). Sailmaker quotes are around $400. Does this sound high? Anyone have to cut the sail?

 

[Don]

Just completed it.

My father just finished adding roller furling on his 26' sailboat. He used the CDI Flexible furler but I think he has all the same issues you discuss above. Although it was a little more work that he had anticipated he did it all himself.If you send me your email address I will put you in touch with him. I'm sure he'd be glad to answer your questions.

 

[Rip Edmundson]

Flexible Furler - Do It Yourself Install

I put a CDI Flexible Furler on my 26 footer 8 years ago and it went smoothly and I did nothing to the forestay. I replaced the forestay last year with one two inches shorter because of stretch over the years, not because of the CDI Flexible Furler. We have love it and it is very sturdy. I am not familiar with other brands but CDI stands behind theirs. I broke one foil trying to bend it too sharply to fit in the attic of my garage. It simply exploded. I called my loft to buy another and he said those have a "Lifetime" guarantee. He (Lee Sails) sent me a new one free. I didn't even pay postage(shipping). Much easier to work with than segmented furler foils.

 

[Sam Lust]

Harken Furler build

I assembled and installed a Harken unit 1 on my H 33 this past spring. Yes, you do have to cut the stay, but if you use a sta-lock fitting on the bottom (highly recommended by riggers) it's essentialy a piece of cake. The instruction booklet was quite thorough. The only thing I had trouble with was the length of the foil vs. the length of the stay, and as it was on the ground it was easy enough to fix. Hint: don't glue the top cover in place till you KNOW the foil length is right. I ended up having to shorten the foil by about an inch and did it at the top instead of trying to pull the stay out and rethread it into the foil.The stay has to be cut because the foil has such a small section, which is supposed to provide less air turbulence. The units with a larger, round section like the Hood can be assembled without cutting the stay.Check out pricing at one of the boat shows. I saved $500.00 buying at the Atlantic City show. If you buy from someone like JSI they'll usualy work a deal on modification of the sail.

 

[Mickey Goodman]

Use the CDI Furler

I owned a Catalina 25 that I put a CDI Flexible furler on. Any cutting would be to the plastic extrusion that goes over the forestay. The furler was more than I needed for sailing the ocean in New England. You can probably purchase the CDI, if you shop, for between $300 - $400. CDI also will sell you bearings to make the furler easier to operate. I choice not to purchase them, about $100. In retrospect, my wife was the one who usually furled the Jib. In wind she had trouble furling until she decided to use a winch. I quess if I had to do it over again, I still wouldn't spend the additional $100. I would spend the $100 on beer!

 

[Geoff Kloster]

recut sail not so good

When I got our H23 I also got a used CDI furler and had the existing 135% head sail recut from the hank on original. It is fine with the sail full, but any reefing gives a very poor shape. When chartering I've used a Harkin with a sail made for the furler and the difference is phenomonal. If the sail is half way through it's life span, consider having a new one made rather than spend the money on remaking the old.Geoff