Furling Main

[Msherman]

Has anyone out there ever tried to remove the furling unit from their mast (replace the boom) and use the mast with a traditional main? There is a second channel and it seems like it should be an option but I was curious if anyone had ever done it.

As you can probably surmise from this question, I'm not a fan of the furling main.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Cheers

 

[helmfam]

Before you get rid of the furling rig, be sure to read about how Neil Pryde engineered your sails and optimal ways to trim both the main and the genoa. Look at: http://www.neilprydesails.com/images/pdf/beneteau/B35_Tuning_Guide.pdf
I learned a lot by looking at the sail trim guide for my boat.

 

[DougM]

My extremely prejudiced reply:

Get rid of the furling main And don't look back! Everyone I know who has one has had problems at all the wrong times.
You shouldn't really have to replace the boom, and you could potentially leave the furling hardware inside the mast if you could prevent it from rattling.

 

[Captn TJ]

I agree with Dougm! With a track (I.e. Tides marine) and a sail bag. You can drop a main and stow it faster than you can furl a main. Plus you'll have better sail shape.

 

[Gunni]

That additional track is likely a trysail track, not a replacement for a conversion. If you are serious about this plan on a new rig, including boom, line clutches and maybe even a winch upgrade.

 

[Syversens]

What's your main issue with it? Are you looking for more performance or having issues furling/unfurling it, or both I guess? You'll never get low wind performance but furling and unfurling can be easier with a few tricks, many of which you'll probably have figure out how it works best for you.

For me I've marked where the main sheet and vang needs to be to have the boom at the right angle. My car doesn't have a bearings on the car so I've moved the car stop back to mid boom to ease the angle... few things like that makes all the difference.

I don't think furling main will ever give performance but I think I have as much fun on the water as everyone else, well once I get my propane, head, and swim step shower fixed that is...