furling / reefing systems

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NYSail

NYSail

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Jan 6, 2006
3,178
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
hello all My 1986 Pearson P36-2 is in need of a head sail furling system. The sl hood has worn its welcome quickly as reefing in heavy wind does not work well....always the possibility of the reef slipping out as these units were not made to reef....just furl...figures! Is it Hood, Harken, or Schaffer....I am a cuiser that likes the ease of nice bearings, like to go fast,needs to be in control, wants the unit to last many years and not too afraid of spending a few bucks for it. Also, needs to be smooth as wife and I sail alone 90% of the time and she is mostly on the sails. I have read a lot, however love to hear from experience. Thanks! Greg
 
BarryL

BarryL

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May 21, 2004
1,116
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409 Mt. Sinai, NY
Hood, Furlex

Hi Greg, How is your season going? Mine has been great so far.... Anyway, you have a number of options. Cheapest would be for you to upgrade your Hood unit. You can visit the hood web site at http://www.pompanette.com/hood or by calling Customer service location 7712 Cheri Court Tampa, Fl 33634 tel: (813) 885-2182 My boat originally had a Hood 815 Line Drive (continuous line) unit that was upgraded to a Single Line (line around drum) unit. To be honest, I don't like the way it works. It requires a lot of effort to furl the sail. I don't know if the problem is the size of the sail (150 genoa on a 35' boat), the forestay or halyward tension, or the furler itself. My last boat had a Furlex furler from Selden. It worked great. If I were going to replace my furler, that would be #1 on my list just because I know it works. Good luck, Barry
 
W

Warren Milberg

I had a Hood

continuous line furling system on my boat and also never trusted it as a reefer. Hood actually states that it's a furler, not a reefer. When mine started to age, I considered the Hood upgrade. I rejected it on the basis that I thought I'd be keeping this boat a long time and that upgrading the old system would still result using (1) the old foil/extrusion, (2) the old upper swivel; and (3) the old forestay. Sort of like putting a new saddle on an old horse. In the end I decided on a Furlex 200, which also comes with a new forestay. Furlex was at the upper end of the price range of all the name brand furlers, but it has turned out to be a good choice. When Practical Sailor compared the major furlers, they concluded that they all were of pretty good and comparable quality. I think they concluded that the one to pick should probably be based on who is going to install and maintain it.
 
M

maccauley123

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Jun 14, 2004
79
Ericson 29 Biddeford, ME
Schaefer

I have a CDI furler on my boat now and it works pretty well. I don't like how much effort it can take to furl the sail in higher winds, just when you need it most. This might be what I have my furling line run through so am going to adjust that and see if it makes any difference. The sail also does not perform well when partially furled so seems more a furler than a reefer. This unit came with the boat when I bought it. If I were to buy one myself I would seriously look at Schaefer. I was on a friends 26 foot boat who had a Schaefer and I was impressed with it. Very easy to furl and it seemed to perform well even when partially furled.
 
Dave Groshong

Dave Groshong

SBO Staff
Staff member
Jan 25, 2007
1,867
Catalina 22 Seattle
Harken

I recently had a Harken Cruising furler Unit 1 installed on my 37ft. sailboat. I highly recommend this unit, it is much less expensive than the Harken MK4's and is every bit as smooth. (the cruising furler only has a single luff track). You can find it on this site: http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detail.htm?fno=400&group=869&cat=1606 $1195.95 Dave Groshong Customer Service SailboatOwners.com
 
Scott21120

Scott21120

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Oct 15, 2004
163
Oday 34 Wauwatosa, WI
Question about Harken Cruising Furler

I have been considering this unit for our 34' Oday, but the cruising furler doesn't have independent head and tack swivels like the Mk IV, which allow the center of the sail to reef before the head and tack, removing some of the belly from the sail when reefed. I don't know how big an issue this is, but we have a 150 genoa, so the ability to reef it down closer to a 130 at times would be nice. Is there anyone who may have had experience with both units that could comment?
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,759
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Don't buy the cruising..

Don't buy the cruising version of the Harken. For the very small price difference the MK IV unit is head and shoulders a better performer. I reef my 150 to sometimes 100% with no problems and still a nice sail shape. Go for the MK IV. My rigger won't even sell the cruising version...
 
NYSail

NYSail

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Jan 6, 2006
3,178
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
Thanks!

Thanks all for the advise! I have been looking at the harken and Schaffer units. Also heard great things regarding the Harkin. I guess the difference in the units is the bearings, which makes it easy to reef. I have a 150 and with wind over 15 knots it is a bit too much....However a small reef and she takes off! Thanks all! Greg
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
23,343
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
If you consider a ProFurl

you won't have to worry about a halyard restrainer, it comes built in as part of the upper swivel. That was one important selling point for me, been great for over four years. LCI32.
 
S

Steve Dion

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Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Check out the Spintec sold on this site too.

Check out the Spintec units that are sold on this site. They are very robust and have a life time warranty.
 
D

David

Furler

Can't beat CDI for price and ease of installation. Performs very well. I have replaced three different furlers with CDI.
 
S

Scott

Also narrowed down to Harken & Schaefer ...

Hi NYSail, I put off the purchase until a later time (still hanking sails), but I also narrowed down my selection to those 2 brands. For the reason that Maine Sail states I also preferred very strongly to select the MK IV. I thought the price difference between that and the cruising version was not nearly substantial enough to justify the cheaper purchase. What is substantial is the price difference between the Harken MK IV with the twin sail groove and a comparable Schaefer model. For my boat, the price was only similar if I wanted the Schaefer System 750 with only a single sail groove. The twin sail grooves seems like it could be an important feature. If I am going to switch from hanking sails to furling, I am not going to do it for a single groove system. The Schaefer System 1100 would be necessary for twin grooves but at almost double the cost. The Harken MK IV has the twin grooves at substantially lower cost than the Schaefer System 1100. It also appeared that installation of the Harken furler would be simpler than a Schaefer model which seemed like it would be best if a rigger did the installation. It makes me wonder if the quality between the 2 is significantly different so I would like to hear some testimony comparing the performance of these 2 models.
 
S

Scott

Joe, two good suggestions ... :)

I was reading up on the Profurl models. I agree, I will take a closer look before buying! Also, I like the downhaul sggestion. I already have the block on the stem fitting. I could have used the downhaul this afternoon when we were anchoring in front of our friends house on Halsey Island. We had a good 20 knots blowing. With my wife at the helm, I had to move fast to drop the jib on the deck, drop the main and then anchor. Our danforth held fine, but we already know that the bottom conditions at that location are good enough for a danforth.
 
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