harken furler system

[trainmanjess]

hello all

i recently purchased my 1st sailboat. proud owner here... i am refitting it now, it was neglected for 3 years, and needs alot of deck hardware replacement. it has a hearken furler system for the jib. i have looked on the harken website, and cannot find this furler. the furler is labelled harken furler on the side of it. all the furlers they have on thier website is open drums and all black. the one on my sailboat is shinny alluminum, and the drum is enclosed, except where the opening is for the rope to enter/exit. and the section pieces covering the forestay are differant than what harkin has in stock. i have a fractional rig on my sailboat, and the furler is short about 4 feet from the mount on the mast. i am trying to find another piece of the furling extension so i can bring it up closer to the forestay mounting bracket. does anyone have any suggestions. here are some pictures of what it looks like. in the one picture you see the hub encloser is damaged, but it doesn't hinder the furler from working.. i plan to remove it later and straighten it out like new again.

thanks
Jess

 

[Ted]

The furling system you have is out of production. Contact Harken directly. They sometimes have replacement parts available for older gear. They have always been very helpful to me in the past, coming up with parts that couldn't be found elsewhere. You can also keep an eye on ebay and consignment shops. Good luck with your new boat.

 

[sailingandsuch]

While I'm not sure what to do about your furler I would just mention that if it proves difficult to find the parts and repair then just go with a hank on jib.

Do you have a sail for the furler? Do you have a hank on jib?

That's what I have on my Montgomery 17 (hank on jib) and it's really not bad at all, I used to have a roller furler on my old Watkins 29.

If you have the hank on or don't have the furling jib then I'd go with the hank on for a season and see how you like it. This would free up some $$$ for other repairs that need doing.

 

[trainmanjess]

both my mainsail and jib are old, and coming apart. so i am looking for a good set of used main and jib for my sailboat. i have checked around and found some at a decent price. as i have never used a furler, i am not sure what to look for in a jib that will fit into the grooves on it. the old jib has hank on clips attached to it, so i am a little confused about the system. how does the system work for attaching the jib sail ?

thank you
Jess

 

[Ron20324]

A number of places might have just another tube if you new the model or can get the tube/extrusion profile.

 

[Rick I]

Yours is a late eighties Harken. Looks as if the drum been bashed a bit. I don't think the extrusions are that different, you should be able to get another section. Find out what number it is, if it's a small boat probably an 01. I don't think they made the 00 in those days.

 

[alexco38]

I think it's mid to late 1980's. I have a slightly bigger unit-1 for a 30 footer. The design is the same. I think you can still buy the tube from Harken. Ask them. I have the manual for unit-1.

 

[Merlin Clark]

The sail needs luff tape sewn onto the leading edge to slide into the groove in the furler extrusions.
Like this: http://www.sailrite.com/Continuous-Support-Tape-5
there are different sizes. Also need to protect the sail from UV with a sacrificial strip sewn to the leech and foot or a sock that covers the furled sail.
I guess a sailor could get by without the sacrificial or sock by taking the sail down each time but that's defeating the convenience of having a furler.
There are some good companies that handle used sails like Bacons and Atlantic that you could check out. I haven't used either but have had some good luck with ebay and craigslist.
The gear classifieds here on SBO is a good place to check too. The Mac forum would be a good place to ask if you haven't already.

 

[Jumpstart]

You appear to have a Harken Mark 1 unit 0. I had one in the 80s and 90s. Max headstay diameter is 7/32". Haken might have some foils. Call them. It takes a # 6 luff tape. Never lubricate with an oil based product or you will trash the Torlon balls. You can use McLube to lube the drum. Also use Mclube in the tracks and on the luff tape. My unit was still working fine after 18 years when I sold the boat

 

[Barnacle Bill]

The tubes or extrusions used in various Harken systems differ in how they are attached to each other with different designs in the spacers and the fasteners. Early systems used roll pins. Later they used hex headed screws and later they used a couple of different sized slotted head screws. The extrusions themselves varied as did the connector (spacers). If you strike out, I may have what you need.