Harken or Hood?

[BobM]

Besides condemning my whole rig as unsound, the rigger is also saying I should change my Hood Seafurl 2, as parts are no longer available and it will be more trouble than its worth to change the headstay and attempt to reuse it. What are your thoughts on this?

I have a kink in the backstay and closed turnbuckles, but although the rigging might be old (riggers want you to change it every 8 years...but I want a Ferrari and you can't always get what you want) but there are no meathooks an no serious signs of corrosion. I was hoping to just change the backstay and all the turnbuckles then get on a program of changing a couple of stays a year. That may not be cost effective though.

Regarding a new furler, based on experience with the Hood and a CDI I had on my last boat I will probably stick with Hood (they quoted me $1200 for a new Seafurl 5 today) or Harken (the rigger is a dealer). Anyone have any problems with either I should be aware of.

My reasoning is that I found the integral halyard in the CDI to be a pain in the @ss. On the other hand, I have heard plenty about the perils of halyard wrap for furlers with swivels. It seems preventable though. Any opinions on that?

I currently have a #6 luff tape on a 10 year old 135 in very good condition for its age (just restitched with a foam luff added) so I am not planning on changing to a different system of attachment.

Thanks in advance for your wisdom.

BobM

 

[higgs]

If it ain't broke - don't fix it.

 

[Maine Sail]

The new

The new Harken furlers are great and is what I chose when replacing mine after doing much research. Kevin Montague at NE rigging is who I used. It also furls better because the top and bottom are both double swivels so the middle of the sail/foil furls first while the tack & head lag behind. I was skeptical but this feature really does work well..

 

[Steve Dion]

No halyard wrap with a Spin-Tec unit.

We installed our own Spin-Tec unit in about 5 hrs.

 

[shemandr]

I'm not sure what you mean by "Closed Turnbuckles". Do you mean that they are at the end of their adjustable range? If so, what has changed? I had a similar problem on a previous boat and found that the mast step was collapsing.

 

[sailingdog]

Shemandr—

Closed turnbuckles look like this:

Open turnbuckles look like this:

Open turnbuckles are better since they allow you to inspect the threaded portion visually, and don't trap water as readily as the closed style do.

If the rigging is more than 10-15 years old, and the boat is on salt water, which I am guessing it is from the OP's Winthrop location, then I would recommend changing out all the standing rigging. Upgrading to a new Harken furler at this time would also make a lot of sense, and improve the boat's performance, especially when sailing with a reefed headsail.

 

[Marco Garcia]

Hood is part of pompanette, they have parts and they repair and overhaul Hood furlers.
Hood Yacht Systems Customer Service Location

7712 Cheri Court
Tampa, Fla 33634
tel: (813) 885-2182
fax: (813) 888-7421
Hood customer service: Hoodyachtsystems@Pompanette.com

Before you replace it talk to them.

 

[BobM]

Thanks to all. I did talk to Pompanette. They don't have parts (besides drum bearings) or repair Seafurl 2's anymore. They offered me a new Seafurl 5 for $1200.

Spoke to Kevin and Hugh at NE Rigging this morning.
Long story short, this was the phone quote.

Rigging 1700
Labor 500
Harken Mk IV Furler 2400
Install 550
Mast Up 450
Mast Dn 450
Total 6050

I told Kevin that I really just don't have it, as I am doing a $30,000 roofing job on my house next week. They said they would take payments, but WOW.

 

[Dan]

DIY?

Bob:

I'm not sure how motivated/competent/resourced you are, but if you send your old rigging to companies like Defender, they'll recreate it, swaging, turnbuckles and all. Then it's simply a matter of reattaching. Of course, you'd need the boatyard's crane to unstep and step the mast. I suppose they'd be able to provide a ready-to-be-installed furler, too.

Best of luck.

 

[BobM]

Thanks Dan...I am reaching that conclusion rapidly myself.

 

[sailingdog]

Send the old rigging to Rigging Only in Fairhaven, MA. They'll replicate it, upgrade it to open turnbuckles and you can do the installation yourself. It ain't rocket science.

Installing the furler unit over the forestay is probably the most difficult part, and that isn't all that difficult. A furlex 200S would also work for your boat, and they're relatively reasonable in price and decent quality.

Thanks to all. I did talk to Pompanette. They don't have parts (besides drum bearings) or repair Seafurl 2's anymore. They offered me a new Seafurl 5 for $1200.

Spoke to Kevin and Hugh at NE Rigging this morning.
Long story short, this was the phone quote.

Rigging 1700
Labor 500
Harken Mk IV Furler 2400
Install 550
Mast Up 450
Mast Dn 450
Total 6050

I told Kevin that I really just don't have it, as I am doing a $30,000 roofing job on my house next week. They said they would take payments, but WOW.

 

[BobM]

Anyone have any alternative riggers that work in the Boston area they can recommend? Thanks.