Hood Furler replacement advice

[Canonshooternb]

I am looking to improve sailing abilities by upgrading the original hood Furler on my 1991 legend 35.5 with a new Furler. Since the original Furler sits below the deck level in the anchor locker is there any special considerations I should be aware of ? What would be some of the better options on a new Furler be without breaking the bank ? I would love to hear from others that have done the upgrade and what model they chose and why . Is there any modifications recommended on this change .

thanks

 

[Terry Cox]

I am looking to improve sailing abilities by upgrading the original hood Furler on my 1991 legend 35.5 with a new Furler.

Your money to spend any way you want. Curious though to know what you expect from a new unit that the current Hood does not provide. We've had our original below deck Hood double line unit that came with our 1991 boat that, except for a couple of owner mods, works very well with a 150 genoa. We've cruised our boat thousands of miles in all kinds of weather conditions and remain pleased with our bullet proof Hood system.

 

[rjarrell]

Not that familiar with the 35, but recently discarded the below deck Hood and replaced with Profurl. Very happy. The only issue I had was the anchor locker lid required modification. It would not open all the way because the corner came into contact with the above deck furling drum.

 

[Justin_NSA]

How are you expecting a new furler to " improve your sailing ability"? What are you wanting in a new one. Yes, it will break the bank. I'm with Terry. Other than replacing a centering bearing which was pretty easy, my continuous line, below deck Hood 810 works fine.

 

[jssailem]

Have not used a Hood furler.
I replaced my ProFurler 1974 vintage, with a new Harken Furler. Very happy with the results. No more issues with the top of the furler not rotating correctly, no more back wrapped sail. The sail rolls up and unfurls smoothly as it should.

There is a cost for this convenience. I’m happy I made the investment.

As has been suggested you may need to do maintenance on the furler to get it to work correctly. I tried that first with the ProFurler. They use a sealed bearing. No way without removal and destructive/repair to clean or replace the bearings. Harken has avoided this error (in my opinion a better solution. )

 

[walmsleyc]

I have a hood seafurl 810 (original). It is worn in many ways. I've replaced the upper swivel, and done some things to keep it going, but the joints in the furler tubes are all loose and cause staining on the sail and make it hard to adjust halyard tension. But, the furling bearings all work well.

But, as others have noted, these things don't affect sailing performance. If your bearings are worn out and have lots of resistance, or other things are no longer working correctly, you can still order parts for these and possibly bring it back to life and failing that, buy a new one. I have probably spent $600 on bearing and parts on mine in the 13 years I've owned it. It should now continue for a good number more years. A new furler would be a couple of grand.

When my mast is down for the winter I plan to take the forestay off (with furler tube) and either put some epoxy or some 4200 into the furler tube rivet pockets (if you have a Hood furler, you will know what I mean) on the tubes while keeping the sail slot aligned. This might alleviate my issue with the work joints.

I have heard that changing the "Line Drive" drum to the normal single line drum (from Hood) might not work with the below deck configuration. I've thought about this change, but didn't want to move everything above deck as might be required. I don't like the single continuous line furling design as it's very hard to "reef" sail reliably with this (line can slip out while sailing).

Harken sells a compact furler that is designed to be below deck. I don't know if it could be made to fit, but that might be a consideration.

Cheers

 

[tjar]

I replaced the original furler on my 35.5 with another Hood SeaFurl-5 H253.5. After consulting with my rigger, I would have had to either modify the anchor locker lid or raise the furler drum about 16" above the deck to clear the door. The 253.5 is a perfect fit for the original opening. You may be able to find one that will clear the locker lid, but it will probably sit part way into the hole anyway. My first one lasted almost 25 years with almost no maintenance, so I figured the new one would be fine.

 

[Canonshooternb]

Your money to spend any way you want. Curious though to know what you expect from a new unit that the current Hood does not provide. We've had our original below deck Hood double line unit that came with our 1991 boat that, except for a couple of owner mods, works very well with a 150 genoa. We've cruised our boat thousands of miles in all kinds of weather conditions and remain pleased with our bullet proof Hood system.

My sail goes up and down ok in the track freely. The issue that I have is that when furling the sail I have extreme resistance. I have replaced the line, added more tension to the forestay with still the same issue. Have also had the line get snagged in the drum when it was a little loose

 

[Canonshooternb]

Not that familiar with the 35, but recently discarded the below deck Hood and replaced with Profurl. Very happy. The only issue I had was the anchor locker lid required modification. It would not open all the way because the corner came into contact with the above deck furling drum.

did you have to change the sail config ?

 

[Canonshooternb]

I have a hood seafurl 810 (original). It is worn in many ways. I've replaced the upper swivel, and done some things to keep it going, but the joints in the furler tubes are all loose and cause staining on the sail and make it hard to adjust halyard tension. But, the furling bearings all work well.

But, as others have noted, these things don't affect sailing performance. If your bearings are worn out and have lots of resistance, or other things are no longer working correctly, you can still order parts for these and possibly bring it back to life and failing that, buy a new one. I have probably spent $600 on bearing and parts on mine in the 13 years I've owned it. It should now continue for a good number more years. A new furler would be a couple of grand.

When my mast is down for the winter I plan to take the forestay off (with furler tube) and either put some epoxy or some 4200 into the furler tube rivet pockets (if you have a Hood furler, you will know what I mean) on the tubes while keeping the sail slot aligned. This might alleviate my issue with the work joints.

I have heard that changing the "Line Drive" drum to the normal single line drum (from Hood) might not work with the below deck configuration. I've thought about this change, but didn't want to move everything above deck as might be required. I don't like the single continuous line furling design as it's very hard to "reef" sail reliably with this (line can slip out while sailing).

Harken sells a compact furler that is designed to be below deck. I don't know if it could be made to fit, but that might be a consideration.

Cheers

Mine has been converted to a single line unit by the previous owner but think the boat was used mainly as a cottage or motor sailer. I may try and see what parts can be replaced to make it roll smoother. Getting parts to Canada can get expensive.

Is there any reason any other new furler cant be mounted below deck like the Original

 

[Terry Cox]

The issue that I have is that when furling the sail I have extreme resistance.

Ditto here. Finally diagnosed the problem and fixed it. Hood system now operates as smooth as silk. Wrote an article about it with pictures.

Hunter 42 Owner Modifications and Upgrades

Hunter 42 Owner Modifications and Upgrades

hunter.sailboatowners.com

 

[Apex]

i replaced the centering post this year. It made a HUGE difference in how the furler rotated. Was about $40.

 

[Canonshooternb]

i replaced the centering post this year. It made a HUGE difference in how the furler rotated. Was about $40.

Which part is the cantering post ? I will give that a try too.

 

[Apex]

Which part is the cantering post ? I will give that a try too.

I have the Hood 700SL Furler parts centering assy H6429-0. item #18 on part list (page 17) of the manual downloaded to this site.
https://sbo.sailboatowners.com › downloads › Oday_gen_80882234

 

[MetricMountie]

Paul, I rebuilt the furler on My Corona last spring, had the same issues you have. Give me a call and I can tell you what you need and where to get it. The problem with the line not wrapping properly I also have the solution for.

 

[rjarrell]

did you have to change the sail config ?

No

 

[walmsleyc]

Mine has been converted to a single line unit by the previous owner but think the boat was used mainly as a cottage or motor sailer. I may try and see what parts can be replaced to make it roll smoother. Getting parts to Canada can get expensive.

Is there any reason any other new furler cant be mounted below deck like the Original

You need to be able to get the whole drum of a new furler through the same deck hole and the height of the new drum needs to be short enough so that the furling line doesn't bind or foul the deck/anchor hatch (exists complete below the deck opening). Note that under sail in a good breeze, the Hood 810 (on my boat at least) actually rubs against the side of the deck opening a little.

 

[Ken Cross]

My sail goes up and down ok in the track freely. The issue that I have is that when furling the sail I have extreme resistance. I have replaced the line, added more tension to the forestay with still the same issue. Have also had the line get snagged in the drum when it was a little loose

I had the same issue with ours. The owner's manual warns you to not try to replace the bearings. In our case I had to undo some fasteners and lower the drum shield. Then spray water into the bearing. Follow that with WD40 then reassemble. It did great things for ours. The other thing I found was some bad blocks on the furling line.

Ken

 

[jssailem]

I remember when @Ken Cross was having that problem.. I think you also used dish soap at the time to help clean out the bearings while spraying them with water. After the work it did run smoothly.

 

[Whatfiero1]

20+ year old hood furler mines the 705 they work great and hood still has parts for them. I took mine apart and lightly sanded everything put a new centering bushing in bottom and new top bushings works like new again