Main Sail Furler
- Thread starter Kper
- Start date
I've sai;ed the past 15 years with in-mast furlers on 2 boats. I'd never have another boat without it. That being said, the CDI is an add on that may be promising. I had one of their headsail furlers on a 22' boat. It was simple to install and worked very well.
CDI furler my 2c
I had a CDI #4 furler with the bearings It worked ok. I believe it is a good value for the money. I bought it new. I do not use a partial roll down as stated before in other posts. I reef my main and change the jib down when it breezes up. I used it for 8 years At 77 I found their light internal halyard problematic. Last year I bought a new Harken model 0 easy to hoist easy to change jibs More $ but worth it to me
I had a CDI #4 furler with the bearings It worked ok. I believe it is a good value for the money. I bought it new. I do not use a partial roll down as stated before in other posts. I reef my main and change the jib down when it breezes up. I used it for 8 years At 77 I found their light internal halyard problematic. Last year I bought a new Harken model 0 easy to hoist easy to change jibs More $ but worth it to me
Well, that's the type of questions I'd like to see.
I'm only investigating the possibility right now. The main reason would be ease of dropping the main. I know, sounds expensive just for that but we are not the most sure footed and it always seems to be scary on the narrow cabin top. We are inexperienced so that doesn't help, either. It's the one event that we hate - too bad it has to be something we have to look forward to while sailing.
Call us wimps - but I have had somebody tell me jib furlers are for, well, I won't post it here. Each to there own, I suppose.
I always welcome opinions.
I'm only investigating the possibility right now. The main reason would be ease of dropping the main. I know, sounds expensive just for that but we are not the most sure footed and it always seems to be scary on the narrow cabin top. We are inexperienced so that doesn't help, either. It's the one event that we hate - too bad it has to be something we have to look forward to while sailing.
Call us wimps - but I have had somebody tell me jib furlers are for, well, I won't post it here. Each to there own, I suppose.
I always welcome opinions.
A mainsail furler on a 25 foot boat.... not worth the expense and trouble... and you want to be able to reef. You need to practice dropping an lowering the sail rather than look for an unreliable, expensive alternative that will limit your trim options. On a sail that size you can just let it drop, then the stand in the cockpit at the boom and flake the sail from the leech.
You could experiment with making your own lazy jacks. Here's an example of an inexpensive system you can easily put together. Biggest cost outlay would be for the cheek blocks.
You could experiment with making your own lazy jacks. Here's an example of an inexpensive system you can easily put together. Biggest cost outlay would be for the cheek blocks.
Kyle,
Do you have your main halyard and reef lines run back to the cockpit? I ran mine back this spring figuring the less time on deck the less chance of an unplanned swim.
When dropping the main I can put two sail ties on while standing in the companionway. Sometimes the wind would still catch the sail at the mast so I recently added a downhaul which is tied to the headboard and runs down to the mast base and back to the cockpit. With the two sail ties and the main sail headboard held tight to the boom I am good until I get back into the slip. Then I finish flaking the sail neatly and add the 3rd sail tie.
Pretty sure Joe was the one who suggested using a downhaul to hold the main headboard to the boom.
Do you have your main halyard and reef lines run back to the cockpit? I ran mine back this spring figuring the less time on deck the less chance of an unplanned swim.
When dropping the main I can put two sail ties on while standing in the companionway. Sometimes the wind would still catch the sail at the mast so I recently added a downhaul which is tied to the headboard and runs down to the mast base and back to the cockpit. With the two sail ties and the main sail headboard held tight to the boom I am good until I get back into the slip. Then I finish flaking the sail neatly and add the 3rd sail tie.
Pretty sure Joe was the one who suggested using a downhaul to hold the main headboard to the boom.
Kper, boom furlers are crap. They have been tried on smaller boats, and there are just plenty of unsatisfactory aspects, the largest being poor sail shape when furled.
I know the Rhodes 22 uses in mast furling, but it just seems excessively complicated to me for such a small boat.
I know the Rhodes 22 uses in mast furling, but it just seems excessively complicated to me for such a small boat.
My vote would be for a lazy jack setup... More or less foolproof in my opinion. The majority of the people I know with an in mast furler have trouble with them sooner or later. It's usually related to the age of the sail or a furling line that swells over time. Usually, the most trouble seems to occur at the most inopportune times. Murphy's Law!
I gotta go with Barnacle Bill here. Do you have sail slides on the main? Or do you have a luff wire that fits in the mast groove?
But if you have to, I would go with the lazy jacks over the furler. I had in mast furling and didn't like it. It jammed too often. I like to be able to drop a sail.
In boom furling was an item in the seventies. You don't see those boats rigged with boom furlers anymore. I know because I used to own one - a Ranger 29. Today's boom furlers may be better but if you look at the shape of a sail, it is not a triangle and rolling it up like a shade doesn't work. The sail will need to fit the furler. In other words, the cart driving the horse.
Jib furlers and accepted as safe, reliable, and, if done properly, will not deter performance.
Personally, I like the Dutchman system more than lazy jacks but that's another argument (And has been on this forum).
But if you have to, I would go with the lazy jacks over the furler. I had in mast furling and didn't like it. It jammed too often. I like to be able to drop a sail.
In boom furling was an item in the seventies. You don't see those boats rigged with boom furlers anymore. I know because I used to own one - a Ranger 29. Today's boom furlers may be better but if you look at the shape of a sail, it is not a triangle and rolling it up like a shade doesn't work. The sail will need to fit the furler. In other words, the cart driving the horse.
Jib furlers and accepted as safe, reliable, and, if done properly, will not deter performance.
Personally, I like the Dutchman system more than lazy jacks but that's another argument (And has been on this forum).