Mainsail Reefing System by CDI
- Thread starter Doug J
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Wait a minute!
I thought the video on youtube was of a CDI mainsail furler on the boom. But upon further investigation I see that the CDI one goes on the mast. So, new question. Does anyone know what kind of mainsail furler is in the video, that's mounted on the boom? That would be a much better setup. You can still remove the boom from the mast, sail and all and stow below. The CDI mounted on the mast would not work for a couple reasons. 1) if a head sail furler is already installed, the weight of it, plus the mainsail, would be way to heavy for mast stepping. 2) The mainsail furler is mounted on the aft side of the mast, which is the side the mast is layed down for trailering.
I thought the video on youtube was of a CDI mainsail furler on the boom. But upon further investigation I see that the CDI one goes on the mast. So, new question. Does anyone know what kind of mainsail furler is in the video, that's mounted on the boom? That would be a much better setup. You can still remove the boom from the mast, sail and all and stow below. The CDI mounted on the mast would not work for a couple reasons. 1) if a head sail furler is already installed, the weight of it, plus the mainsail, would be way to heavy for mast stepping. 2) The mainsail furler is mounted on the aft side of the mast, which is the side the mast is layed down for trailering.
Main sail furling
I have not seen this on a Mac but many others have fabricated a main furling system from one of the older head sail furling systems - the ones that furl the sail on it's own luff wire. Schaeffer still makes one of these units called a "Free furl". Basically it's just a drum for the bottom and a swivel for the top. You use it for the main in a similar fashion and the sail furls on the luff rope. No idea how the sail performs when only attached to the mast at the top and bottom but I've seen this system on many a cruising boat. A few years ago I sold one of these older furling drums on eBay and got almost $200 for it! The purchaser was going to use it on his main. Chris
I have not seen this on a Mac but many others have fabricated a main furling system from one of the older head sail furling systems - the ones that furl the sail on it's own luff wire. Schaeffer still makes one of these units called a "Free furl". Basically it's just a drum for the bottom and a swivel for the top. You use it for the main in a similar fashion and the sail furls on the luff rope. No idea how the sail performs when only attached to the mast at the top and bottom but I've seen this system on many a cruising boat. A few years ago I sold one of these older furling drums on eBay and got almost $200 for it! The purchaser was going to use it on his main. Chris
Roller Reefing
Thirty to forty years ago, roller reefing was popular. The boom was turned with a crank to wrap the main around the boom and reduce sail. That system wasn't reliable and was said to deform the mainsail. I would think that the same problems would apply to roller furling the main around the boom. Maybe MacGregor has worked out the kinks but I'd be skeptical until I heard from a few people who have used and like roller furling around the boom.
Thirty to forty years ago, roller reefing was popular. The boom was turned with a crank to wrap the main around the boom and reduce sail. That system wasn't reliable and was said to deform the mainsail. I would think that the same problems would apply to roller furling the main around the boom. Maybe MacGregor has worked out the kinks but I'd be skeptical until I heard from a few people who have used and like roller furling around the boom.
Two part boom
It looks like a two part boom but the sail is furled around a spar, or part of the boom. It would be interesting to hear from someone who has this rig.
It looks like a two part boom but the sail is furled around a spar, or part of the boom. It would be interesting to hear from someone who has this rig.
MAINSAIL FURLING
I think Roger at MAC had it filmed from a distance so as to prevent anyone copying it in their shed. It does seem to work good. It seems to be a smaller size extra boom with a groove for the bolt rope or sail slides on the foot. At each end it would have to have a bracket standing above the main non-rotating boom. The smaller boom would be free to rotate and gather the main...It probably has a furling drum at the mast end with associated rope... Where the jib furler has a flexible plastic body, the main would have to be solid aluminium. If it is not solid, it would make the foot act like a loose footed main, Just my thoughts...
I think Roger at MAC had it filmed from a distance so as to prevent anyone copying it in their shed. It does seem to work good. It seems to be a smaller size extra boom with a groove for the bolt rope or sail slides on the foot. At each end it would have to have a bracket standing above the main non-rotating boom. The smaller boom would be free to rotate and gather the main...It probably has a furling drum at the mast end with associated rope... Where the jib furler has a flexible plastic body, the main would have to be solid aluminium. If it is not solid, it would make the foot act like a loose footed main, Just my thoughts...
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