I'm getting ready to put a new roller furler on my Cal34. My friends all have differnt opinions on which one is best.I'll be using it to cruise mostly, but will probably race ocassionaly, Harkin, Profurl or Schaeffer. I would appreciate recommendations or comments from sailors who use or have used any of these furlers.
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Furlers
I just had a new Furlex 206-10 installed on my H285 and I love it. Nice quality unit. FWIW, Practical Sailor did an article on furlers not too long ago and I think they concluded that most of the name brands were all pretty good. If that is the case, the decision may be more one of who will install it and how soon can they do it. In my case, I chose Furlex because (1) friends had them and liked them, and (2) the installing rigging shop is a dealer and really knows the system.
I just had a new Furlex 206-10 installed on my H285 and I love it. Nice quality unit. FWIW, Practical Sailor did an article on furlers not too long ago and I think they concluded that most of the name brands were all pretty good. If that is the case, the decision may be more one of who will install it and how soon can they do it. In my case, I chose Furlex because (1) friends had them and liked them, and (2) the installing rigging shop is a dealer and really knows the system.
Spin-tec too.
JB: Take a look at the Spin-tec units that are sold on this website too. Very heavy duty and moderately priced. They also have a life time warranty!
JB: Take a look at the Spin-tec units that are sold on this website too. Very heavy duty and moderately priced. They also have a life time warranty!
Profurl!
When it came time to replace my CDI on my h34 I did a lot of research. Practical Sailor rated Furlex #1 and Profurl #2. Furlex is not available at any retail discount outlets and I refused to pay list price. I purchased a Profurl from Sailnet, installed it myself and have no regrets. Nice hardware, nice price, I don't think it gets any better
When it came time to replace my CDI on my h34 I did a lot of research. Practical Sailor rated Furlex #1 and Profurl #2. Furlex is not available at any retail discount outlets and I refused to pay list price. I purchased a Profurl from Sailnet, installed it myself and have no regrets. Nice hardware, nice price, I don't think it gets any better
CDI furlers.
CDI has been around a while. The older models had I think it was aluminum foils. The new CDI's have one of I believe two sizes of foil ( FF1&2 about 1 1/2" x +/- 5/8" and the FF4 and up about 2" x 3/4" this is from an aging memory) that is made of a continous extrusion of some kind of flexable vinyl. The old furlers were hard to unstep and step the mast without bending or seperating the sections( +/- 5' sections) that interlocked. The new CDI is a dream. Stepping the mast and unstepping the mast is not a problem because the foil is flexable. The CDI has an internal halyard. This is good because with many furlers that use their halyard from the mast, they have a tendancy to wrap the upper bearing and halyard around the forestay. A halyard restrainer is required to correct this. It could also easily foul and unwind your forestay cable (if furling in the oppisite direction of your cable wrap). The Foil of the CDI spreads the load of the sail evenly along the foil making the head and tack connections less stressed( much less than a hank on). The only negative I have seen on a CDI is some sail designs will have a tendancy to lift the foil. If it lifts the foil it will lift the drum but not the drum housing. This can chafe the furling line. There are some remedies for that also. I am extremely happy with my CDI FF4. r.w.landau "79" O'Day 25 cb "CONTINUANCE"
CDI has been around a while. The older models had I think it was aluminum foils. The new CDI's have one of I believe two sizes of foil ( FF1&2 about 1 1/2" x +/- 5/8" and the FF4 and up about 2" x 3/4" this is from an aging memory) that is made of a continous extrusion of some kind of flexable vinyl. The old furlers were hard to unstep and step the mast without bending or seperating the sections( +/- 5' sections) that interlocked. The new CDI is a dream. Stepping the mast and unstepping the mast is not a problem because the foil is flexable. The CDI has an internal halyard. This is good because with many furlers that use their halyard from the mast, they have a tendancy to wrap the upper bearing and halyard around the forestay. A halyard restrainer is required to correct this. It could also easily foul and unwind your forestay cable (if furling in the oppisite direction of your cable wrap). The Foil of the CDI spreads the load of the sail evenly along the foil making the head and tack connections less stressed( much less than a hank on). The only negative I have seen on a CDI is some sail designs will have a tendancy to lift the foil. If it lifts the foil it will lift the drum but not the drum housing. This can chafe the furling line. There are some remedies for that also. I am extremely happy with my CDI FF4. r.w.landau "79" O'Day 25 cb "CONTINUANCE"
Roller furlers
Thanks for all the replies. No one commented on the Schaeffer. I was pointed towards the Schaeffer by Jib Kelly, ( Kelly Marine San Pedro) His opinion was the Schaeffer has a bigger drum, and since the Profurl has metal bearings they tend to rust later. I don't know anyone with the Furlex. Anyone else with experience in fulers, I welcome your comments too. JB
Thanks for all the replies. No one commented on the Schaeffer. I was pointed towards the Schaeffer by Jib Kelly, ( Kelly Marine San Pedro) His opinion was the Schaeffer has a bigger drum, and since the Profurl has metal bearings they tend to rust later. I don't know anyone with the Furlex. Anyone else with experience in fulers, I welcome your comments too. JB
Practical Sailor unofficially recommend Schaefer
I have Schaefer on my Catalina 36 and I like it. It works well and it is relatively easy to get at the turnbuckle for rig adjustments. The review that PS made of Headsail furlers in August 2004 was a review of what "the best riggers in the business have to say about the systems they install, maintain and repair." They had not each installed and maintained all of them so there was no clear winner. However, I will quote you the final paragraph of the review: "So who comes out on top? Our unofficial winner in this highly subjective survey is the one product that none of these riggers faulted; one that was invariably used as a standard for excellence: "I'm not sure I want this in print," said an unnamed rigger who was referred to us by another manufaturer's distributor, "but I highly recommend Schaefer. They're relliable. I like the bearings, they require very little maintenance, they are robust, the installation is easy, and they are quite conducive to disassembly." Harken's furlers garnered high praise, though they seemed to be more complicated to install and disassemble, and Furlex and Profurl both won emphatic support among many of our riggers. All told, the bar has been pushed to an extremely high level by these four product lines, and collectively they represent solid investments." A wise thing to do might be to go PS at http://www.practical-sailor.com/backissues/sailsrigging.html and purchase the article which has a more background and includes information about quite a number of different makes.
I have Schaefer on my Catalina 36 and I like it. It works well and it is relatively easy to get at the turnbuckle for rig adjustments. The review that PS made of Headsail furlers in August 2004 was a review of what "the best riggers in the business have to say about the systems they install, maintain and repair." They had not each installed and maintained all of them so there was no clear winner. However, I will quote you the final paragraph of the review: "So who comes out on top? Our unofficial winner in this highly subjective survey is the one product that none of these riggers faulted; one that was invariably used as a standard for excellence: "I'm not sure I want this in print," said an unnamed rigger who was referred to us by another manufaturer's distributor, "but I highly recommend Schaefer. They're relliable. I like the bearings, they require very little maintenance, they are robust, the installation is easy, and they are quite conducive to disassembly." Harken's furlers garnered high praise, though they seemed to be more complicated to install and disassemble, and Furlex and Profurl both won emphatic support among many of our riggers. All told, the bar has been pushed to an extremely high level by these four product lines, and collectively they represent solid investments." A wise thing to do might be to go PS at http://www.practical-sailor.com/backissues/sailsrigging.html and purchase the article which has a more background and includes information about quite a number of different makes.
Furlers, Pt II
When I was looking into a new furler for my H285, I looked hard at the SpinTec noted by Steve, below. It is a really nice quality unit and has virtually nothing to go wrong. Yet I found the idea of having to go aloft to connect/disconnect the halyard from the top of the extrusion is bizarre at best. And the device they sell for an additional $100 to avoid having to go aloft for this common task is even more bizarre -- both looking and in use. I realize that what Spin-Tec wanted to achieve was a simple furler without a top swivel, a worthwhile goal. But I'm not sure the "cost" of that is worth it. It wasn't to me even though I only change sails a few times a year.
When I was looking into a new furler for my H285, I looked hard at the SpinTec noted by Steve, below. It is a really nice quality unit and has virtually nothing to go wrong. Yet I found the idea of having to go aloft to connect/disconnect the halyard from the top of the extrusion is bizarre at best. And the device they sell for an additional $100 to avoid having to go aloft for this common task is even more bizarre -- both looking and in use. I realize that what Spin-Tec wanted to achieve was a simple furler without a top swivel, a worthwhile goal. But I'm not sure the "cost" of that is worth it. It wasn't to me even though I only change sails a few times a year.
I went Profurl
Over the winter I worked with Rigging Only in MA to spec out a Profurl with a new stay - they shipped me everything I needed and were able to answer questions when I had them. The boat launched yesterday and the unit worked perfectly. All in all I would say it was a very good choice..
Over the winter I worked with Rigging Only in MA to spec out a Profurl with a new stay - they shipped me everything I needed and were able to answer questions when I had them. The boat launched yesterday and the unit worked perfectly. All in all I would say it was a very good choice..
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