I am getting ready to order new sails for my O'Day 25. I do not currently have a furler but am considering one now. We do a lot of family cruising (wife, kids 7 and 9) and the convenience of not having to go forward to change sails sounds appealing, as well as being able to reduce the space below required for a bunch of sails. Any advice on advantages / disadvantages of a furler, experience with specific models on a similar sized boat, or feedback from anyone who has purchased Doyle sails or from D&R Marine would be appreciated. I'm also wondering if I go with a furled headsail, what size will give me the best overall usage and sail shape - we sail on the Atlantic coast of Canada and the wind can go from none to lots quite quickly. Thanks.
Need sail advice - furler or not?
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My experience, but limited...
We have an Oday 28 and just installed the CDI FF6. Like you, we sail with the family and don't relish having to go forward and change sails, albeit we are in a landlocked freshwater lake in the southeastern U.S. We also wanted to free up some space below decks. From a cost perspective, the CDI is significantly more affordable ($600 vs. $1,300+ USD). The installation was very easy (I did it with no help in about 2 hours). Other furlers seem to have a lot more parts/pieces, which I have taken to mean that there is more that could go wrong (I like simple). Other boats I've been on with other furlers (Hood, Harken), their drum's rotation seems to be smoother/easier, but I don't have the ball bearing fitting on my CDI. The BB fitting is supposed to make the drum rotation easier to start and smoother as it moves. It is also a feature which I can add later. We really like our CDI, but have had it for only 6 months. We have sailed a lot with it and have enjoyed the ease of manipulating our sail from the cockpit rather than having to go forward. I bought mine through D&R Marine. BTW, I also called CDI to get more information on their product line. The owner of the company answers the company phone, and was very generous with his time on the phone and knowledgeable of his product and his competition. For the luff tape on my 150 Genoa, I bought the tape from Sailrite (www.sailrite.com) and sewed it on with our home sewing machine. It's not a pretty job, but it's on and it works. www.sailcdi.com
We have an Oday 28 and just installed the CDI FF6. Like you, we sail with the family and don't relish having to go forward and change sails, albeit we are in a landlocked freshwater lake in the southeastern U.S. We also wanted to free up some space below decks. From a cost perspective, the CDI is significantly more affordable ($600 vs. $1,300+ USD). The installation was very easy (I did it with no help in about 2 hours). Other furlers seem to have a lot more parts/pieces, which I have taken to mean that there is more that could go wrong (I like simple). Other boats I've been on with other furlers (Hood, Harken), their drum's rotation seems to be smoother/easier, but I don't have the ball bearing fitting on my CDI. The BB fitting is supposed to make the drum rotation easier to start and smoother as it moves. It is also a feature which I can add later. We really like our CDI, but have had it for only 6 months. We have sailed a lot with it and have enjoyed the ease of manipulating our sail from the cockpit rather than having to go forward. I bought mine through D&R Marine. BTW, I also called CDI to get more information on their product line. The owner of the company answers the company phone, and was very generous with his time on the phone and knowledgeable of his product and his competition. For the luff tape on my 150 Genoa, I bought the tape from Sailrite (www.sailrite.com) and sewed it on with our home sewing machine. It's not a pretty job, but it's on and it works. www.sailcdi.com
CDI
We purchased a CDI ff2 for our 22 foot CAtalina and installed it ourselves.It made everything on our boat better.The ability to reduce sail area instantly when the gust start coming accross Lake Michigan makes it worth it alone.Installation is straight forward.Read the instructions several times before you cut the foil.They weren't as clear as they could be and once it's cut there is no going back.Our New to us 25 Oday came with a CDI furler also.It was part of the reason we bought this particular boat.Some say that sail shape will be lost once the sail is partially furled.That may well be.We don't race and keeping the boat as vertical as possible keeps the girlfriend and her 5 year old girl happy.If you decide to go ahead and do the furler make sure the sail maker knows what size luff tape you need.You will also need a UV cover sewn in .Some folks keep it all white ,some have a contrasting blue .Functionally I don't believe it makes any differance.When we bought our furler we bought the sail for it at the same time from the same dealership and saved several hundred dollars and were assured that they would work together.We got ours from the The Sail Warehouse
We purchased a CDI ff2 for our 22 foot CAtalina and installed it ourselves.It made everything on our boat better.The ability to reduce sail area instantly when the gust start coming accross Lake Michigan makes it worth it alone.Installation is straight forward.Read the instructions several times before you cut the foil.They weren't as clear as they could be and once it's cut there is no going back.Our New to us 25 Oday came with a CDI furler also.It was part of the reason we bought this particular boat.Some say that sail shape will be lost once the sail is partially furled.That may well be.We don't race and keeping the boat as vertical as possible keeps the girlfriend and her 5 year old girl happy.If you decide to go ahead and do the furler make sure the sail maker knows what size luff tape you need.You will also need a UV cover sewn in .Some folks keep it all white ,some have a contrasting blue .Functionally I don't believe it makes any differance.When we bought our furler we bought the sail for it at the same time from the same dealership and saved several hundred dollars and were assured that they would work together.We got ours from the The Sail Warehouse
The proverbial "no brainer"
You want, no, you need roller furling. Once you put it in, you will wonder why you even considered doing without. Makes single-handing a breeze. I have the CDI on my Oday 23. Not a single problem in four years. I do not have the ball bearing package. As to the size of the sail, I think any sailmaker will tell you that the most you can hope to reduce headsail size and still keep any sort of shape is about 30%. I now have a 130 Genoa that I will occasionally dial in to working jib size. The sail is specifically cut to allow for this. However, I have found that my boat sails best when the main is reefed prior to reducing headsail size.
You want, no, you need roller furling. Once you put it in, you will wonder why you even considered doing without. Makes single-handing a breeze. I have the CDI on my Oday 23. Not a single problem in four years. I do not have the ball bearing package. As to the size of the sail, I think any sailmaker will tell you that the most you can hope to reduce headsail size and still keep any sort of shape is about 30%. I now have a 130 Genoa that I will occasionally dial in to working jib size. The sail is specifically cut to allow for this. However, I have found that my boat sails best when the main is reefed prior to reducing headsail size.
This will the best investment you will ever make on your boat. Go for it. I got a Hood sea Flex very inexpensive and easy to install. I bought it from porpoisesailing.com I installed it myself in a couple of hours on my O 25. Good luck Carlos Quetila O 25 Stony Brook NY Here is the info Wayne Stevens Porpoise Sails 7060 15th St East, #12 Sarasota, FL 34243 Ph 941-758-2822 Fax 941-758-2979 Toll Free 800-507-0119 porpoisesailing@yahoo.com
My best buy
I bought a 135 and a CDI from Doyle - Cleveland for my O 22. Best investment I've made to date. I single hand alot on on a small lake a have the boat at a dock. I used to have to go out and anchor just to get my headsail on.
I bought a 135 and a CDI from Doyle - Cleveland for my O 22. Best investment I've made to date. I single hand alot on on a small lake a have the boat at a dock. I used to have to go out and anchor just to get my headsail on.
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