I have an old 26D with a roller furling jib. I was cleaning the boat out recently and stepped the mast without the jib and it went up with a bit less struggle. I've always thought the roller furling was a bit out of place on this boat and am now thinking more seriously about replacing it with a regular forestay and jib. Any advice, especially on where to find the used parts? I looked through the classifieds here and didn't find anything.
New forestay and jib
- Thread starter thg
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To roller furl or....
To roller furl or to not roller furl; that is the question. This is a personal mind set, however; if you single hand I think you'll want that roller furling. If you enjoy taking people out who are new to or have never sailed, then I think you'll want to keep that roller furling. When you have no-one to help you set or douse sails then furling is your friend. If you have a newbie what do you do? Leave them at the tiller hoping they don't get confused and throw you over the side or send them up front to bend on the sail? Trust me, if a little less difficulty in raising the mast is your goal the price may be too much. Safety is a real consideration here for me. On the other hand what are you furling? If it's not a 135 or greater Genoa then you aren't really getting that much bang for your buck. If you remove the furler you'll need to re-cut and add jib hanks. You can install a jib dousing line to drop your sail from the cockpit so consider all the options. I had the 26S and loved my furler in part because I single handed so often and when the water or wind gets a little rough, you will appreciate it fully. Good luck in your considerations, Steve P.
To roller furl or to not roller furl; that is the question. This is a personal mind set, however; if you single hand I think you'll want that roller furling. If you enjoy taking people out who are new to or have never sailed, then I think you'll want to keep that roller furling. When you have no-one to help you set or douse sails then furling is your friend. If you have a newbie what do you do? Leave them at the tiller hoping they don't get confused and throw you over the side or send them up front to bend on the sail? Trust me, if a little less difficulty in raising the mast is your goal the price may be too much. Safety is a real consideration here for me. On the other hand what are you furling? If it's not a 135 or greater Genoa then you aren't really getting that much bang for your buck. If you remove the furler you'll need to re-cut and add jib hanks. You can install a jib dousing line to drop your sail from the cockpit so consider all the options. I had the 26S and loved my furler in part because I single handed so often and when the water or wind gets a little rough, you will appreciate it fully. Good luck in your considerations, Steve P.
Paul couldn't have said it better ...
For all the reasons to keep what you have. Not to mention the money you will have to spend to replace the sail over to the hanks-type. If your boat (26D) came with a furler from the factory then it probably is a CDI furler system. If so, I do not see why you need to replace the forestay at all. Simply pull the luft pin, raise the drum and unscrew the shackle at both ends. Next, remove the anti-rotation strap at the bottom of the drum cover by unscewing 2 screws and remove the swivel and T bolt. Re-install the T bolt and swivel to the bottom of the turnbuckle. Next slide the drum and luft assembly from the forestay. Then screw the turnbuckle assembly back to the forstay and re-attach the forestay in place at the bow which completes the operation. Following Steve's advice, let me say you should hang on to your furler system in the advent that you find the 'older' hanked-on' sail raising and dousing a pain in the bailing bucket. Good luck Tom
For all the reasons to keep what you have. Not to mention the money you will have to spend to replace the sail over to the hanks-type. If your boat (26D) came with a furler from the factory then it probably is a CDI furler system. If so, I do not see why you need to replace the forestay at all. Simply pull the luft pin, raise the drum and unscrew the shackle at both ends. Next, remove the anti-rotation strap at the bottom of the drum cover by unscewing 2 screws and remove the swivel and T bolt. Re-install the T bolt and swivel to the bottom of the turnbuckle. Next slide the drum and luft assembly from the forestay. Then screw the turnbuckle assembly back to the forstay and re-attach the forestay in place at the bow which completes the operation. Following Steve's advice, let me say you should hang on to your furler system in the advent that you find the 'older' hanked-on' sail raising and dousing a pain in the bailing bucket. Good luck Tom
Forgot to mention ...
but maybe you have already thought about it. You will also need a way to raise and lower a 'hanked' sail system. So this means you will also have to install a pulley or block to the masthead shackle near the forestay attachment pin. On my MAC25, the line runs parallel to the mast and is cleated off by a small cleat near the base of the mast. Again ... good luck. Tom
but maybe you have already thought about it. You will also need a way to raise and lower a 'hanked' sail system. So this means you will also have to install a pulley or block to the masthead shackle near the forestay attachment pin. On my MAC25, the line runs parallel to the mast and is cleated off by a small cleat near the base of the mast. Again ... good luck. Tom
Hanked on Jib
I have a D and I don't have roller furling. I am still nimble enough to go forward, and yes I single hand. Your jib can be attached to the forestay and the halyard let out enough to let the jib lie flat on the foredeck until you need it. The jib will douse itself if you release the halyard and steer into the wind. No extra tackle is needed. Couple of other things, the roller furler is heavier aloft, weight counts at a factor of at least 9:1 when it is at the masthead. The roller furled sail's aerodynamic properties are reduced when furled no matter if you have a foam insert. So, if physical limits are present, you may want a roller furler. If competing, you may want a hanked on jib. If you are not nimble on the foredeck, you may want a roller furler. If you run the halyards aft, most of the difficulties with hanked on sails go away, and a hanked on jib works fine for single handed sailing. John S Boise
I have a D and I don't have roller furling. I am still nimble enough to go forward, and yes I single hand. Your jib can be attached to the forestay and the halyard let out enough to let the jib lie flat on the foredeck until you need it. The jib will douse itself if you release the halyard and steer into the wind. No extra tackle is needed. Couple of other things, the roller furler is heavier aloft, weight counts at a factor of at least 9:1 when it is at the masthead. The roller furled sail's aerodynamic properties are reduced when furled no matter if you have a foam insert. So, if physical limits are present, you may want a roller furler. If competing, you may want a hanked on jib. If you are not nimble on the foredeck, you may want a roller furler. If you run the halyards aft, most of the difficulties with hanked on sails go away, and a hanked on jib works fine for single handed sailing. John S Boise
Thanks for the input
In reply to a few of the points made: I honestly don't know what size sail is on the furler, nor do I know whether it came from the factory or was added later -- I have only owned the boat a couple of years. I had not thought about taking apart the furler assembly, because I figured I would keep it in case I found that I really preferred it. I've never single handed this boat and probably never will and I have a couple of youngsters who could handle the jib setting and dousing (but who aren't particularly helpful when it comes to stepping the mast). I already have a pulley attached to the mast at the forestay attachment. And, there is a spare cleat near the base of the mast.
In reply to a few of the points made: I honestly don't know what size sail is on the furler, nor do I know whether it came from the factory or was added later -- I have only owned the boat a couple of years. I had not thought about taking apart the furler assembly, because I figured I would keep it in case I found that I really preferred it. I've never single handed this boat and probably never will and I have a couple of youngsters who could handle the jib setting and dousing (but who aren't particularly helpful when it comes to stepping the mast). I already have a pulley attached to the mast at the forestay attachment. And, there is a spare cleat near the base of the mast.
truly great discussion
THese are great responses and every one top drawer and well intentioned. All of us with experience are still gaining experience so log these thoughts for later. I suggest whether you like a hanked jib or furled jib you will have to be the judge and we'll all stand by your choice. In the event you are muscling the mast up and down we understand your thought process on the extra weight aloft. Just for safety sake I used to muscle my mast, now I don't trust myself and use a mast raising system. There are several ways to do this so if it fits your style look them up. These are much safer and may allow that furler as well since the weight is off the shoulders and on a cable. Good luck with all of this. Steve P.
THese are great responses and every one top drawer and well intentioned. All of us with experience are still gaining experience so log these thoughts for later. I suggest whether you like a hanked jib or furled jib you will have to be the judge and we'll all stand by your choice. In the event you are muscling the mast up and down we understand your thought process on the extra weight aloft. Just for safety sake I used to muscle my mast, now I don't trust myself and use a mast raising system. There are several ways to do this so if it fits your style look them up. These are much safer and may allow that furler as well since the weight is off the shoulders and on a cable. Good luck with all of this. Steve P.
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