Walt,
My Vega has a Harken roller furler, though I'm unsure what model--will
check next time I'm on the boat in a few days. This is our third season
with it -- the previous owner bought it used from someone who had had it
on a Contessa 26. It has worked flawlessly for us--I would recommend
Harken generally. Actually we did have one problem until we figured it
out, but it wasn't the Harken's fault. The 140 genoa we got with the
boat, we eventually figured out, is about 6-8 inches shorter than a
perfect fit along the luff. Starting out our first year, I shackled the
tack to the bottom roller of the Harken as I was sure it was supposed to
be done, hoisted the genoa up the luff track, furled and unfurled it,
and went sailing. Twice in the first few times out, with a small load
on the sail, the roller jammed and would not furl back in. The second
time it happened, staring at the masthead with binoculars, I realized
the top of the sail was 6-8 inches short of the top of the luff track,
which meant that my wire halyard was twisting around the luff track up
top and jamming the roller mechanism when under load. What I do now is
keep the sail hoisted all the way up and put a simple extension line in
at the bottom from the tack to the bottom roller fitting. Now there is
no way the halyard can wrap the luff track at the top (since the halyard
is pulled all the way up, as I'm sure the unit was designed for), and
everything works perfectly. It was a good lesson in getting a sail that
fits next time! Since then I've furled in with wind over 30 knots
without a problem. Replaced the furling line this year because when
they get old and frayed a bit, they enlarge and don't roll as neatly on
the bottom drum. Oh, and one other thing, be sure the last fairlead for
the furling line is perfectly aligned. The previous owner was slightly
off in alignment and also used a cheap one without an inner metal
sleeve, and the line wore right through the plastic and popped right out
through the fairlead in our first year--and then the furling line really
jams as it rolls/unrolls on the drum. A simple fix, but better to do it
right than find yourself unable to furl in nasty conditions!
Tom
walt/judy brown/allore wrote:
My Vega has a Harken roller furler, though I'm unsure what model--will
check next time I'm on the boat in a few days. This is our third season
with it -- the previous owner bought it used from someone who had had it
on a Contessa 26. It has worked flawlessly for us--I would recommend
Harken generally. Actually we did have one problem until we figured it
out, but it wasn't the Harken's fault. The 140 genoa we got with the
boat, we eventually figured out, is about 6-8 inches shorter than a
perfect fit along the luff. Starting out our first year, I shackled the
tack to the bottom roller of the Harken as I was sure it was supposed to
be done, hoisted the genoa up the luff track, furled and unfurled it,
and went sailing. Twice in the first few times out, with a small load
on the sail, the roller jammed and would not furl back in. The second
time it happened, staring at the masthead with binoculars, I realized
the top of the sail was 6-8 inches short of the top of the luff track,
which meant that my wire halyard was twisting around the luff track up
top and jamming the roller mechanism when under load. What I do now is
keep the sail hoisted all the way up and put a simple extension line in
at the bottom from the tack to the bottom roller fitting. Now there is
no way the halyard can wrap the luff track at the top (since the halyard
is pulled all the way up, as I'm sure the unit was designed for), and
everything works perfectly. It was a good lesson in getting a sail that
fits next time! Since then I've furled in with wind over 30 knots
without a problem. Replaced the furling line this year because when
they get old and frayed a bit, they enlarge and don't roll as neatly on
the bottom drum. Oh, and one other thing, be sure the last fairlead for
the furling line is perfectly aligned. The previous owner was slightly
off in alignment and also used a cheap one without an inner metal
sleeve, and the line wore right through the plastic and popped right out
through the fairlead in our first year--and then the furling line really
jams as it rolls/unrolls on the drum. A simple fix, but better to do it
right than find yourself unable to furl in nasty conditions!
Tom
walt/judy brown/allore wrote: