We suffered a catastrophic failure on the masthead terminal for our fore stay on our H31. Luckily we were able to douse the sails and move the main halyard forward to the bow to secure the mast before it topple over.
The rigging is original so my wife and I have decided to replace all the rigging. We got two quotes from local riggers in the Annapolis area. The labor and materials are both in the same neighborhood ($7K) but the quotes vary widely on the replacement furler. One is specing a $3.5K Harken Mk 4 furler and the other is spec'ing a Hood SL furler ($1.1K).
We are weekend and at most 4 day cruisers, do not race, and we reef early and aggressive if the winds exceed 15kts.
I feel the Hood furler is "good enough" and that the Harken is way overkill for our needs. Replacing the rigging ourselves is not an option due to work and family commitments. We do DIY everything on the boat but this is too big, too much for us to deal with.
We plan on keeping the boat for at least another 10-15 years.
What says the community? Thoughts?
The rigging is original so my wife and I have decided to replace all the rigging. We got two quotes from local riggers in the Annapolis area. The labor and materials are both in the same neighborhood ($7K) but the quotes vary widely on the replacement furler. One is specing a $3.5K Harken Mk 4 furler and the other is spec'ing a Hood SL furler ($1.1K).
We are weekend and at most 4 day cruisers, do not race, and we reef early and aggressive if the winds exceed 15kts.
I feel the Hood furler is "good enough" and that the Harken is way overkill for our needs. Replacing the rigging ourselves is not an option due to work and family commitments. We do DIY everything on the boat but this is too big, too much for us to deal with.
We plan on keeping the boat for at least another 10-15 years.
What says the community? Thoughts?
