roller furler line

[flhunterowner]

I need to put a new line on the roller/furler for the head sail on a hunter 30'

It is a simple drum (that has been modified somewhat).

What size line is usually used 1/4",5/16'?

Also what size and type of material is best for sheets for the head sail?

Thanks

 

[Ken13559]

I suppose size of line depends on how much your drum can take when required length is spooled in. Small diameter lines is hard on hand to pull.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I use and like 5/16" Dacron double braid line for the furling line on my H28.5. It is large enough diameter to give a fairly good "hand" on the furling line for the 150 genoa on my H28.5. I also like 7/16" Sta Set polyester line for headsail sheets as that size seems to work best with my Maxwell 23STs.

 

[Grizz]

Another option to consider...

I've got a Shaeffer 1100 RF System that has worked great. 4 years ago, to ensure the drum would receive the furling line w/o fouling, I pulled the core on the first 15+ feet of 3/8 line (it may be 7/16?).

This resulted in a flat line that furls in the drum (much less room required) and the full diameter in the hands for the furling process. Trouble free for 4+ years. Plenty of strength capacity remaining in the line w/o the inner core for this specific operation.

The procedure takes some time, as you'll have to open the exterior sheath at the 15' location, extract a loop of the inner core, cut it and then work/inch the unnecessary core out of the sheathing exterior. Yes, your hands and fingers will want to cramp up, but it's less than an hour (really) process.

Once completely removed, pull the exterior sheath flat to re-sheath the inner core where the cut was made and run the line to the furling drum.

Just another thought. Good luck.

 

[flhunterowner]

Thank you all for responding.

I had used 1/4" before and it was a little hard on the hands. I have put 5/16" on it this time to try it out.

Removing the core seems like a decent idea. If I find that the drum is too small I will give that a try.

I added the cage to try and keep the line in the drum. It was a real pain before. I am not sure if it will work or not. The drum was completely open before and the line had a tendency to drop and wrap around the bottom and make a real mess.

 

[John T1594]

My previous boat was a 1980 H30 with a Stream Stay jib furler. It came with a furling line that was a length of stainless steel wire braided onto regular braided line. The wire does not take up too much space on the drum while the line is easier on your hands. You can have one made or buy a premade length of wire/line.