I am a hank on man given my druthers but it’s not all up to me. I am married to a very capable sailor who likes a furler. The reason I don’t like the furler is performance. The leading edge of the sail is not clean and the foot is way up off the deck. Harken makes a furler with a two piece drum than can be removed to allow the sail to be lowered. Some have narrower foils for a cleaner leading edge. I would like to hear recommendations/opinions for furlers that are fast and work well for for boat performance. Thanks.
Roller Furlers for Racers
- Thread starter markwbird
- Start date
Hey,
I don't understand. My boat has a below deck furler - the drum is below the deck and the sail is a full hoist deck sweeper. All of the boats I race on use a foil for the headsail - I haven't a hank in years.
I totally understand not wanting to give up performance, but I don't think a furler costs ANYTHING in sailing performance. As mentioned, there are many furlers where you can remove the drum and use a deck sweeper for racing, or a smaller sail for cruising.
Barry
I don't understand. My boat has a below deck furler - the drum is below the deck and the sail is a full hoist deck sweeper. All of the boats I race on use a foil for the headsail - I haven't a hank in years.
I totally understand not wanting to give up performance, but I don't think a furler costs ANYTHING in sailing performance. As mentioned, there are many furlers where you can remove the drum and use a deck sweeper for racing, or a smaller sail for cruising.
Barry
Life is filled with various compromises. As BarryL points out. I can't think of any "modern" normal racing boats that use hanked-on sails -- there are some long distance racers that have storm jibs on removable inner stays that they pair with staysails. The double foil was developed forty or fifty years ago (I think Sterns was the first one I saw). The point was to allow peeling a larger sail or smaller sail that would allow form mid race sail changes.
If you have a luff foam or rope furling system, you might have compromises in the flow around the foil. Racers would likely not use a partially furled head sail very often -- but then, maybe :^))).
I think the roller furling drum is a probably a bigger issue for sail changes than the height of the tack. Of course for one-design classes, that's not the case.
My advice is that if you demand performance, I'd tend to i) avoid the notion of partially furling the foresail; and, ii) If you change-up or change-down the sails during races, then you'd not have a furler.
If you have a luff foam or rope furling system, you might have compromises in the flow around the foil. Racers would likely not use a partially furled head sail very often -- but then, maybe :^))).
I think the roller furling drum is a probably a bigger issue for sail changes than the height of the tack. Of course for one-design classes, that's not the case.
My advice is that if you demand performance, I'd tend to i) avoid the notion of partially furling the foresail; and, ii) If you change-up or change-down the sails during races, then you'd not have a furler.
I'm not sure I understand why the furling drum makes it more difficult to change sails. I have a Harken Mark IVwith 2 tracks. I can change sails easily with no need to remove the drum, although feeding the sail is an issue if Sue isn't around to help. The drum hardly affected the height of the foot. I barely notice the change. If you are worried about the performance of a partially furled head sail, then why wouldn't you just have multiple headsails for the conditions, the same as you would if you were dedicated to hanked-on sails?
I don't know how rotating head fitting wouldn't make that possible.
Yes you change a sail, but you have to drop it, secure it, then raise the new sail.
https://www.sailbetter.com/peel-sail-change-step-by-step/#more-17 (I didn't download the "app", but you can get the idea from the text.
Yes you change a sail, but you have to drop it, secure it, then raise the new sail.
https://www.sailbetter.com/peel-sail-change-step-by-step/#more-17 (I didn't download the "app", but you can get the idea from the text.
The main reasons a furler diminishes performance are that it means the sail does not come all the way to the deck and the leading edge of the sail is dirtied up by the foil. Yes, I know there are racing boats with below deck furlers, etc. I do not have one of those. Having a “deck sweeper” improves pointing ability as well as power. A clean leading edge gives better attached flow.
Ah. There is a misunderstanding. When I say a removable drum allows the sail to be lowered I mean the sail can be lowered so that the foot is right on the deck and flown that way. I don’t mean removed.
Above deck furlers have two characteristics that effect performance. The stiffer rolling foil can effect luff shape, and it’s wider profile can effect flow. The higher tack means slightly less sail area, and the foot is off the deck.
Furlers like the Harken Mk4 allow for the drum to be removed.. meaning a larger sail can be used (what we do on the 367) or simply lowered to the deck.
These things might be noticeable in a very competitive OD fleet, but not on a Hunter 34 racing PHRF, where you might get a 3 second per mile credit for having the furler. 1/2 a boatlength per mile.
Furlers like the Harken Mk4 allow for the drum to be removed.. meaning a larger sail can be used (what we do on the 367) or simply lowered to the deck.
These things might be noticeable in a very competitive OD fleet, but not on a Hunter 34 racing PHRF, where you might get a 3 second per mile credit for having the furler. 1/2 a boatlength per mile.
Profurl is pretty much the leader in ocean racing. The manual systems all have removable drums, twin groove foils, virtually no maintenance and many configuration options. You should call them with your concerns.... let them make a recommendation for the system and configuration that will suit your sailing.
If you want to minimize the gap between the foot and deck, look into the Facnor Flat Deck furlers. They use a single spool of webbing instead of a drum to furl, and it cuts the distance the tack is above the deck in half. They come standard on the Pogos, and work great. Ask your sailmaker to build a scallop in the foot and you'll hardly be able to see the difference.
