roller furling for a 31

[Patrick Kevane]

I just bought a 31 Hunter and I need a roller furlerand I need to know what models work well with a 135% jib . Also has anyone bought any sails from Hong Kong there seems to be good value with those sails I think there is three or four sail lofts there.

 

[Mac Lindsay]

Furling

Patrick;I have been using a Profurl furling system since 1988. I installed it myself with no problems and have none since then. The sail I have is a 135% North sail. I bought the furling and sail through my local North Sail dealer for two reasons.1- I was given a discount of %10 for buying both furler and sail from him.2- I prefer using local dealers and chandlers for big purchase items as they can quickly resolve any warranty or installation problems. Warranty or exchange problems are a pain using mail order.Also, when choosing a sail, a local sail maker can explain all the differances between foam luff, no luff, belly button luff(just kidding) Dacron, Mylar, Kevlar, Wet bar(whoops, I did it again) spectra etc. There is a big differance between sail materials and you should get to know them before making a finacial decision. The sails are the motor that drives the boat so they are important.As for the roller furling, all of the brands are quite good. Regards; Mac Lindsay 1984 H31

 

[Doug]

A few things to keep in mind

We went with a harken unit 1 on our boat. With a little retrofitting we were able to get the drum below the deck like the hood systems were on original equipment on some Hunter models. We used the round Shaefer stantion mounted lead blocks for running the line back. All in all the system works great. We had a new 150 made (lots of light air here) that we can roll to a 120-130 with good results. We went with a UK kevlar tape drive sail for the headsail. Some key points. When you put the drum below deck and cut the luff down to the deck, you get quite a bit more sail area and look pretty darn racey but you do do lose forward visibiltity. You can always roll up 10-20% to get the foot up off the deck in heavy traffic (but lose performance big time). Remember to have the UV cover put on the side of the sail that will be exposed when rolled up. Some people have a strong preference on this. I like the the sail to wrap counter clockwise so I need the UV cover on the starboard side of the sail. Get a foam luff if you plan to reef the sail. This keeps good shape in it. I don't think the Hong Kong is a bad idea necessarily, but good luck with warrantee or help if it's needed down the line. doug

 

[Steve Dion]

Hong Kong

Patrick:I have *heard* that the cloth that is used in these Hong Kong made sails is inferior to the US made cloth like Challenger, North etc. I must assume that this is very subjective but time is really the only measure of how good these sails are. The original sail on our H'31 was a Neil Pride and lasted for about 13 years.It would be good to see how long these offshore sails last. Of course it depends on how much you sail and what type of conditions you are sailing in too.

 

[Doug Washburn]

roller furl solution

i recently purchased a h31 from a man here in kc who also owns a company who makes roller furling systems. his product, as you might imagine, is installed on the boat i purchased and works very well..ie: very forgiving when furling in high winds, etc. contact me for more information.