Roller Furling

[Rick B]

We have a Yamaha 33 tall rig. The main and jib are new in 2002 and the jib is a 110%. I am considering getting roller furling for the boat and am wondering if anyone has good or bad things to say about their furler unit. I had a harken unit on an earlier boat (yamaha 30) and found it to be a bit rough. It was used when we got the boat and the bearings were a little chipped and not smooth. Several people at our club have furlex units and are quite happy with them. I haven't spoken with a sail loft yet, but I am thinking of getting the hanks removed from the jib and a luff tape added. The jib is really in quite good shape as the previous owners didn't apparently use the boat much the last five years they owned her.

Thanks,

Rick

 

[Warren Milberg]

I have a newish Furlex 200 on my boat and like it. When I was doing the research on replacing my old Hood Continuous Line furler, it seemed to me that most all the name brands were then all considered pretty good. I think the Furlex was at the higher end of the price spectrum, although I would guess that with the economy in the tank, bargains are available at boat show prices all year long. If I thought I would have only owned my current boat for a short number of years, I probably would have bought a CDI. I bought the Furlex primarily because I thought it would be a relatively longer-lasting and reliable system, and it came with a new headstay. The only problems I've had with the Furlex were in the first season when I had to make sure the exit angle of the furling line to the first fairlead was exactly 90-deg, and that I needed to maintain constant tension on the furling line when deploying the sail.

Other key things to consider with a new furler is who is going to install it and maintain it.

 

[CalebD]

We got a Furlex RF unit about 5 years ago with a new jib by a local Doyle shop. The new jib came with foam sewn into the leading edge (luff) which seems to greatly help the shape of the sail when partially deployed. Talk to your sail maker about this when the time comes.
Furlex units come with metric fittings but it does come with a tool kit.
We have been quite happy with ours so far (knock wood).
I would also agree with Warren that most of the furling equipment mfr's make pretty good products. We had an old Harken on our Tartan 27' before we got the Furlex which I also thought pretty highly of.

 

[Steve Dion]

I purchased a Spin-tec unit that are sold on this website. It took us about 5 hrs. to install. It has some definite advantages over many of the other units. The first thing is that you do not need to have a halyard attached, once the jib is raised. This prevents halyard wrap if the upper unit binds up. They also have a very large drum so it makes the furling process much easier. It also comes with everything you need except for a clutch or a cleat to secure the furling line.

It was a little difficult to figure out the their instructions, but once we dialed them in everything was great. The come with a lifetime warranty and very good customer phone support.

Check it out.

PS: You may need a new forestay depending on your setup. Ours had a norseman or some other removable fitting.

Don't forget you will probably need to have some work done on the jib.

 

[siandimi]

I am refitting a 1978 Y33 here in Hong Kong. I've recently replaced the hank-on setup with a Profurl C350 furler to make short handing easier. Pic here:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3340952236_798d1131c7.jpg?v=0

The unit seems large for the boat, but I had the old (30yrs) forestay replaced with one oversized at 8mm, so the furler had to match. With a borrowed sail from a 32' Peterson, the furler works very smoothly and I had no problems reefing or unfurling in 20+ knots. This is despite the fact that furling lines have not yet been led through any blocks on the stanchions (on the to do list for when the new 135% furling genoa has been made up, hopefully this month).

While not tested much yet, the Profurl unit and extrusions seem solid, turn smoothly and the uphaul attachment means no wrapping of the halyard. The long link plates raise the unit to help with anchoring duties (a new bow roller is also under consideration). Overall I'm very pleased with this installation.

Simon

 

[Hudsonsailor]

Furler

Hi

i also have Yamaha tall rigg
3 years ago i replaced the furling system with a Profurl R350 unit.
works real well.

i have poor experience on two different size boats with Harken, and thats why i chose Profurl

I wouldn't bother with a 110% sail if vits your only sail, or your in a very windy area and or like to fly a chute down wind.

The boat sails well with 135% and i have used a 150% with sucess.

Morris