A Newbie's Furler Question

[Old Snipe]

The wife and I were sitting around on the boat last night having a few beers before the Darius Rucker concert on base. We watched a few boats come in through the jetty under sail. I was impressed at how fast they could furl the sail when they were nearing the docks. (3-4 seconds) The wife was asking me how they did that since she saw that I had to climb over the deck to get to mine. I told her that these boats had furlers. She said: You should get one of those things............ Ka ching! I kinda chuckled at her response because I need more time on the water learning to sail before I worry about a having a furler on the boat. Not to mention a hundred other minor repairs the boats needs.

When the time comes, I most certainly will install a furler system. I am thinking that it would make single handed sailing....... a little easier?

My question:

Is it better to have a boatyard/marina complete the install, or are these fairly simple for a mechanical minded person?

Thanks.......... John

[GordMay]

Most furling/reefing systems are a fairly easy DIY project.
Ie: ➥ Harken

[HappyMdRSailor]

Aww man Snipester...

YOU CAN DO THIS!

Your top end $$ amount is of course astronomically stupid, but you can find furler systems in your size for as little as $2-300... You'll need to get a new sail or have yours modded with a bolt sewn to it for the luff (luff tape) to slide into the foil... $300 ebay system below...

Schaefer Headsail Genoa Furler System | eBay

Next... Unknown to me mfg, $700 new

Alternatively, if you can find a Schaefer wire furling system (I have one on one boat) You can use any old sail, and have a wire rope sewn into the luff...

Easy Peasy man... Way more than enough here willing to go step by step if ya need us to !

[HappyMdRSailor]

AND....

It will make your boat TONS easier to sail, and safer...

[Coxswain]

Easy to do!!
I like the hood furlers, but there are plenty of good ones out there.

[rbrentp]

Everything other posters say is true. I see no real difference in the learning to sail part other than being caught in a pop up blow with rain and bouncy waves and having to scuttle along the deck to get the foresail down. Makes good stories but was never a fun experience. A friend with a ferocious wife said that was her job...until she fell overboard. Had a harness thank God. Had a furler a week later. Point here is it is easy. Make sure you have a brand that does not prevent a spinnaker.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by rbrentp

A friend with a ferocious wife said that was her job...until she fell overboard. Had a harness thank God.

Was that his comment or yours?

[Keith.lefebvre]

The only thing you will miss with a furling system is the ease of switching between a working jib and a Genoa. I found it was easy in the old days to switch banked on sails than to feed the needed luff through the track in my furler.

[barnakiel]

It does help when you singlehand.

It is an easy job for any mechanically minded person.

Remember to toggle the whole thing.

Keep halyard angle and tension fine.

And you are set.

b.

[Old Snipe]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the feedback.

[so34chi]

IIRC, Practical Sailor reviewed furlers not too long ago.

Hanked-on sails can probably be changed quicker than furling headsails. We try to anticipate wind conditions and change out he #2 to the #4 at the dock, if we expect significant (>20 kt) winds abeam to forward during the sailing day. Biggest time killer is flaking/folding/stowing the retired jib, which occurs with our without a furler.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Old Snipe

When the time comes, I most certainly will install a furler system. I am thinking that it would make single handed sailing....... a little easier?

My question:

Is it better to have a boatyard/marina complete the install, or are these fairly simple for a mechanical minded person?

Thanks.......... John

For a weekender and casual cruiser a furling system is one of teh best conveniences to add. It makes getting ready to go and stowing the boat a lot easier and quicker.

I would probably value my furling headsail over the tiller pilot but it is a close call.

To be sure changing the headsail for different conditions is more difficult but I haven't had to do a sail change in 7 years.

I am attaching the Furlex manual for your perusal. It will give you an idea of what is involved with the installation. It is certainly doable if you are meticulous and can read.

As far as cost you'd need to add it all up. The unit, a new forestay, attaching hardware and either a sail modification (if your sail can be modified) or a new sail.

You mentioned other jobs you have on the boat and I definitely would not spend for a furler if you have "seaworthiness" jobs ahead - i.e. items that keep the air in the boat and the water out.

[rbrentp]

Originally Posted by so34chi

IIRC, Practical Sailor reviewed furlers not too long ago.

Hanked-on sails can probably be changed quicker than furling headsails. We try to anticipate wind conditions and change out he #2 to the #4 at the dock, if we expect significant (>20 kt) winds abeam to forward during the sailing day. Biggest time killer is flaking/folding/stowing the retired jib, which occurs with our without a furler.

I am confused now...not unusual for me. "Changing out the furling headsails." To me the change in sail is accommodated by "reefing in" the sail around the furler.......(winding it up to the right amount of sail for conditions). I live in a simple sailing world with light breezes followed by micro hurricanes and the real kind. I have never heard of anyone changing out furling sails for weather conditions. Please educate me.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by rbrentp

I am confused now...not unusual for me. "Changing out the furling headsails." To me the change in sail is accommodated by "reefing in" the sail around the furler.......(winding it up to the right amount of sail for conditions). I live in a simple sailing world with light breezes followed by micro hurricanes and the real kind. I have never heard of anyone changing out furling sails for weather conditions. Please educate me.

Changing out the furling headsails to you = reefing

Changing out the furling headsails to masses = swapping DIFFERENT sails on the foil for the expected conditions...

Partially furled headsails are less than an ideal airfoil shape rendering them progressively inefficient the further they are furled/reefed...

A regularly raced boat will have between 2 and 5 different heasails to throw on before the race... As well as time killing swaps under way... If... the new sail will be faster or safer to warrant the change...

[Suijin]

If you do it a lot, changing the sail on a furler is no more difficult, and perhaps even less difficult, than a hanked on sail, IF you use a pre-feeder and your foil is well maintained and correctly set up. I race a fair amount here on the Chesapeake in the summer on a few go-fast boats and we change headsails a LOT. Yes you need someone at the bow and someone on the halyard, but you also don't spend five-ten minutes fiddling with the hanks.

I consider a furler to be a mandatory piece of equipment on my boat. I single hand a lot, and the ability to deploy, take in, or shorten sail in 20 seconds is critical. My staysail is hanked on and it won't be long before I put that on a furler too. One piece of advice when you get to it...bear off downwind to take in the sail. I see a lot of sailors struggling to take it in as they are luffing into the wind, thinking that's easiest, but it's not.

It's definitely a DIY project once you understand the design and mechanics of it. Make sure you've considered all the issues with respect to equipment around the bow. For example, if you have an anchor roller, make sure the furler drum is set high enough (adding a tang beneath it) to allow the shank of the anchor to clear the drum as it pivots over the roller. In addition to having a bolt rope added and the hanks removed, you might need to have the sail recut at the foot based on the height of the furler.