Catalina - Furler

[szymek]

Hi Folks,

My Catalina 25 currently does not have a furler... I've been planning on getting one for last couple of years. Today I was able to get one for good price - I went with Profurl C290. I was also looking at Harken 00AL. But i was able to get the Profurl for almost 200 less (which I plan to use towards new headsail).

Any experience with the profurl c290 unit? Do you folks know whether the genoa from catalinadirect (Ullman 150%) will fit with no issues with this furler?

Edit: I suppose I can take off the forestay and lay it out on the driveway to measure the length between top of the drum and end of the forestay - Mast is down and boat is awaing spring. :-(

Looking forward to feedback.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by szymek

Hi Folks,

My Catalina 25 currently does not have a furler... I've been planning on getting one for last couple of years. Today I was able to get one for good price - I went with Profurl C290. I was also looking at Harken 00AL. But i was able to get the Profurl for almost 200 less (which I plan to use towards new headsail).

Any experience with the profurl c290 unit? Do you folks know whether the genoa from catalinadirect (Ullman 150%) will fit with no issues with this furler?

Edit: I suppose I can take off the forestay and lay it out on the driveway to measure the length between top of the drum and end of the forestay - Mast is down and boat is awaing spring. :-(

Looking forward to feedback.

Don't forget to allow for lower drum unit, upper drum unit and any shackles needed to attach the sail to the drums and the upper drum to the halyard.

I have a furlex on my 26 footer so cant help with specifics on the profurl.

[szymek]

Physically i don't have the furler as they will process the order end of Jan (I bought it at the boat show)

I've spent big chunk of the night reading about the unit and comparing it to Harken 00AL... Well seems that the sealed bearing on the C290 seem to be the biggest complaint Other than that seems to be very solid unit - plus they offer 10 year warranty - so that will definitely outlive the time I will own this boat. The dealer told me if I change my mind i can still change the order as long as i do it before they process the order.... but still I'm leaning towards sticking with the C290 as I can put in the extra 200 towards new headsail (which i need to order ASAP so it's ready for the spring). I hope i'm making the right decision here.

I plan to take off the forestay and i'll take it to the shop where i placed the order for furler (once they get back to business as usual afte the boat show). Hopefully they will have model in stock so we can rig it up on the floor and measure the luff length.

I've been planning on this for 2 years and just never had the budget.. or people would talk me out of it... but based on the fact that I only cruise all over the lake on my little Catalina and I go single handed 70% of the time. I decided to go with my plan/dream. :-) As you can tell, I'm extremely happy that I will finally have a furler!

Another question:
Some people told me to replace the forestay as well as having furler now will put more pressure on the forestay. I'm assuming all the rigging is original from 1984. Forestay looks really good, that's why i'm hesitant.... but if it's needed i will not cheap out on that and I will replace it. What do you think?

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by szymek

Physically i don't have the furler as they will process the order end of Jan (I bought it at the boat show)

I've spent big chunk of the night reading about the unit and comparing it to Harken 00AL... Well seems that the sealed bearing on the C290 seem to be the biggest complaint Other than that seems to be very solid unit - plus they offer 10 year warranty - so that will definitely outlive the time I will own this boat. The dealer told me if I change my mind i can still change the order as long as i do it before they process the order.... but still I'm leaning towards sticking with the C290 as I can put in the extra 200 towards new headsail (which i need to order ASAP so it's ready for the spring). I hope i'm making the right decision here.

I plan to take off the forestay and i'll take it to the shop where i placed the order for furler (once they get back to business as usual afte the boat show). Hopefully they will have model in stock so we can rig it up on the floor and measure the luff length.

I've been planning on this for 2 years and just never had the budget.. or people would talk me out of it... but based on the fact that I only cruise all over the lake on my little Catalina and I go single handed 70% of the time. I decided to go with my plan/dream. :-) As you can tell, I'm extremely happy that I will finally have a furler!

Another question:
Some people told me to replace the forestay as well as having furler now will put more pressure on the forestay. I'm assuming all the rigging is original from 1984. Forestay looks really good, that's why i'm hesitant.... but if it's needed i will not cheap out on that and I will replace it. What do you think?

I am not sure how the profurl is assembled. I had a drum failure on mine and the way it is assembled made reusing the forestay a non-starter. The forestay has to pass through a thimble at the lower end and then gets flared/crimped. The original flaring of the strands made getting the forestay back through the thimble impossible.

However, in your case you are likely going to shorten the forestay by the length of the drums so after it is cut it may work.

I don't see why the furler would put more stress on the forestay. The thing to avoid is winching the sail too tight so the loads get taken on the drum units. You want to raise the furler high enough to furl properly but not too tight. Also the lead angle of the halyard at the top is important to good furling performance.

However, if the forestay is really circa 1984, wouldn't you like to put one new, have all parts new and then never worry about it?

In terms of utility the furler is the second thing I would add to a boat after an autopilot.

[szymek]

Ex-Calif: Thank you soo much for all your advice!!! I really appreciate it!

In that case I will replace the forestay just for piece of mind.

One more question: (i know i keep on second guessing myself... but that's my nature)

• Would you recommend to put in extra $200 to get the Harken 00AL??? I've placed the order at the boat show for C290 but he told me I can change it if I change my mind before the end of the boat show.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by szymek

Ex-Calif: Thank you soo much for all your advice!!! I really appreciate it!

In that case I will replace the forestay just for piece of mind.

One more question: (i know i keep on second guessing myself... but that's my nature)

[*]Would you recommend to put in extra $200 to get the Harken 00AL??? I've placed the order at the boat show for C290 but he told me I can change it if I change my mind before the end of the boat show.

I have what I have and have not done any research on a replacement. I wouldn't feel comfortable making a recommendation one way or another. Maybe someone who has rersearched recently has an opinion.

[szymek]

Well me being me... i kept on doing more homework as I wasn't 100% sure so I've decided to change my order to Harken 00AL. the price difference ended up being $165.

So here's is why i made this decision (for anyone doing the same homework) based on the feedback i gather on this forum and searching around:

First of all Profurl customer support is really poor. I've had some technical question so I've emailed them... after a week they've responded to me with a link to their website and advised me to look at the manual. Thanks ProFurl - outstanding customer service!!!

Profurl has enclosed bearings which can potentially seize (of course not in immediate future), where as Harken does not and they just need to be flushed with fresh water once in a while. But on the flip side, ProFurl has 10 year warranty.

Profurl comes with single grove foil and Harken with twin.

The foil on Profurl is round where on Harken it's oval.

Harken can be mounted 2 1/2 above deck and based on looking at manual seems that lowest you can get the profurl is 4 1/2.

Profurl foils seems to be joined by small screws that over time seem to undo after a while no matter how careful you are.

Technically both unit seem to be high quality units and i did have a hard time picking one. I've called catalinadirect and talked to their tech support (talk about exceptional customer service!!!) and they highly recommended the Harken unit.

So i've made a final call to get the 00AL unit!!!

So now I need to get a furling sail!! ahhh.. I'm looking at North Sail - Radian cloth or Ullman from catalina direct. I'm not too sure what to even ask just yet.. as i'm just starting to do my homework... but i'd appreciate any advice that I should be focusing on. Any feedbakc on the Ullman sails??

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by szymek

Well me being me... i kept on doing more homework as I wasn't 100% sure so I've decided to change my order to Harken 00AL. the price difference ended up being $165.

So here's is why i made this decision (for anyone doing the same homework) based on the feedback i gather on this forum and searching around:

First of all Profurl customer support is really poor. I've had some technical question so I've emailed them... after a week they've responded to me with a link to their website and advised me to look at the manual. Thanks ProFurl - outstanding customer service!!!

Profurl has enclosed bearings which can potentially seize (of course not in immediate future), where as Harken does not and they just need to be flushed with fresh water once in a while. But on the flip side, ProFurl has 10 year warranty.

Profurl comes with single grove foil and Harken with twin.

The foil on Profurl is round where on Harken it's oval.

Harken can be mounted 2 1/2 above deck and based on looking at manual seems that lowest you can get the profurl is 4 1/2.

Profurl foils seems to be joined by small screws that over time seem to undo after a while no matter how careful you are.

Technically both unit seem to be high quality units and i did have a hard time picking one. I've called catalinadirect and talked to their tech support (talk about exceptional customer service!!!) and they highly recommended the Harken unit.

So i've made a final call to get the 00AL unit!!!

So now I need to get a furling sail!! ahhh.. I'm looking at North Sail - Radian cloth or Ullman from catalina direct. I'm not too sure what to even ask just yet.. as i'm just starting to do my homework... but i'd appreciate any advice that I should be focusing on. Any feedbakc on the Ullman sails??

Great job on the homework. I personally like Harken equipment.

Don't know if you will ever use the second foil but with profurl you wont have that option! Being able to have a two inch longer luff may count in light airs.

I ended up with a quantum gennie, primarily because the loft was based at out club at the time. The only other sail I seriously considered was Rolly Tasker because they are "in the neighborhood" in Thailand.

[szymek]

Hey Ex-Calif,

Thank you for all the feedback. I'm going to meet up with the sailmaker this Saturday.

I've decided to go with UK-Halsey. Their loft is in Toronto (about 40 mins drive from where i am) - although they cut the sails in Hong Kong. But i suppose if I have any issues or need some slight adjustment they will do everything in Toronto loft. But i've decided to go with them based on discussion with the sail designer - I was impressed! And to my surprise their price was actually slightly less than other sailmakers I've looked at.

There is one more thing that i'm strugling with: for the UV cover should i get sunbrella or UV protected dacron? I know that nothing is better than sunbrella but it adds bit of weight ( apparently close to 3 x as much as UV protected dacron). I guess not a big deal when the wind is around 10kt but when it gets down to probably around 5kt apparently you can see the difference. I'm on the lake ontario - average wind on the lake is 8 - 12 kt (probably) but it drops to couple and I go out with up to 25kt.


Let me know your thoughts on sunbrella vs UV protected dacron.

Thanks a million!

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by szymek

Hey Ex-Calif,

Thank you for all the feedback. I'm going to meet up with the sailmaker this Saturday.

I've decided to go with UK-Halsey. Their loft is in Toronto (about 40 mins drive from where i am) - although they cut the sails in Hong Kong. But i suppose if I have any issues or need some slight adjustment they will do everything in Toronto loft. But i've decided to go with them based on discussion with the sail designer - I was impressed! And to my surprise their price was actually slightly less than other sailmakers I've looked at.

There is one more thing that i'm strugling with: for the UV cover should i get sunbrella or UV protected dacron? I know that nothing is better than sunbrella but it adds bit of weight ( apparently close to 3 x as much as UV protected dacron). I guess not a big deal when the wind is around 10kt but when it gets down to probably around 5kt apparently you can see the difference. I'm on the lake ontario - average wind on the lake is 8 - 12 kt (probably) but it drops to couple and I go out with up to 25kt.

Let me know your thoughts on sunbrella vs UV protected dacron.

Thanks a million!

I havent used dacron. Both my gennies were are sunbrella protected with foam inserts in the luff. We get lots of light airs here. I am not totally happy at times and long for a really light foresail for the southwest season but other things are a priority.

Maybe other folks have expereince with the dacron protection.

[Valkyrie654]

I would skip the expense of putting in a foam luff. It helps a little but adds weight. If you furl in more than 20% of the sail area, not foot length, your up wind sail shape is lost anyway. Still over powered? time for a reef in the main. Keep the helm balanced and will be going faster, but that is a whole different topic.