In Boom Furling experiences?

[daletournier]

Hi all, im looking at a boat on Tuesday that has a in boom roller furling, im not sure of brand as yet.
Have any had experiences with a in boom furling system, particularly downwind and/or rough conditions?

Cheers Dale.


Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Kenomac]

We had one on our Hunter 450, I think it was a Profurl. It worked great.

[Lodesman]

Have a Leisurefurl and think it's great. Makes reefing easy - and in theory gives infinite reefing points. The instructions specify some variations in procedure at different points of sail, and as long as you follow the directions, you have no problems. Go off script and you can get a bad furl, or binding. Not sure where your concerns lie - I experienced no problems specific to sailing downwind or in rough conditions.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Hi all, im looking at a boat on Tuesday that has a in boom roller furling, im not sure of brand as yet.
Have any had experiences with a in boom furling system, particularly downwind and/or rough conditions?

Cheers Dale.


Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

By your asking what brand, I'm assuming it is an after-market furler - if so, that's a whole other issue.
Our experience in all types of weather and wind conditions is excellent and far less troublesome than in-mast variants. It's virtually impossible to get stuck or jam.

[daletournier]

Thanks guys.

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[daletournier]

The reason I'm asking is ive spoken to two sailors recently, one had a new Zealand brand and liked it ,the other had a leisure furl and didn't like it? Both said they had to turn into the wind to reef? Something I liked about my previous boat was my ability to reef downwind.

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[CarlF]

I have a Schaefer and am very happy with it. They use an articulated track along the mast to make it furl better off the wind. But I still find it easier to take a few minutes to come up onto a close reach to unload the sail in windy conditions. I never reefed a slab reefed sail off the wind either.

In rough conditions, boom furriers make it so easy to put in and shake out a reef that you never wait too long. And you never have to leave the safety of the cockpit to do it.

I've learned the following:

Be sure the furling line and halyard are next to each other. One goes around a winch (preferably electric), the other is snubbed to keep tension. You don't "drop" the main, you pull it down against tension on the halyard to keep a tight roll on the boom mandrel. Raising the sail is the same - keep tension on both lines.

Some systems (Leisurefurl is one, I believe) have a reputation for fraying the luff tape. Easy to have a sailmaker replace but worth checking.

Have the sail raised and look at the sail shape - especially if the leach is stretched. Many boom furling systems don't make it easy to adjust leach tension because the boom kicker is set to the exact angle needed for furling. So if the leach has stretched you may need to have the sail recut. Again, not a big deal.

[daletournier]

Great info CarlF. Ball park figure, what do these systems cost?

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[CarlF]

Not really sure of the cost as my boat came with it. Not cheap. I would guess $10,000-$15,000.

[svGenesis]

I had a schaefer, (everything Carl said) It was very smooth to operate, reef anywhere, I could run it up hand over hand with ease. (56' mast)

[Uncle Bob]

Leisurefurl on my boat when I bought her, took a little time learning how to and now I love it, everything is so easy.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by daletournier

The reason I'm asking is ive spoken to two sailors recently, one had a new Zealand brand and liked it ,the other had a leisure furl and didn't like it? Both said they had to turn into the wind to reef? Something I liked about my previous boat was my ability to reef downwind.

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Unlike the in-mast furling system we now enjoy which can be reefed at all points of sail, we did need to turn upwind in order to reef using the boom furling.

[Time2Go]

I have sailed numerous times on an IP 30
fitted with a a Leisure Furl system
Worked wonderfully, however a few things to look for
Angle of boom to mast is critical
Need a solid vang
Need a topping lift (boom is very heavy, back up of kicker)
Furling line prone to chaff
Recommend an electric winch
Cheers
Neil

[CloseQuarters]

I love it on my Catalina 350. Liesurefurl.
Full batten sail. I reef at any batten point. Electric halyard winch a must. You do need to take pressure off the mandrel to reef so into the wind is best. I had the furling line break on me once. With leisure furl you can simply wind up the sail with a winch handle from the mast - no jamming if you set the boom to the correct height when furling.

[hlev00]

I was sailing with a friend from Maine to Halifax on a J/160 with in-boom furling. Unfortunately, I don't recall the model that was installed. I do remember though that it was very sensitive to the angle of the boom to the mast in order for it to roll up correctly. We got caught in a squall that hit with 65 kt winds that eventually settled down to 40 kts and seas building to 12+ feet pushing us towards a lee shore. The main was about 1/3 up. The owner didn't think he could roll the furl the main further until he was head to wind in and in a more protected area. Our situation was further complicated by the fact that the roller furling genoa shredded when the first gusts slammed us. The top third was about half way unfurled and flogging like crazy with now way to control it. This situation may have just been inexperience or other issues, but it put us in quite a predicament on the lee shore. There may have been better ways to handle the situation and it is my only experience with boom furling, but it really put me off of boom furling. I think you are on the right track though asking for input here and elsewhere to make the most informed decision reasonable.