Best Cruising Furler

[Jputman]

I'm new to this forum so let me begin by saying "hi' to all you folks from a landlubber sailor. I've sailed blue water many times but mostly through The Moorings until I bought a Beneteau 422 and lived on it in Mexico for a winter. I subsequently sold the new Beneteau in favor of a 1985 Hans Christian 33T that I am truly in love with. She is a fresh water boat off of Lake Michigan that I now have on Flathead Lake in NW Montana, until I retire in a couple of years, at which time we are going back to blue water. I am in the process of upgrading the furler from the NorthSail/Harken that has been used since initial commissioning in 1985, so I am wondering what ya'll recommend for the top two deep water cruising furlers. I can go from there. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Reef early...

[btrayfors]

Genoa furlers:

1. ProFurl
2. Furlex


Boom furlers:

1. LeisureFurl
2. Schaefer

JMO,

Bill

[GordMay]

Greetings, and WELCOME aboard, JP.

What ever you buy, as a cruiser, you'll probably want a Furler/REEFER. Not all roller-furlers are capable of reefing the sail.

[vacendak]

IMHO, Facnor

http://www.facnor.com/

offers good products, both head- and mainsail, on reasonable prices

[Vasco]

I've had Harkens and Profurls. Both work well but I prefer the Harken as it doesn't depend on sealed bearings. The Profurl bearings do occasionally fail. The main thing is to get a properly sized one, not one of those dinky ones. I like the looks of the Shaefer too but have no experience with it. Another good point about the Harken is that it's a bit easier to work with if you have to take your mast down. You don't have to use vice grips to keep the furling drum up when you're rigging the forestay.

[Jputman]

My sincere thanks to everyone replying. I can tell that you are a great bunch folks. I am kinda thinking I should pole everyone interested... (1) what genoa furler/reefer you are using, (2) what do you like about it?, (3) what don't you like about it, and (4) what genoa furler/reefer would you use if you want to change?

[Hud3]

J,

I have a Harken roller furler. It's performed very well for about 12,000 nm. I've been able to operate it in winds up to 50 kts. Be sure to consider having luff pads sewn into your genoa. They'll help keep the sail from bagging when you roll it partially in. You'll get a lot better performance that way.

p.s. some good friends of ours moved from Delaware out to Whitefish, not far north of you. They love the country and the people out there in Montana.

[Jputman]

Thanks Hud. Which Harken do you have? My existing Harken is quite old and the lower extrusion foil just below the sail feed recently broke. I am researching whether I can replace the extrusion as the furler is over 20 years old and the extrusions are no longer attached in the same manner. If I can't, I will have to replace the whole system, which might be a good idea anyway before I take EC to blue water. I have the foam luff pads on a newer 150 genoa.

P.S. I know Whitefish very well. My dream is to take Emerald City to your part of the world, from San Carlos, Mexico via the Panama Canal.

[Hud3]

Sorry, my boat is in Antigua for the hurricane system, and I don't have records here on what model Harken furler is on it.

[Sandero]

OT,

Hud and others... do you have a detailed inventory of equipment of your boat which is kept at "home".. part model #s , serial #s and so on.. for replacement or insurance purposes?

[imagine2frolic]

I am sure your 33T has a staysail. I would put a furler there too. I would also use the same model on the staysail as the Genoa. In that way if ever a problem they will be interchangable.

[Vasco]

J,
You can identify Harkens here:
Harken: Identifying Harken Furlers
You probably have a Mk1 and the size is probably an 02. I have this on my 20 year old boat.

[Caribsailors]

I replaced my furler 2.5 years ago on my 1985 Beneteau First 38 after years 3 years of repairing the original.

I went with a CDI ,CDI - Flexible Furlers, model FF9.

It has worked flawlessly and I like it, as the sail halyard is integral with the system, and one bearing.

My only dislike at the start, was raising the sail, but I have worked out a system that makes it easy now.

The sails aren't removed that often, only during hurricane threat

Cheers

[FrankZ]

Originally Posted by Caribsailors

My only dislike at the start, was raising the sail, but I have worked out a system that makes it easy now.

The sails aren't removed that often, only during hurricane threat

Cheers

What is the system you have worked out? I have a FF4 and it is a pain in the butt to raise the sail. But at least it is just once a season (hurricane threats not withstanding).

[Caribsailors]

FrankZ

I first tie a line to the halyard eye and retrieve the furler traveler, which I'm sure you've done a few times.

Using spare hardware, I attach a snap shackle with a block to the traveler of the furler. I then attach another block to a padeye on the deck that is directly below the furler( luck for me) I guess I could attach to a toerail if I didn't have that.

I then tie off one end of a general purpose line to the same padeye and feed the other end through the block on the traveler and then through the block on the deck. Make sure you have enough line to cover twice the length of your furler.

I then pull the halyard eye back down and attach the sail, and hoist away, easy mon!

Hope this helps

Cheers