Furler to Hanks? Makes sense or no?

[zachduckworth]

Hi,

I have an ‘84 Islander Bahama. Currently in SoCal and used for coastal cruising. Standing rigging to include Harken furler is 16 years old. I am planning to re-rig her later this year. I take my boat offshore pretty regularly and may take her down to the Sea of Cortez in the future as well. I’m debating if I want to re-rig her with a new furler, keep the old one and re-use it, or switch to hanked on sails. I really want to increase upwind performance and stability in high wind, which I go out in often. I’m planning to do the re-rig myself to save money and a furler would add $3000 or so. I am also debating conversion to a slutter with a removeable inner forestay to put a hanked on storm jib onto. Any thoughts on which option would be best or most reasonable would be appreciated. My current furler is working but I don’t know for how much longer I should expect it. I’d hate to have it jam open on me one day (or night) in bad weather. Hanks at least are pretty much fail safe.

[hpeer]

Check out ReefRite curlers from New Zealand.

Sorta like a hank on furler. We got one a couple of years ago. Very happy with it. I like it much more than my Profurl. Has a good rep.

Delivery was a PITA.

https://reefrite.co.nz/

[MicHughV]

My first boat had hanked on sails and I grew to love them. I had three different sized jibs, plus storm jib.
I did not find pulling them up or down or changing them to be a hassle at all.

A furler, while convenient, simply does not provide the same sail shape. Most furling headsails bag in the middle when getting rolled up, unless you have luff pads sewn on.

My second boat had the removeable inner forestay. It had it's own hanked on staysail, which was little more than a thin blade. I rarely used it, as it provided only limited extra drive under certain specific conditions.

My current boat has furler everything and I personally don't care much for it as the cockpit tends to cluttered up with a spaghetti of lines.

For my money, hanked on is the way to go. Simple, effective, etc, etc.

[Bowdrie]

Part of the decision is a conundrum.
On many smaller boats you'll see small/cramped foredecks and maybe side decks that are less than a foot wide, together with low lifelines.
When the weather gets bouncy it can become a real monkey-walk to simply move back-an-forth and work on the foredeck.
And where do you put all the wet smelly sail bags, on your V-berth?
In the old CCA days the "cockpit lockers" were really "sail lockers", and boats generally had wide side decks to enable safe/swift passage while dragging a sail bag,
(look at a Hinckley B40, or a Cal 40).
Now larger boats that offer unimpeded fore/aft access want roll-up sails for ease of handling without a crew.
It's kind of a tough question for a 30' boat.
If you do go with hank-on, rig a proper downhaul so that the headsail can be quickly brought all the way down with little effort.

[ChrisJHC]

Another part of the equation is how many crew you have on board.
Furlers make short-handed sailing much easier.
Hanks are great but more effort while sailing.

[zachduckworth]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Check out ReefRite curlers from New Zealand.

Sorta like a hank on furler. We got one a couple of years ago. Very happy with it. I like it much more than my Profurl. Has a good rep.

Delivery was a PITA.

https://reefrite.co.nz/

Well that’s interesting. I’ve heard of them but never seen the product before. The price is not too bad. I’m at the 6mm size. I’ll have to look into this as well.

[MicHughV]

I must confess I had youth on my side in my hank on days, plus a forepeak locker for sails, but I'd go back to hank on sails if I could.
However, 99.99% of boats today are equipped with jib furling gear. Love 'em or hate 'em, they are here to stay.
I draw a line in the sand though, when it comes to in-mast furling mains. My one experience with this setup made me into a diehard hater of the system. I could explain more, but that would require several four letter words to adequately convey my feelings.

[rslifkin]

There's still a middle ground for better sailing with a furler. Just because you have a furler doesn't mean you can't change jibs or have more than 1. I've seen people that carry 2 jibs, a big one and a small one. They don't change as often as you might with a hank on jib, but they change based on the upcoming expected conditions so they don't spend much time sailing with a partially furled jib. What that really means is often sailing with the smaller jib and only putting up the big one for light air when it's not a situation where you could just fly a spinnaker instead.

[Benz]

Hank-on, always.

[Calif.Ted]

I think modern dependable headsail furlers are the best invention since sliced bread.

[Rockinar]

Hanks for life.

[Rockinar]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

There's still a middle ground for better sailing with a furler. Just because you have a furler doesn't mean you can't change jibs or have more than 1. I've seen people that carry 2 jibs, a big one and a small one. They don't change as often as you might with a hank on jib, but they change based on the upcoming expected conditions so they don't spend much time sailing with a partially furled jib. What that really means is often sailing with the smaller jib and only putting up the big one for light air when it's not a situation where you could just fly a spinnaker instead.

Changing sails with a furler requires you unfurl the entire sail, its powered up and requires 2 people.
In no condition would I want to do this in anything buyt very light breeze and a crew to help. Not something you want to do solo offshore.

[Don C L]

I have hank-ons and I too sail here in SoCal. There are benefits to both, but if you have the cash I’d consider the furling upgrade and talk to a sailmaker about a headsail upgrade as well. You can get a furler that allows a headsail change too of course. But I think the newer furlers and headsails may be a good bet. And I say this as someone who in the past has been less than happy with furlers and their headsails. And I’ve seen quite a few get jammed including my own once.
I will say that now with my working jib and a down haul for it, I have what I need for convenience and performance for most conditions and upwind headings. Yes I still need to go forward to furl and bag the sail but I am used to it. Reefing my jib down is a trick in the conditions that require it so, just rolling up the headsail definitely has its virtues.
This is a long winded way of saying I’d have a long chat with my sailmaker about all the pros and cons. And since you’re not racing I think the pros will end up on the new furler and new headsail side.

[MicHughV]

I think the trick to a good headsail furling system is to have luff pads sewn on the leading edge of your chosen sail. I have these on my Beneteau and you can take in quite a bit of sail without affecting the shape of the furled sail.

My one other gripe about a furling headsail is that the furling line often misbehaves and does not lay on the furling drum as it should, becoming a PITA come time to roll the sail in.

Finally, I live in a hurricane belt. I have seen many a furled headsail in taters after the passing of a storm. Common wisdom sez to take the thing down before the arrival of significant wind, but few do, and many suffer the consequence of their " it'll be ok as it is" point of view.

[Calif.Ted]

You need to keep light tension, by hand or use of a rachet block, on the furling line so the drum winds evenly without overides.
https://www.harken.com/en/shop/furli...n-mount-block/