In boom furling

[eyschulman]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Why would a roller furling main not come down, it has no more holding it up then a slab reefing system?. Your comments might apply to inmast, but even in-mast tends to jam coming out not going in.


Sorry, your making up mad cap scenarios to justify your position.

"knockdown in the BVI , francis drake channel, what were you doing in a hurricane, cause outside of that , theres hardly a puff there.

It will come down but the luff tape will be unattached to the mast and in a blow on a high boom it takes some muscle and climbing ability to snuff the sail the very thing the RF boom is meant to avoid. As to the Knox down situation I guess I have been sailing for a long time and have been in more than two such situations including the one in the VI. Most of the time LI sound is also calm but not always. The Knox down and RF problem not my imagination it was very real. I also experienced a similar situation during a race on Barnegat bay a boat ahead of us lost its mast. The skipper of our boat did not have a problem because I walked to the mast and released the main halyard fortunately there was no RF boom to slow things down and the sail was attached to the mast with track and slides. I am not seeing much evidence supporting the superiority of the RF boom here. I strongly suspect there are a lot of sailors many very experienced who do not see the RF boom as a boon to sailing and as a matter of selection they are not getting involved in this discussion. Regarding wild scenarios and Murphy, experienced sailors know these things can and do happen. Regarding the hurricane thing Yes I have been there also 60 ft waves north Atlantic an officer 0n a Coast Guard cutter a rescue mission . If you think I am making that up I will be glad to put a few million dollars in cash bet against ten thousand of your dollars(The CG keeps records). I suggest you spend more effort analyzing what I say and maybe less on how I say it since that seems to tick you off.

[glenn.225]

Originally Posted by Jcolman

While on the topic of roller furling booms, I have a question. I just purchased an older boat with the older style roller boom. You put a crank on the boom at the tack and roll the sail up around the boom.

How would I attach a boom vang to this type of boom?

You have to use a bail that will fold close to boom and you can only use it when the sail is full up. You disconnect the Vang when you need to reef. Had just such a system until I replaced my main, now it's slab reefing with a sail pack, huge improvement.

[Jcolman]

Originally Posted by glenn.225

You have to use a bail that will fold close to boom and you can only use it when the sail is full up. You disconnect the Vang when you need to reef. Had just such a system until I replaced my main, now it's slab reefing with a sail pack, huge improvement.

Thanks. I think I'll convert to slab reefing and go to a conventional vang. That's what I had on my old boat.

[jeremiason]

Originally Posted by eyschulman

My problem with the roller furling boom and main is that it is not really better than other systems Just more complicated slower and more prone to problems.

To me the roller furling boom is just an example of dumbing down sailing for the less competent who can't or won't learn to do it without the push button approach.

My thing against the RF boom is not because it's new fangled I love new and better. It's just that the RF is not better It's just new fangled but it will sell because many sailors are not understanding or afraid of their mainsails.

Based on your above comments, I would say Ignorance is Bliss.

I have a Leisure Furl Roller Furling Boom on my Catalina 470 with a Dutchman Boom Brake and Leisure Furl "Yacht Rod" Vang.

The Roller Furling Boom requires one crewman to handle the mainsail, Raising Lowering or Reefing.

It also has unlimited Reef Points and on my boat, beautiful sail shape due in large part to it's six vertical batons.

As far as the angle of the boom when lowering, I placed a red colored whip on the Topping Lift. When the Red Mark is at the topping lift Rope Clutch, the boom is at the perfect angle for lowering.

Another plus is even if the boom is completely broken, you can still lower the sail to the deck, unlike when a in mast furler jams.

We sailed on San Francisco Bay for four years using the roller furling boom before we cruised from San Francisco to Florida, covering over 9500 NM during the trip almost all of it doublehanded with my wife.

The only problem I have had with the Roller Furl Boom is when were sailing down wind in the Sea of Cortez. The spectra line holding the clew untied. The sail blew away from the boom, pulling the bolt rope loose from the foot of the sail, where it attaches to the mandrel. My wife repaired it and we were underway the next day.

The Roller Furling Boom is like any other piece of equipment, it takes time to learn and no one is going to step on your boat and be able to handle the system without training and experience. I took me about a month of sailing to completely learn how to handle the system, from raising and lowering to reefing under different loads and sailing points.

The other consideration is that it is also heavy, especially when the sail is furled inside. Although I have a Mid-Boom Sheeting System on my boat, I believe the best application for an in boom furler is an end sheet system, which would control the boom better when the sail is furled and you are rolling around in rough seas under motor or head sail. To avoid this on my boat I used the Dutchman Boom Brake as a preventer.

Because of the boom's weight I would highly suggest a boom brake for gybing.

With that said... It is a wonderful piece of equipment and works well under varied conditions.

I would not own another sailboat over 40 feet without one.

[bstreep]

We have one, and it works fine (rigid vang with a guy wire that keeps the angle precise). That being said, I wouldn't buy one for $20-25,000. Ours came with the boat.

[Oyvind]

I've chartered a few boats with in-mast furling. That has made me very determined that I will never have it on my own boat.

I much prefer slab reefing and a quality ball bearing batten car system.