VV,
I was faced with exactly the same options about eight and a half years ago for my 42-foot
sloop.
I did a LOT of investigating, asking, looking, and figuring. In the end it came down to just two options:
1. behind-the-mast
furling; or
2. in-boom
furling.
I discarded any notion of in-mast furling both to the cost and, especially, to the problems of added weight aloft and the propensity -- on smaller
boats -- for in-mast furlers to jam at the worst time, with no way to reduce sail.
In boom furlers, by contrast, can be dropped just like a normal
mainsail. However, the
hardware and the conversion isn't
cheap and you must use a dedicated (purpose-built)
mainsail.
Behind the boom furlers (like putting a ProFurl headsail furler behind the mast) are much less expensive and are virtually trouble-free. They also can usually
work well with a slightly modified main sail (you don't need a new one). There may be some slight performance loss, but this isn't too important for cruisers, and the ease of operation and relatively low cost and
reliability make them an attractive option.
In the end, I chose the LeisureFurl in-boom system, with a new North
Sails main and a
Lewmar electric windlass. This wasn't inexpensive, but has served me very well for the past. It has full-length battens, a big roach, and is very quiet underway. Virtually no flapping about, even in strong winds.
The cost was $20,720 in December 2002 including the LeisureFurl boom, Forespar rigid
boom vang,
hardware, unstepping and modifying the
mast (normally not necessary but in my case it was due to an unusual built-in
electrical track system),
electric windlass, testing, etc.
Additionally, it cost $4,700 for the new main sail. Thus the total cost was over $25K.
In sum:
Behind-the-mast furling: relatively inexpensive, reliable, very easy to use, maybe a slight loss in performance.
In-boom furling: relatively expensive, can use full-batten main with large roach, a bit tricky to get used to, requires electric windlass and new purpose-built main, very quiet.
Bill