Advice for Roller Furler

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

(...) the sail slide seized at the top of the furling track! Time to cut the sail down in a blow...such fun!

Most of the time the sail can be wrapped round the foil by motoring in circles, no need to cut down.

Much less fun when the furling main jams though.

b.

[donradcliffe]

My vote is for Harken. I serviced my Harken #3 furler after 15 years and 80,000 miles of trouble-free operation with a genoa your size. It came apart easily with no traces of corrosion or wear--just put new bearing balls in it and it was good as new.

In contrast, I spent 2 days trying to get a Profurl apart after the bearing seized--I can't believe they would put standard bearings in a part which gets constant saltwater baths. I also had the foil joints come apart.

My advice--go Harken, go oversized.

[Erik de Jong]

After 4 years working full time as a sailmaker and another 6 years of partime sailmaking, I can say from experience that Reckmann is the most reliable furler on crusers. The reason you do not see it on racers is the weight.
Shared second place are Profurl, Harken and Furlex, where profurl is a bit more robust but needs more maintenance and Harken is more expensive.

When the budget is availble for us, we will get our 23 tonner a nice furlex so that my wife can also handle the head sails (jib hanks right now).

[symagellan]

Thank you all for answering. After some research and after studying some manuals we made decision to go for a reckman's manual furler. Since we plan a cruise in the North Atlantic (Norway to Iceland and west to Greenland) we need a reliable system. I do not want to end up with some money saved but struggling with a genoa in a blow.

The company was extremly helpfull and right now we are negotiating a discount.

Thank you again for your thougts and opinions.

[Erik de Jong]

That is an excelent choice in my professional opinion!
Nice cruising area too'!!