Hood mast furling systems, looking for some information.

[Midday Gun]

I'm looking at a boat that has a Hood furling mainsail system, probably circa late eighties if it was fitted when the boat was new.

It's a bit of a project boat and a bit of a change for me as I planning to up in size & buy something to go places in. I've been sailing cruiser racers with slab reefing for all my life so I don't have the first clue about these systems other than the obvious that they roll the main.

The mast hasn't been up for a few years on this boat, all I know is that its a hood furling main, the seller doesn't know much either.

All the info I can find on these systems seems to relate to having an electric motor inside the mast section.
I can see a stainless crank on the mast, but I'm not able to visit the boat and check for any motor. (too far away)

- Did they make a manual main furler, or are all of therm electric powered?
- How does it stack up? Is it a good system, or would it just make my life a misery?
- Spares availability? I guess not so easy to get now?
- Sailing performance I realise has been done to death, I think vertical battens allow a much better sail shape?

Since switching to a standard mast track would involve a new mast, if I got this boat I would somehow have to make this work.

[GILow]

I'm in a similar boat (bad pun) having just bought a Kelly Peterson 44 with a Hood Stoway in-mast furling system from the same or similar era.

A couple of things:

Minor point to watch out for when searching, if yours is a Hood Stoway then note the spelling. It's Stoway, not StowAway, which can confuse things.

I was very, very sceptical about the system initially, but I had to concede it was the ONLY bit of the boat that worked when I bought it. I kid you knot (another bad pun) everything on the boat was kaput. Both foresail furlers were seized, engine overheated above idle, STEERING was seized, NOTHING electrical worked but, incredibly, the in mast furling was working just fine. So I have come to the conclusion it may be a better system than I first thought.

If your system is the same as mine there is a correct direction and an incorrect direction to furl the main. Find the manual of you can.

Mine uses a continuous loop of line to furl and unfurl the sail. After looking around I see there are MANY different systems, with most of the modern systems apparently preferring to use a single line to furl the sail away and then unfurl by pulling the outhaul. I suspect yours operates more like my older system. Cannot comment on the newer systems but I do like the fact that you can forcibly unfurl the sail foil, it could be helpful to help unsnag stuff if done with care.

Regarding performance and battens, a bit of talking around and I came to the conclusion I would take the performance hit and go without the vertical battens. These older systems seem to snag more easily, at least that's according to the sailmakers I trust. There was apparently a batten system that used battens a little like a strong tape measure that would collapse and roll like tapes do, so you could have horizontal battens, but I couldn't find them anywhere. I'm still looking. I may make my own, not to increase roach but to eliminate flutter.

Parts..? Can't find anything for mine, but looking inside I couldn't see anything I couldn't fabricate or weld myself. It's all very simple stuff.

Finally, the general advice seems to be these work well provided you are disciplined in how you deploy and store the sail, managing outhaul tension as you wind.

(Oh, regarding electric... personally, no way for me. One too many points of failure for my peace of mind. But I understand that others feel differently.)

[Midday Gun]

Thanks for the info, very informative, thank you.

Agreed 're the electric, I don't want it, I just couldn't find any info that didn't seem to relate to an electric one.

I have collapsible battens on my furling genoa on my current boat, they work fairly well, a bit like those things you would get as a kid that would curl around your wrist when you whacked it.
I don't think they would be so good for a main as they add a fair amount of bulk.

I'll have to talk with a sail-maker as I don't think I can stomach a batten-less sail with no roach switching to a heavy cruising boat is already a big step for me, I don't think I can dispense with all pretensions of sailing performance

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Midday Gun

Thanks for the info, very informative, thank you.



Agreed 're the electric, I don't want it, I just couldn't find any info that didn't seem to relate to an electric one.



I have collapsible battens on my furling genoa on my current boat, they work fairly well, a bit like those things you would get as a kid that would curl around your wrist when you whacked it.

I don't think they would be so good for a main as they add a fair amount of bulk.



I'll have to talk with a sail-maker as I don't think I can stomach a batten-less sail with no roach switching to a heavy cruising boat is already a big step for me, I don't think I can dispense with all pretensions of sailing performance

If you solve the batten problem, please report back.

I won't miss the roach, the KP44 has a bit too much main already and I'm a pretty laid back cruising sailor, but I am worried about leech flutter. A batten system that stops that problem has a lot of appeal. I have a sewing machine that can do sails and if I can source the battens I'd be happy to experiment.

On my system, the Stoway label is embossed in the goosneck, I'd be interested to.hear.which system you have if you can identify it.

[Midday Gun]

Well I don't have a system at all yet as I've still to decide on if I want to get this boat or wait for something else.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Midday Gun

Well I don't have a system at all yet as I've still to decide on if I want to get this boat or wait for something else.

What sort of boat are you considering, if it’s not indiscreet to ask.

[Midday Gun]

I'm flicking between two extremes.

Either something a bit lighter with more performance like say an RM1050 or something along those lines.
Or something more heavy displacement, slower, but maybe more comfortable over a longer period of time, no long keelers, but maybe an encapsulated keel & skeg.

I've done months at a time on my current 28'er but I'm 6'5'' and while its fun in summer, I can't imagine doing it full time.

Something between 35-41foot seems to fit the bill. Sail handling isn't really an issue for me, up to that size its all manageable.

[boatman1]

I had the (early 1980’s) Hood stowaway main and mizzen on a boat. I never really considered it to be a furling system: rather a quick way to get the main & mizzen stowed. More for convenience rather than performance. Worked good for that. No motor, roll it in with a winch handle

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Midday Gun

I'm flicking between two extremes.

Either something a bit lighter with more performance like say an RM1050 or something along those lines.
Or something more heavy displacement, slower, but maybe more comfortable over a longer period of time, no long keelers, but maybe an encapsulated keel & skeg.

I've done months at a time on my current 28'er but I'm 6'5'' and while its fun in summer, I can't imagine doing it full time.

Something between 35-41foot seems to fit the bill. Sail handling isn't really an issue for me, up to that size its all manageable.

If you want maximum performance, then I suspect the older Hood system will make life difficult.

FWIW, I did investigate retrofitting a conventional sail track to mine, I couldn’t see any serious obstacles. If you really like the boat you are considering, that might be an option.

[Madehn]

i believe i have the same type of unit you are talking about on my gulfstar. Yes it has an electric motor in the mast that rolls the sail in. It also has a place to reel it in manually using a winch handle with a type of toggle to switch between the two modes. BE CAREFUL activating the motor while in the manual mode will instantly destroy the gearing in the mechanism. i may have some more info down at the boat PM me with an email address if you need me to find and copy it for you- the instructions are only about two pages long and i can scan send them to you. it covers the furling both manually and electrically as well as how to lock and switch the system. i would post it to the thread but am not good with CF attachments etc. If you decide you need them i would be grateful if you would post them once i send them to you.

[Madehn]

Found it at home and going to try to post the three pages for the STOWAY system
page 1.pdf

page 2.pdf

page 3.pdf

[Morgan Sailor]

I have a pdf file for the Hood stowaway in Mast furling. It covers both the electric and manual versions. Unfortunately it's too large to post. If you're interested, pm me with your email and I'll send it to you.

[scherzoja]

These guys say that they have the parts.

Contact Indalo Rigging,
Address: 12 Ingallshore Road, Bernard, Maine 04612, USA
Phone: +1 (207) 244-9050
Email: jim@indalorigging.com

https://indalorigging.com/hood-furling-systems/

[Midday Gun]

Cheers for all the feedback guys and the kind offers of information, if I proceed with this one I may get back to you.

It was more just sounding out the waters to see how people felt about them. This one has a crank on the front of the mast so its possible its the electric variety.
I'll talk with a sail-maker before proceeding because I don't think I could live with a roach less main. (Nothing against those who do, its personal preference)

[Student_Driver]

Does anyone have a user manual or experience with the hood electric genoa furlers? Am on an older HR49 and in my second season as skipper. Circuit breaker keeps opening half way through furls with minimal load. Want to try to troubleshoot mechanical/friction or electrical/current issues. Any thot’s welcome. I did email joe@ the email listed above. Am concerned thst my shipyard may not know these older systems and may not have serviced it correctly.