What is this boom furler?

[dannrs]

Looking for assistance on rigging a boom furling system on my ‘new to me’ 1986 Saturna 33. I cannot find any details on web.

[Sailing August]

That looks homemade or 'one-off' fabricated based on someones idea.

[tkeithlu]

I'm not going to be the one to help you, dannrs, but those who can may need a specific question to answer. The picture appears to be a rather neatly furled mainsail, so what is the problem?

[dannrs]

I’m unsure how to rig it, it appears to have parts missing but with no manual I don’t know for sure, or if parts are still available. I have owned the boat for 2 years but have only been able to sail with the genoa sadly. The main is hoisted in a foil attached to a sliver of sail in the mast track, but it easily jams and is very finicky.

[Gary Mc]

I would be tempted to obtain a conventional boom and change over to it.

Your main is not that big, you should be able to raise it easily.


Good Luck

[Sailorlady323]

in the 60ties there were booms that would rotate and you would reef by rolling them. I had one on my Peason Renegade 27ft boat. I think I would rotate it by hand.
There was nothing special about raising and lowering the sail.Probably external track on the mast with slides.

[sepharad]

It's kind of interesting, the ancestor of IN-boom furling. Does is have a makers name cast or stamped into it?

And yeah, a simple boom might be the cheapest and simplest solution.

[joelhemington]

My first concern would be a shakey goose neck where the boom connects to the mast. If that looks okay, then maybe explore the possibilty of keeping the boom if it can be converted to a conventional stack pack/ lazy jack system and clean up that slide on the mast. You need to be able to drop that main sail quickly with one person if TSHTF.

[thinwater]

I don't understand why the sail does not hoist in the track. My F-boat has a roller main and it works very well. You can put the sail away FAST. Reffing undersail is easy; just trim the jib hard, drop the traveler, and crank it down.

My guess is that is NOT the original main and some tried a "rigged" work around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52YbO7Z2W00

The disadvantages, vs. in-boom furling, are:


* Increased wear on the luff tape.
* No vang.
* Sail cover still needed.


The advantages are reduced weight and no possibility of jamming (which is nice).

[a64pilot]

Hell of a Vang though.
I think in the long run it may be best, especially if you need a new sail to retire it.
My Profurl is no longer being manufactured and apparently parts don’t exist either, and that often is when something becomes difficult to support

[Siberian Sea]

I don’t understand how you can keep decent sail shape with this type of boom furling system. It’s much like the older systems in with the entire boom would rotate and would wind the sail around the boom to reef.

[SV__Grace]

Originally Posted by dannrs

I’m unsure how to rig it, it appears to have parts missing but with no manual I don’t know for sure, or if parts are still available. I have owned the boat for 2 years but have only been able to sail with the genoa sadly. The main is hoisted in a foil attached to a sliver of sail in the mast track, but it easily jams and is very finicky.

That looks like a sweet setup and worth figuring out. Boom furling for a main sail is superior to mast furling. A rigger would be very helpful and worth the expense when setting up a new-to-you boat.

You say it is "hoisted in a foil attached to a sliver of sail in the mast track" which is a bit unclear to me, but I can't imagine it has a loose luff (really bad idea) so I think you're saying it is hoisted in a luff groove, similar to vertical furlers.

If this is the case, the luff groove system is not designed or intended to be used each time the sail is used. With a vertical furler you raised the sail in the luff groove and it stays there as you roll it up. Boom furlers typically have mast slides on tracks, preferably cars with ball bearings (common in upgrades, uncommon on older boats). No wonder it jams. Use lots of Sailkote and consider installing a mast track system for it. If you remove it you'll need to do that anyway.

I would take it apart, clean and grease the moving parts, and replace anything broken or damaged. Since new parts would be hard to impossible to find, you would need to get resourceful and creative to continue using it, but personally I think it's worth the effort!

[SBS]

Its an original "Leifurl" designed and built on the Atlantic coast of France (La Rochelle?), back in the late 1970s. I have one on my 1984 Belliure 41 and have used it for all the 20 years Ive owned the boat. Its heavily built but designed well and, if properly set up and maintained, quite reliable.

I havent been able to find any info on the Web about the company either but its a pretty simple design and if the boom angle is correct (which is required of all boom and mast furlers) will work well. An experienced and competent professional rigger should be able to help you set it up and use it.

[Lodesman]

If the luff track is damaged, you could probably talk to a rigger about finding a suitable replacement for it. I think the biggest issue from the one picture you provided, is that most of the boom itself, seems to be missing. Most systems consist of a U-channel type boom that surrounds the "mandrel" around which the sail wraps - you seem to have the bottom of the boom, but are missing the sides. Is there a furling drum at the forward end of the boom, or ahead of the mast?

[SBS]

Theres a "bag" open at the top that encloses the mandrel and the rolled (bobbined) sail. The one in the picture is missing the bag. I had one made. I think by Hood RI when they made a main for me. Not a big deal for a sail loft.