Furlers vs Hank on for long range liveaboard cruisers

[Hasbeen]

Originally Posted by captncruise

My wife and I purchased a Cole43, an ex racing boat that had a crew of 8-10. We detuned it and added a Pro Furl roller furler and Arco62 sheet winches. Always headed into wind when furling no problems as long as we maintained a little tension on jib sheets.
We lived aboard and cruised the East Coast of Australia for 17 years. The only time we had crew they broke something or got seasick so I made sure Wife could do everything except change the engine oil or unblock the toilet.
We would always put a reef in the main at night or drop it if heavy weather was forecast. We had an inner fore stay with a small sail that we only used a couple of times.
Our watches were 3 hours day and night and who ever was off watch would go below and rest . That way we would be ready for any changes in conditions.
Enjoy your family cruising, it is a great way to raise a family.

I did a Hobart on one of those. Fantastic boat, & it must have been a dream cruising in a detuned version. I do recall it could be a handful running under kite in heavier weather. How was it when sailed more sensibly?