i own a 36'
Catalina in which we
cruise a little and occasionally
race with our local sailing club fleet. I have an asymmetrical cruising chute with one of those sock gadgets but both myself and crew consider it a pain to use. What I'd like to do is convert the sail to a 'top down furler'. My local
Sailmaker can make the necessary modifications alright, but here's my dilemma; My
boat has the typical forward layout with the
anchor sitting on its short sprit. Some think I can attach the tack and
furler directly to the bail on the sprit. Others say I'll need a removable
bowsprit similar to what Forespar manufacture which is precisely what I'm trying to avoid. I believe the sail will clear the bow rail alright, but I'm concerned the uplift may be too much load for the
anchor sprit and break something. The other concern is not having sufficient clearance between the
spinnaker and furled
genoa, but I am not too concerned about that. I'd be interested to hear from any of you that have top down furlers.