Outside the mast furlers on mainsails

[waterworldly]

I just looked at an 52' Irwin that had been redone completely with furlers that had been retrofitted outside the main and mizzen masts. Has anyone ever seen that before?

[migot1]

yes. we have a FIT ON MAST FURLING MAINSAIL fitted on our 37ft baat . we bought it in FRANCE from the firm FACNOR (sounds terrible the name...)

it cost us 2200.- Dollars, and we put it on our mast ourselvs...NOT EASY. we had a new mainsail made in UK by CRUISADER SAILS. .we got this done in 2003...so far no problems. they have a page on the internet. try FACNOR FRANCE.

good luck

Mike

[rtbates]

CDI also now makes a behind the mast main furler.

[w42]

I saw one a couple years ago on a Westsail 42. I had never seen such a system before and it looked pretty trick. It was hardly noticeable untill you looked closely at the mast. Owner said they never had a problem with it.

Personally, I prefer in-boom furling over in-mast furling. Easier to maintain for one. I am currently considering the Schaeffer boom furling system.

[btrayfors]

Lots of cruising boats have this setup. Many, just use a standard jib-furler (e.g., a ProFurl or a Harken or ....). You just need to weld a tab atop the mast, and a fitting at the lower end, and mount the furler with sufficient clearance aft of the mast.

This arrangement works fine; neat, relatively inexpensive; and nearly trouble-free.

The downside is that you can't use a mainsail with battens or with a large roach, neither of which may be of much concern to some cruising sailors. Also, of course, the weight and windage of the furled mainsail is relatively high up, compared to most other furling systems.

I carefully considered this option before fitting a (much more expensive) LeisureFurl in-boom system.

Bill

I am currently in process of installing one on my trimaran. I will have some pics in the gallery next week. Delmarrey built the stand off for the boom for me. Very simple system.
Sail shape will likely be sacrificed, but the advantages should outweigh the disadvantages. I am using a ReeFurl system. I have used this on my other boats, and have never had a problem with jamming, or any of the other issues with roller furlers. I like the infinite reef points, and the fact that I an control, or dowse the sail from the cockpit. The out haul also allows me the option to create as much belly in the sail as I like when running off the wind. With a vang, there is allot of control of sail shape available to compensate for lack of roach or battens.
There are battens available now for furling sails, but I have not researched them as that is a purchase way down the road. If you are having new sails made, it might be worth looking into. They are designed like venetian blinds, so they flatten and roll up, then when straight, they pop into a convex shape to hold straight.
It appears, the way my masthead is set up, I will not need to set off the top, only the bottom. This makes the conversion even easier.

[Lancerbye]

I have a CDI behind the mast reefer/furling with no boom. Works great. Cruising among islands causes one to have fickle winds. With a system that allows deployment of the sails this easy, means you use your sails more and your engine less. A neigbor a few boats down has a behind the mast reefer/furler and a boom. He also loves it. Both of these are pilothouse sailboats.

[Pelagic]

Stargazer came with the Profurl outside mast system on both my masts (plus headsails)

Works fine if you are not a racer and the system is pretty much idiot proof.

The one downside is that when furled up the mainsails slaps against the mast and if you are motoring up a long channel into a stiff breeze it really builds up a cadence and slaps hard!

When at anchor, I need to climb up to the mast and lash a sail tie around the furled sail and leather chaffing of the first spreader to get rid of that slapping movement if the wind picks up.

I wish there was an easier way to quiet it without having to climb the mast, especially if you are underway and shorthanded. Also a pain in the morning to remove it before getting underway

Anyone with similar experience and/or a better solution?

[Lancerbye]

Pelagic

I have never experienced that problem. Is the system tensioned up enough? or did the designer put it too close to the mast? How far back of the mast does it sit?

[Pelagic]

The inside cable is tensioned quite tight but I guess it could take a few more turns.

I guess (by definition) it is too close to the mast because it is slapping.

The space you see here from the foil to the back of the mast is about 4.5".

Less when the sail is furled on.

Both masts are the same.

How much space does your installation have Lancerbye?

[Joli]

Some of these systems have shoes around the main going up the mast. They clank also.

[waterworldly]

Many thanks for all the replies. I had never seen it, but then again, there are many things I haven't seen . . . yet!

[Lancerbye]

I am not at the boat presently. Just got back from there. Back in the Middle East for another 10 months. I would estimate about 3 inches of space between the furled sail and the mast at the bottom. Having spent a good deal of time up the mast this summer installing mast steps I know that there is give in the middle but I wouldn't be able to slap it against the mast without a lot of effort. My bottom bracket is very heavy duty and welded to the mast (Factory installation) so one can tighten the bottom turnbuckle until it can be used as a string instrument.

[Pelagic]

Thanks Lancerbye, I'll try tightening it up