I am thinking seriously about buying a harken small boat furler...any suggestions on luff wire size and should I sew this into the sail with the dacron tape? Does anyone have pictures of their headsail furler set up...I guess I just need a point of reference. Furling and a quick reef system are on the agenda for this winter's projects.
a.
The Harken small boat fuarling systems work well. The smallest one is fine for the Weekender and would also work with a Vacationer jib.
The recommended is a 7 strand counterlaid luff wire no larger than 1/8" in diameter. from a practical point of view a vinyl coated wire will be much easier to work with from a sewing point of view. Sewing in a tapered foam filler will make the luff wrap up more evenly and easily. Wider at the middle of the luff and tapering down to nothing at top and bottom.
The Dacron filler will make it easier to sew and will help the wearability of the luff. I've seen the sailmaiers use a 3M spray adhesive on that filler strip and the foam to help tie things together and get them aligned correctly. But then a double sided seam tape would work just as well. The explaination for the spray on adhesive is that it isn't a consistent width and will hold all the odd pieces in place better with the luff wire centered just where you want it to be.
Not being a sewing person myself, you will have a much better handle on this than I would. I've watched a number of other novices work this challenge and none of then had any real issues with accomplishing it. All of them furl and set just fine and smoothly. All of them used stainless rings to connect to and had thin leather sewn in to reinforce the rings.
Admiral, you might want to check on the price of a CDI furler also.... generally about 1/2 of what Harken or Shaffer cost. The difference is the extrusion is not completely round like on Harken or Shaffer, several of my friends have CDI on there boats and that is what is being put on my big boat. However, if money is no object go for the Harken it will run a bit smoother. However the price difference for Windrose was over $800, for $800 I can cope with a little slop in the system.... it ain't the America's Cup, Windrose is set up for comfort not for speed.
You might also want to check ebay, I see small furlers on there all the time-- cheap. There are also several folks on here that have built furlers for there WE and Vac, so maybe they will chime in here.
For reefing, I still reef Fat Chance the old fashioned way but you might want to look at jiffy reefing if you want something a little more fancy and easier to work.
I've started a women's cruising group in my area, we have 6 cruising size sailboats (28'-37') and 3 cruising size powerboats in our fleet (The Broad Reachers :lol: :lol: :lol: ) and about 20 women in the group. Last night we went to Naptown to the lighted boat parade and out for dinner and drinks..... we are planning an extended cruise for early April so winter finds me refining Windrose for some serious cruising this coming season.... one of the things is installing the furler... I'll let you know how it goes.
Ahoy Adla,
I know almost nothing about furlers, or how to install them.
John Teetsel has one his boat. Give him a call, won't you?
I was cruising around the web while I waited on our friends and I see the Harken small boat furler doesn't have an extrusion which makes it priced considerably less than furlers with an extrusion. Harken makes a good product, Olaf Harken caught me as I fell off a boat once.... but that's another story. :lol:
Hey Angie -
i have been looking at the smallest harken furler...it is pretty cheap even at list. I just can't get my head around how they work....must be something I need to see first...sometimes the concept escapes me.
Jim -
I have seen John's - in fact his is so slick it is what sold me on needing one.
i am wiped out!! Spent the last two days trying to clean up my yard so I can get to work on Morgaine and the vacationer that sits back there under the carport....i have a lot to do. i was going to try to take Morgaine out one more time this winter but I have decided that next weekend I am taking the mast off and the bowsprit, removing her from the trailer and getting ready to do some repairs...She'll be a new boat by spring.
a.
I bought a Shaffer top swivel, and a Jibaway brand furler both on Ebay for $80, and $40 respectivly. I made the furling sail assembly with a tarp,
coated stainless cable, and 1/2 inch white plastic water pipe. I folded a 4 inch strip of tarp over the wire, and clear duct taped it. Then cut the slot along the length of the plastic pipe, using a table saw, slid in over the tarp wrapped wire. I mixed a batch of slightly thickened epoxy and poured down each end of the pipe, it secured roughly 1 foot of the wire to the pipe, on each end. The whole system cost less that $200, and gave me a nice furling jib.
Greg
The concept is pretty simple really. The headstay remains it handles the load of the mast and the rigging. The jib has a luff wire sewn in and it has two two thimbles attached one at the head and one at the foot. They just clip onto the swivels at the head and at the furler spool.
The furling spool sits just behind the forestay and you use the jib halyard to control tension on the luff wire. It isn't hard to keep it taut enough for good sail shape and still have the forestay carry the primarly loading. When the sail is furled, the jib sheet(s) remain attached. The furling line is only wrapped a couple times around the spool. It should run through an eye at a 90 degree angle to the spool and then thru other eyes back to a cleat beside the cockpit. The idea is that when you want to set the jib, you release the line to the spool and maintain a little tension on it. As you pull the jib sheet the jib unfurls. Once the jib is unfurled, it is just as if it were on the forestay and you sail as normal.
When you want to furl the jib, you simply release the jib sheet(s) and pull in the furling spool line. The jib wraps up around the luff wire and when it is wound up, you tie off both the jib sheet and the furling line. That keeps things nice an tidy while you are working your way back to the launch.
The reason for the foam to be added to the luff as a filler is to keep things roughly the same dimensions as you roll the jib up on the luff wire. Otherwise the roll is thicker at both ends and loose in the middle which makes it a little more awkward to control tension.
In practice, the only real concern is to keep the tension on the spooling line so that it doesn't get fouled. That can be awkward to untangle under some circumstances. Otherwise there isn't any reason to have to leave the cockpit to handle the jib while underway.
I have a Harken furler on my boat Adla. I don't however have the top swivel that is supposed to come with it. I have a snap shackle with a swivel which doesn't work all that well. I have troubles with mine unfurling it because I don't have the correct part and my jib is too stiff at the head and tends to want to stay wrapped around the wire. Dacron sails would help a lot. Even with the problems I do like my furler, it sure is nice to be able to pull that jib in quickly when you need to. I think I going to put a large furling line on it over the winter, it's set up for a very small line now. All I need to do is drill the hole out to fit a 1/4 line through it.
I keep looking for a swivel to show up on ebay that I can grab. I may also try to find a new jib for next season as well
Keith
Keith,
This is a good alternative top swivel and it will hold up very well to the loads we would be placing on it. It is also available with a stationary wire that keeps it from twisting in the top block of the halyard.
Call around to the local chandlrys and ask them if they carry RKO products. They'll get the one you need or you could just order this one.
http://www.thechandleryonline.com//produ...1%5FHR2080
Don't get in a hurry to put a heavier spooling line on the jib. You will most likely find that a 1/4" line will not give you better/easier furling. More than likely it will foul quicker. That has been my experience over the years with furling spools.