Roller furling advice

[Frenchy]

I hope someone can advise on a Hood furling problem or recommend a new system. The top extrusion has disconnected because the plastic bearing tube and the aluminum splice piece have inexplicably slid down.
My best guess on repair is to disconnect the sta-lok at the bottom (good luck on that, with 30+ years of corrosion
and tension), slide out the headstay, put in a new extrusion section at the top and then install a new headstay,
which the boat really needs anyway. Hopefully, I could figure out why the bearing tube and splice piece travelled
downwards. I did notice that the headstay wires have a high angle twist - so maybe in the past, there was a
halyard wrap. That would also shorted the headstay a bit.
If all this is not practical- the furler is 37 years old- I'd consider a new unit. Schaefer is one of the best,
I understand, but expensive. I would be leaning more toward Harken or Profurl. Here's a coupe of pics of the
problem:

[Jim Evans]

Hi Jean - when my Hood furler started giving me problems a few years ago, I replaced it with a Schaefer 2100, and I have no regrets at all. I had the local rigger install it, along with a new forestay. Given the age of the original Hood furler, it was time for it to go, and I did not consider trying to repair it. I hope this helps.

[Jim Walsh]

http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=35763
http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=34052

Both my staysail and yankee have Harken ESP units. These have the round foil with one sail slot as opposed to the foil which has two slots so a racing boat can have a replacement headsail in place before dropping the existing headsail. I have had no issues with either unit. I assembled and installed both units myself in an afternoon.
I would not hesitate to replace your old Hood Profurl unit and headstay. The headstay replacement is overdue and the Hood furling unit has earned its gold watch and retirement party.

[Frenchy]

That's good to know, Jim. Maine Sail is also a big fan of Harken. I have faith in both of your judgements. - Jean

[s2sailorlis]

I had a Profurl on my last boat, a 27 footer. I really liked the design and it is bulletproof. Easy to maintain, easy access to the forestay turnbuckle, relatively easy to find parts.

My current CD22 has a Furlex which is a bad design since it doesn’t fit over a turnbuckle. You need to use a fixed forestay length. Great if the wire never stretches.....

[mgphl52]

For what it's worth, I am also a big fan of ProFurl. Very simple, quite rugged and easy to maintain.

[Frenchy]

Thanks everyone for taking time for your inputs. I vacillated back and forth between Profurl and Harken and
eventually settled on a new Harken Mk IV, unit 1. I ordered it from Binnacle.com because of a tip from a
previous post on this forum. They had the best price. With the new furler, I'm also getting a new forestay and
turnbuckle, ordered from Rigging Only.
As Jim Walsh said, the old Hood Seafurl 2 has earned its gold watch. It served reliably with absolutely no problems for
37 years. -Jean