roller furling

[Sea Hunt]

The following link (if I copied it correctly) is an article on roller furling systems. For me, a tadpole sailor, it was educational. Although the article is undated, I believe the magazine it was in was published May 2002 so it is a little dated. However, I think the general comments remain true today.

http://www.sailingbreezes.com/sailing_b ... urling.htm

The one thing the article did not appear to address was the procedure for removing the Genoa from the roller furler. In South Florida, whenever there is an "H" warning, prudent sailors remove ALL canvas from their sailboats. On S/V Tadpole I just remove the bimini cover and the boom and main. The Genoa/jib are hank on so I just take the sail bags home.

How difficult is it to remove a 135-150 Genoa from a roller furling system Is the degree of difficulty specific to each system - Harken, Schaefer, CDI, Alado, etc. Is it a one man job or are two or more required to remove the Genoa

[Ron M.]

It's probably faster to remove a rf headsail than a hank on. Release the tack from the drum, let go the halyard, and down she comes. My 135 brings itself down.
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HONDA CBR250 SPECIFICATIONS

[Ron Churgin]

I have just switched my very old CDI furler for a Harken. I switched the CDI out because the torque joints were bent and broken, probably when the mast was taken down (and I was not there to watch). When the torque joints get bent or break it becomes impossible to hoist the sail and very difficult to pull it down. Other than that problem, the CDI worked well for me in all sorts of winds. I could have repaired the CDI but they dont make the torque joints anymore. They said I could cut down the old ones but its a 10-15 year old system and the old joints looked beat anyway.

So, after reading the board and getting the gist of all the wise folks opinions here I went with a Harken Mk IV unit 0. This was based on cost as well. The Schaefer 1100 looked very nice as well as the Profurl but were significantly more money (like double). One thing I didnt like about the Harken was that my fairleads were not adjusted properly at first and caused a horrible mess. The furling line slipped between the cage and the top of the drum. Fortunately it was not a windy day. Now that it is located correctly it works fine (was just out in 20 knot winds today and it was smooth).

The biggest improvement over the CDI is the ease of hoisting and setting the genoa. Its really easy. The advantage CDI has is the self contained halyard that eliminates halyard wrap and gives you a spare halyard since the jib halyard is not used. But with the CDI you have to rig a messenger line and even under the best circumstances its iffy hoisting and setting the sail.

If getting your sail up and down easily and quickly in tough conditions is critical, you should definitely go with a Harken, Schaeffer, Profurl or that type.