Roller Furling?

[Kemah]

I've been through pretty much all the postings on headsail roller furling on the CD board, and am wondering how serious is the potential for furler malfunctioning/problems when sailing, and also the potential danger of a roller furler in a major blow on a mooring in a semi-exposed harbor. I'm trying to decide whether to go the hanked-on or roller furler route (current sails are pretty baggy, so the time for new ones has just about arrived). Maybe I should just bite the bullet and enjoy the freedom and lack of need to go on deck in rough conditions, and not worry about a very small potential for problems?

[Joe CD MS 300]

When I leave my boat for more than a day or two I'll put a few wraps around the furled jib with a line and tie it off as high up near the clew as I can reach in addition to just cleating off the furling line for some added protection. If you are concerned about a blow its not really hard to pull the jib off. Getting it on with one person is probably a little harder that a hanked on jib but getting it off is easier, just pull it down through the slot. With two people (one working the halyard and one working the sail) it may be a little quicker than a hanked on sail both on and off.

[mgphl52]

We always try to remove sails when battening down for a TS or hurricane. For Ivan (2004), the there was a jam that forced me to leave the head sail up so I made sure the sheets and furling line were well secured. That was the last storm that our marina has allowed boats on our docks to stay. For Dennis & Katrina (2005), we stripped all sails and anchored out. With both bow anchors well set, KAYLA rode out both very well. The major concern is from those "other" boats that aren't properly anchored...

And now that I have a furler (after many years with just hank on) I can't imagine ever going back! I will also highly endorse Pro-Furl with it's single line and well designed (and simple!) cage and drum. A friend with another brand (using the end-less loop line) has a great deal of trouble when trying to sail with his head sail partially furled. This has never been a problem with our Pro-Furl, even in winds over 35 knots.

Pictures from our marina before, during and after Ivan are available here http://sv-kayla.org/KAYLA/Ivan/index.html and include some examples of why it's a good idea to remove head sails!