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I have a 28 foot, 7,000 pound sloop with hanked-on foresails on a 34-foot forestay. I am seeking some advice on adding roller furling. We are very casual cruisers / daysailers we'd generally opt for a simple, lower cost but still capable solution over a performance high-end solution.
So, my questions.
1. Can a handy person install one's own roller furling gear? (The mast will be down anyway this winter.)
2. CDI's units appear to be lower cost, but simple and capable. Thoughts?
3. What might I expect to pay to have a 130 hank-on genoa re-cut for roller furling use?
1. Yes, if you're good at following directions and are good with basic tools, allen keys, plyers, screwdrivers, etc. you should be fine.
2. They work just fine. I think everyone has a preference but if properly maintained (nothing on a boat is maintenance free) then all types should work.
3. Is it a complete recut or just putting on a luff tape? Adding foam? This could vary widely but go with a trusted local sailmaker who will come out on your boat and look at the sail after it's cut. You'll pay upfront, but customer support later on is very important.
My wild a$$ guess is around $4-500 without adding foam. 200 of that will probably be in labor for the luff tape.
Be absolutely positive you want roller furling. A 28 footer is pretty managable with a simple down haul on a 130. A 150-170 headsail becomes a bigger problem.
Harken is reputed to be the easiest to self install of the "real" furlers.
The CDI and Aladous do not have a top swivel which makes them much less expensive.
They work ok but you can get better tension and sail shape with a furler that has a top swivel.
In all cases you should check with your sailmaker to find out how much it will cost to remake your sail. It will certainly be a few hundred so you sail has to be worth putting that much into it.
Also if you head stay is not wonderful this is a good time to replace it as it will be hidden and harder to survey.
The install is easy enough DEPENDING on how many things you have taken apart and put back together
It is fully possible to make catastrophic mistakes
IMHP you will be very disappointed PAYING for a sail recut to furl as there is lot of hardware were the tape belongs and sewing on the UV protection is costly to have done
It is my wife, not me, who wants the furling in the first place. She thinks I'm gonna get tossed right off the foredeck some day. I am perfectly happy with a hank-on solution for our 3 headsails; 150, 130 and 110. The downhaul is a good compromise... we have one on our little 17 foot daysailer and can dowse that jib in 5 seconds.
I just need some ammo that says roller furling is expensive, hard to install and breaks all the time!
Looking for reasons not to: it will be expensive when you figure you will have to change the luff tape and add cover material on all three jibs. unless the the 110 has battens and then you will not be able to use it unless you go to soft or vertical battens, even more money.
The first question with converting a sail is whether it is full hoist. As the furler system shortens the hoist, a full hoist sail needs to have its luff shortened to start. If so, you should just plan on a new sail.
If not, adding a luff tape, a UV shield and a strap (to get full hoist for the furling unit) should run $3-500.
Once you get used to roller furling, it can be hard to imagine doing without...
If you do it yourself, you had better be very good friends with the people who will raising your mast.
If your reasonably handy it is an easy enough job. Read the directions thoroughly. Then read them again while looking at the parts so you can see how they work/go together. I installed a Profurl on my previous boat (Tartan 34), by myself, with the mast still up. Took about 3 hrs but was easy enough.
I agree with Faster, plan on $2k +/- (and worth every dollar)
I'm with Tommays; I was fine with my hank on jib, but once I put the roller furling on, it was like a revalation. I'll never go back.
I spent $800 for the whole thing: furler, hardware, and jib mods for an Oday 23. My sailmaker is a CDI dealer, and he knows he has to compete with the internet, so he offered to sell me the unit for whatever the best price was I could find online.
For the furler (CDI), I had my sailmaker put the thing together for me. It didn't look difficult, but getting the foil to flatten out is really a two man job and I didn't have help readily available. I did the "installation" myself with the mast down. I had a luff tape and foam put on my jib, and I bought some stantion blocks to run the furling line back to the cockpit. One thing to keep in mind with the CDI: if your current headstay is already "long" (i.e., your turnbuckle is already adjusted to take up a lot of slack), then you will probably need to replace the headstay. The CDI uses the existing turnbuckle/headstay and if it can't be shortened enough to accomodate a portion of the furler's length, you will have to buy a new, shorter headstay. I had just replaced all of my standing rigging a year or two before buying the furler so I really didn't want to have to buy a new headstay; luckily, things fit just fine.
I'm with Tommays; I was fine with my hank on jib, but once I put the roller furling on, it was like a revalation. I'll never go back.
I spent $800 for the whole thing: furler, hardware, and jib mods for an Oday 23. My sailmaker is a CDI dealer, and he knows he has to compete with the internet, so he offered to sell me the unit for whatever the best price was I could find online.
For the furler (CDI), I had my sailmaker put the thing together for me. It didn't look difficult, but getting the foil to flatten out is really a two man job and I didn't have help readily available. I did the "installation" myself with the mast down. I had a luff tape and foam put on my jib, and I bought some stantion blocks to run the furling line back to the cockpit. One thing to keep in mind with the CDI: if your current headstay is already "long" (i.e., your turnbuckle is already adjusted to take up a lot of slack), then you will probably need to replace the headstay. The CDI uses the existing turnbuckle/headstay and if it can't be shortened enough to accomodate a portion of the furler's length, you will have to buy a new, shorter headstay. I had just replaced all of my standing rigging a year or two before buying the furler so I really didn't want to have to buy a new headstay; luckily, things fit just fine.
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