Hood in mast furling

JohnYates · #1 05-01-2001

I recently purchased a boat with an electric in mast roller furling system by Hood. Does anyone have tips for furling in heavy weather? I only recall something about clockwise furling if furling on a port tack or something like that. Comments and practical tips appreciated.

SHIMSHON · #2 05-02-2001

I have the manual Hood System but I have learned the following;
-have as little rake as possible in the mast
-regardless of tack, always furl and unfurl in the same direction
-in heavy weather you want to head up a bit when reefing in order to depower the main
-keep all parts of system well lubricated, unless sealed
Be more than happy to discuss further. Also, do you have a flute stopper? If not you will drive everyone crazy when at the dock and the wind is 10-20 degrees abaft the stern. What kind of boat do you have?

JohnYates · #3 05-03-2001

Thanks for the advice. I have a Bristol 45 that I took ownership of last week. There are a great many systems to learn on this boat and it''ll take some time to get up to speed. My last boat is a Tartan 34 without much of the electronics, furling and other gear now found on the Bristol - quite a step up really.

SHIMSHON · #4 05-03-2001

Nice boat! If it was sold when new by Norwalk Cove Marina (CT) I probably looked at it. I recently looked at a Bristol 54.4, Just massive and a little too much boat for me. I have a Pedrick 47; designed by Dave Pedrick and built by Cheoy Lee--very comfortably equipped and a good off shore boat as well as excellent cruising boat. We brought her to Maine Three years ago after spending 10 years on Long Island Sound. You should try Maine if you haven''t done so already.

captchase · #5 05-04-2001

We have the Hood in mast furling on our 1981 Gulfstar 44 and always furl in the same direction but for no particular reason other than that was the direction it was furled in the first place!
Do you know how to furl it manually if the electric motor fails?

JohnYates · #6 05-04-2001

No, I don''t know how the system furls manually. I did notice a small lever on the mast. I tried to see if it was related to the furling system and a perculiar item (looked like the star shaped female hole on top of all winches but without the winch) on the fareward facing side of the mast. Either I didn''t engage the inner winch properly or there is a stripped gear inside. Anyway, nothing seemed to be working in any manual form. Thanks in advance for you comments and advice.

SHIMSHON · #7 05-05-2001

John,

You should be able to do two things with that Hood System;
1) Lock the furling gear so that the sail cannot unfurl by itself and
2) Manually engage the furling gear by moving the lever you noticed and inserting a which handle in the opening. You should than be able to furl or unfurl.