Furling line fairleads vs. blocks

[cghubbell]

I'm looking into running my furling line outboard of the stanchions to improve the safety of my somewhat narrow side decks. It appears that there are two flavors of line leads: simple bullseye fairleads and those with blocks (pulleys).

Are there any guidelines as to when you need to move from fairleads to blocks? I would assume blocks are necessary at the first stanchion and last due to the line's direction changes, so I'm just talking about the middle three stanchions.

In my case, I have a 27' boat with a 150% genoa. Would the tension be low enough that I can get away with the less expensive and lower profile fairleads? I'm thinking yes, but hoping someone has practical experience to back up my guessing.

Thanks in advance,
Chris

[speciald]

Schaeffer makes a block that mounts around life line stantions. They work well, don't bang around, keep line off deck.

[bljones]

I ran blocks on all stanchions, just because I figured it might reduce furling effort, reduce fraying and it might reduce the tension on the stanchions. Probably not a big deal if you have a straighter lead down the side, but on a boat as short as mine, the line curves at each stanchion:

[knothead]

Originally Posted by cghubbell

I'm looking into running my furling line outboard of the stanchions to improve the safety of my somewhat narrow side decks. It appears that there are two flavors of line leads: simple bullseye fairleads and those with blocks (pulleys).

Are there any guidelines as to when you need to move from fairleads to blocks? I would assume blocks are necessary at the first stanchion and last due to the line's direction changes, so I'm just talking about the middle three stanchions.

In my case, I have a 27' boat with a 150% genoa. Would the tension be low enough that I can get away with the less expensive and lower profile fairleads? I'm thinking yes, but hoping someone has practical experience to back up my guessing.

Thanks in advance,
Chris

You pretty much have the right idea Chris. Where the line is deflected to any significant degree, you will be better off with a block than a fairlead. The first block aft of the drum should be able to articulate and should be positioned 90 degrees from the center of the drum and the after most block should also articulate.
As the line goes aft along the stanchions, there is not much change in direction so fairleads should be fine.
You might also consider making the last block a rachet in order to keep a little tension on the line as it pays out.

[JohnRPollard]

This thread might be helpful as you consider options:

A New Option

[Mark1948]

I have a 27 with a 150 and each of my stantions has a "pully" mount. remember if you mount on the outside, unless specially designed the mount will not be effective because the sheave will be on the outside and your line on the inside and not using the pully to reduce friction. On the inside mount there has been no problem as the line stays off deck. Catalina 27 FYI.

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by Mark1948

... remember if you mount on the outside, unless specially designed the mount will not be effective because the sheave will be on the outside and your line on the inside and not using the pully to reduce friction. ...

With the exception of the bulls-eye type leads, the other options intended for outside mounting (such as those from Harken, Schaeffer, and Garhauer -- see link in my previous post) all address this issue and have engineered very effective solutions. No friction whatsoever to worry about.