Furler recommendation?

[Hartley18]

Happy New Year guys.. just coming up briefly for air to post this:

My 30-something year old Hood Seafurl 3250 has finally worn out in more than a few places and I find myself needing a new headsail furler. It chewed the headsail the same time, so I'm not constrained by cut since what I have needs to go to the sailmaker anyway.

Any suggestions (brand/model) to suit a heavy old 30-footer??

Thanks,
Cameron

(Gotta run.. back soon! )

[RobGallagher]

How about a "maybe steer clear of this one" recommendation? The Hood SL series.

I replaced my 30+ yr old Hood single line furler with an economical Hood SL model. It wasn't horrible and is still working several years later, however;
1. There are design flaws requiring two repairs that involved removing the lower part of the unit.
2. If you are not careful unfurling and keeping tension on the line even after it's unfurled it can create one hell of a tangle. The line can and will pop over the prongs outside the spool/drum, if you are in any kind of air and have a bit of sail rolled up as a reef good, well, good luck with that....

If I had to do it all over again, I would have gone another route.

[paulk]

Furlers have developed in the last 30 years. Most of the name brands seem to work pretty well. We got a Furlex because it seemed to be pretty rugged, but Harken and others appear popular too.

[remetau]

We recently replaced our old Famet with an Alado. It has a very similar simple yet better design as the Famet. The construction seems very sturdy and yet I was able to completely install it myself using our existing forestay.

[arf145]

I'm happy with the Alado I installed at the beginning of last season.

[knuterikt]

I installed a Facnor FD 230 on my boat in May.

• The flat deck furling drum is lower than standard drums so I get a larger luff length.
• Using webbing on the drum give more leverage when furling (especially at the start of when furling in).
• You can't get overrides on the drum with webbing
• There is room for a turnbuckle inside the furling drum, so it is possible the have one installed an still get the drum low.

I installed it myself, easy - just follow the book



it's note easy to spot but the turbuckle sits inside here.
To adjust you must remove two screws and slide the furling drum up to get access to the turnbuckle.

[Alex W]

I just replaced a Hood 810LD (line drive, continous loop) furler with a Hood Seafurl 5 (http://hoodyachtsystems.com/pdf%20files/253data.pdf). The new one has independent swivels at the foot and head like a Harken MKIV. I haven't used it enough conditions to say if it is great or not, but so far it seems pretty good.

Hood gave me a good deal on it since my 810LD was failing (no longer could reef, only furl) and they no longer sell the upgrade kit for the 810.

[killarney_sailor]

You might consider the Reef Rite from New Zealand. It has some some very nice features for reefing and changing sails if those are of interest to you. Other than that one, there are a lot of very good furlers out there. We have a Shaeffer that has been excellent. We also considered Profurl and Harken and I am sure they would have been fine. One thing to think of -different companies models do not have the same recommended size ranges. For one company you may be able to use a smaller, and cheaper model than for another.

[glassdad]

We have been using the Alado Furler for 3 years now. I am very happy with it. i have had no problems. We sail a Catalina 30 so your 30 footer should work.

[CalypsoP35]

I replaced my 30 year old Hood furler last spring. I went with the Harken MKIV and have been very pleased after one season. If you go with Harken, I was advised to stay away from the cruising version of the Harken furler line. Not only does it not have a swivel at the head, I was told the materials used on the MKIV are of higher quality. Well worth the extra $400. I replaced my standing rigging at the same time. I gave the riggers my old standing rigging and they replicated. I was then able to install the furler myself.