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E27: furling jib or not?

dc27

have boat, need time
hello all,

i recently purchased a '78 E27 that i'm in process of restoring to sailing shape before good weather returns. i'm already purchasing a new main from Doyle (the boat came with what i believe to be the original main, after 29 years basically a bedsheet), and now i have to turn my attention foreward. so the question: a roller furling system with, say, a 135 for general purpose cruising, or a compliment of No. 1-4 sails?

my local "panel of experts" are remarkably divided in their opinions, and equally strident: the furling camp cites ease of use (after complexity of installation), and say they would never go back on their own boats; the hank-n-hoist set maintains that furling jibs are less efficient performers, harder to change out for blades in squalls, take too much abuse from the elements when they're not in use, etc.

i didn't have a furler on my last boat, so i have no experience with them; basically i'm an open book on this issue and *i need to decide soon*. for what it's worth, it will be me sailing with my girlfriend up and down Puget Sound; occassionally i'll be with someone less experienced on the water than she; the only races i'm in are pretty informal affairs.

what would you do? all advice welcome!
 

polackrm

Member I
Roller Furling

I own an E-29 here in Puget Sound, Port Angeles, and last year installed a roller furling system on my boat and have been extremely happy with it. I really looked around before I purchased my unit. The system that I finally bought is an Alado system, made in Brazil. It is very well made, installs very easily right over the head stay and is factory set up to carry 2 headsails so changing sails is not a problem. You simply put one sail up and then take the other sail down. The cost of the unit, including shipping, was right around $700.00, it comes complete except, of course, for furling line and halyards. The unit is self contained and does not use the halyards off of the boat so there is no worry about halyard wrap. Hope that this helps.
Bob, E-29 "Pegasus" Port Angeles, WA.
 

Rob Hessenius

Inactive Member
What would I do?

DC, I would have a furler . What ever make of furler you choose, will be a good choice. There are hundreds of post about this one versus that one. The consensus is that they are all fine. Problems that occur are usually ones that happen to each make and model. If you are a racing purist, you would not even consider a furler, but they sure make your life easy. I think most will agree that they use their boat more because of the roller furling.BOL. Rob Hessenius
 
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Mindscape

Member III
To furl or not to furl

DC - After many years without one on a 25, my Ericson 32 came with one. I could kick myself for not installing one on my 25. If you sail shorhanded or single handed often, it's the way to go. I single hand a lot and the furler makes it that much easier. If you are a racer, I think there is more to consider but if you generally use your boat for crusing and sail with limited crew I would definitly go with a furler. You'll find quite a bit of discussion on this if you search. My $.02, good luck!
 

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
My first boat had a furler, which was quite convenient, but I occasionally had problems with the furling line wrapping around the drum in a way that caused it to become stuck--nevertheless, it was convenient, as I could adjust the amount of sail for the wind conditions, which was nice when I was just learning.
My second boat came with 4 headsails, no furler. I appreciated the improved sail shape of having the right sail up depending on wind conditions, and felt more "nautical" doing all my sail changes--but at times it was a real pain when I had light wind in the morning and put up the 150 genoa, only to have to change to a 100 sail as the breeze picked up around 11:00, and then change again to the 150 when the wind dropped again around 2:00, and then change to the 135 when the wind picked up again in the later afternoon. And all this while single-handing the boat. It was rare that I didn't have to do at least one sail change a day, and often more.
On my current boat (Ericson 30+), I again have a furler (it came with one), and I have rediscovered the convenience of a furler. I think the technology has improved since my first one, so it works well.
In summary, either way can work, and hanked on sails will give a better shape and slightly better performance, but the convenience of a furler is great, especially when sailing alone.
Hope that helps.
Frank.
 

BrianP

Member II
package deals

I know sailwarehouse has furler sail packages check it out possibe good route for you.
 

dc27

have boat, need time
these are all good and informed responses -- thanks! (and feel free to keep 'em coming...)

i guess a related question would be: assuming a furler, what size sail? 135? 140? something else?
 

ChrisS

Member III
As the other posts say, the ease of roller furler beats out any performance compromise, unless you are racing. Having to hank on a sail and then fold it later isn't all that much work, but I find that I go out for shorter sails much more often becauuse of the fact that the boat is pretty much ready to go.

I've got a Harken unit that has performed flawlessly since it was installed; the sail size is a 110%. This is a good sized sail for my boat in moderate to windy conditions.
 

Seth

Sustaining Partner
Genoa size 4 U

You will be happy going with a furler-I suggest a 135 with foam (or polypropeline-depending on the sailmaker) luff as an all-around sail for the boat-This should give reasonable light air performance-GREAT midrange performance, and will be strong enough to maintain a resonable shape when reefed in bigger breeze.

To round out the inventory, add a cruising spinnaker and you are basically done (for general coastal cruising and daysailing)-this sail will optimize your light air sailing (very close reaching down to broad reaching) when the genny is struggling, and in bigger air at deeper angles help make more miles...

Enjoy,

S
 

Quiet Magic

Member II
Alado furlers

I, as well, sail a ericson 27 with hanked on headsails. My dad and me would really like to move to a furler. The one I originally wanted to go with was the Alado. I really like its price compared to others and I like its supposed ease of installing. My question is: does anybody here have a lot of experience with this brand of furler? Any input is very welcome. Thanks
 

Seth

Sustaining Partner
Fuler choices

I think it is very important to stay with a brand of furler that is well supported in the US-or even better, your local sailing area.

There are lots of brands that seem to work well, but are virtually unknown to most people-like the Alado. Most of them are OK (am not familiar with that one, though), but when you have a failure, and you will, you could be stuck without a headsail to use for literally months waiting for a part to be shipped from overseas. Also there is resale to consider. As with sails, name brand components bring better $$$.

Harken, Furlex, Profurl, & Hood Seafurl, are all top quality systems that are readily servicable, well known to almost all riggers, and well supported. Next in line, but also good are: Shaeffer, Facnor, and CDI.
CDI in fact is usually priced very well for boats under 30, and is really only appropriate for the smaller (ish)boats....but it is a good value for those boats.

I think those are the safe bets-most others will be hard to find parts for and hard to find riggers familiar with them. Each system has its' own set of issues and peculiarities, so this is not a trivial matter. OTOH, as time passes since I left the "biz", there may be other products that have become established-but that is the key concern: buy something "established" rather than be the only guy on your dock with a whiz-bang furler with parts from Mars;)


Not that I have an opinion....:p

Seth
 
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dc27

have boat, need time
thanks Seth!

your point the on the availability of replacement parts is well taken, and i'm definitely leaning toward one of the more universal brands. i'm thinking of Harken Mk. IV because it's so ubiquitous -- and i need to decide soon, good weather will be here before i know it!
 

Quiet Magic

Member II
wow seth, Thanks a lot. That is a point that never occured to me. Beyond Alado the other brand I wanted to go with was Harken. Now I'm wondering which model of harken furler would go best with a 27 foot boat.:confused:
 

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
If you check the Harken website, they have a chart showing which model is appropriate for various sized boats. Or if you have a good local rigger, they will likely be able to advise you, and will likely be more than willing to sell it to you, install it, test it and charge you lots of money!:D
Frank.
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
I Vote For Harken.

I have been watching this post for a couple days now reading what the experts had to say before I chime in. My E-27 came with a Harken furler when I bought the boat five years ago. It was a definite selling point on my decision to buy the boat, just as was the boat had a Yanmar Diesel. My Harken furling system included a foil with two luff tracks in it so I can change sails easily. I went with a 140 Genoa for those light air days here on the So Cal Coast. I sail in a area called Hurricane Gulch. We can count on a lot of wind most afternoons during the spring, summer and fall. When it starts blowing 17 to 18 knots I just take about four wraps on the Genoa and the boat handles it comfortably. I do have a foam luff sewn in as well so it holds pretty good shape when reefed. I have sailed with up to eight warps on the 140 when it starts blowing over 20 knots with a full, un reefed main. I know I probably shouldn't do that (Seth?) but I am guilty of being tired and lazy some times after a long weekend at Catalina coming back to my slip through the gulch.

Take a look at the pics. Sorry I can't tell you what model it is but it has been a bullet proof system. To me the Harken furlers look beefier than other systems I have seen. Who knows you might find a used Harken somewhere. E-Bay?
 

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rwthomas1

Sustaining Partner
I vote for Profurl, its what I've got. When I look at other brands the Profurl just looks more stout. Has been trouble free so far. RT
 

rgoff

Member III
About 3 years ago I put a Harken Unit 0 on my boat. I see they now call them MK IV with various Unit #'s. Unit 0 is for 22-30 ft boats. The current price is lower than what I paid for mine. Hmmmm. Sounds unlikely. I see the "toggle assy" is extra.

Anyway mine works great.
 

Seth

Sustaining Partner
Harken

Sorry I missed these last posts...The 27 would use the Harken unit 0, and might get away with the 00AL-the determining factor is headstay diameter and pin size (Yes- length is a factor in determining which model to use-but either model can be set up for the headstay length on any 27), I don't remember what those numbers (HS dia. and pin size) for the 27, but I'm sure Jeff or others here will know that, and then the Harken web site can guide you through which model to use-or you can call them (or your local West Marine can help as well).

Harken is my preference, but sometimes one of the vendors (CDI, HOOD, Pro-furl, etc.) will have a special, and if you found a CDI for 25-30% less I would consider it-but for even money or even 10% more, Harken is my first choice for furlers in most applications. BUT..they are all very good products and well supported.

Cheers,
S
 
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