Furlers

[Scandsailor]

Hello,
I just bought a 1968 Ericson 26ft sloop. The original owners had a furler on it before and were told that real sailors don't use a furler, so they threw it away. I kid you not, they just threw it out. Unfortunately, they also destroyed the jib sail shortly after they removed the furler. I'm looking to replace the furler soon to help give me some ease. What can you tell me about furlers for my boat?

 

[Loren Beach]

To roll or Not to roll

Furler gone, jib gone...
Rudder and Keel still there??

Seriously, modern jib furlling and reefing is great. We put in on our present boat right after we got the boat. It came with a Tuff Luff system and there was no way we were going to routinely feed a large genoa into a grooved stay on a moving deck.
Matter of fact, had I known how much I would like a furler, I would have put one of my prior 26 foot boat.
On a smaller boat, I do consider hanks a good solution, and probably avoid any dialog as to my "real sailor" credentials...

As an alternative, hanked-on sails should be just fine on a 26 footer, and the plus is that you can easily change sails between your lapper and your genny. Simplicity is "a good thing", for many reasons. There are many great modern furling systems on the market to choose from, if you want to change. I like Harken, but that's just me.

At the age of your boat, it may be dangerously-overdue for a re-rig anyway... and that would be the time to look into adding this feature to the forestay. And, speaking of time, this is one of those upgrades that amortizes out best if you are keeping the boat over 5 years, to pick a number.

Note that advice from strangers on the 'net is worth about what you pay...


Loren in PDX
[Olson 34, last 10 years. Niagara 26, the 10 years before that]

 

[Scandsailor]

Thanks for the advice Loren! And yes, the Rudder and Keel are still there. I'm working on the broken tiller now actually. This is actually my first boat. I've been sailing with my grandfather many times and now I decided to buy my own. I can't say I was expecting to get into a 26ft sloop for my first boat at 22 years old though. But I got it for $1,000 and I really couldn't pass the opportunity. I'm good with most kinds of work, so I don't mind restoring the boat myself at all. It's been fun actually. I re-did the counter last week. I was told I could buy things cheaper during the winter, and if that's true, I'll be doing most of my work then. So you think I should probably have the rigging checked out? Also, if you know anyone with parts for a 1967 Ericson sloop or know of a place to meet people selling parts, please let me know. I posted an add in the for sale/wanted form, but I didn't get any replies. Anyway, thanks very much!!!

 

[ccorcoran]

Rebuilding on a Budget

Welcome to EY.c I think you'll find this to be the best all around source for info about Ericsons. Sounds like you're looking for a few ideas on how to save money while refurbishing your late 60s 26. I'm not sure where you live, however, there are usually a number of chandleries, rigging shops and sail repair shops around larger sailing centers. If you're looking for a used furler, try a local rigging shop; they're often replacing systems and they're left with perfectly rebuildbable systems -- all you have to do is get friendly with the onwer/mananger and let him/her know how enthusiastic you are about your project. Same thing with sails; look around for repair lofts and you'll find they often have older used that still have some life and they sell them for pennies on the dollar (remember, some people have to have the newest, fastest, best right now and they discard perfectly usable sails). Loren is absolutely right about the rigging. It's time to step the mast, refinish as needed and replace/repair all the standing and running rigging; chances are, they've been up for a very, very long time. Much of the refurbishing you can accomplish yourself with tenacity and patience. The parts may cost a bit, but if you've been able to make friends with a local rigger/rigging shop, they may just be willing to help you out on the pricing. Restoring a sailboat is almost a full-time job and one that's never really complete; perhaps that why all of us are involved with these EY/c discussion forums -- it's nice to know that there are other "obsessed" boaters out there. Good luck and keep checking in with the forums for help and ideas.