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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Roller Furling or Hank-On ?

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Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2006 : 12:42:09

Hey Frank
Check out #6 in your link to shizzle.

No thanks

By the way, my Schaefer CF-700 furler with flexible foil is perfect for my trailer sailing 25. It has torlon bearings, and has never hung up. The drum is large enough so I can use 5/16" fuzzy line to roll it up.
I'm fairly certain that if one is considering the CDI furler be aware that it uses a smaller than normal bolt rope size. You must be careful when selecting sails. Maybe someone with a CDI can confirm, or deny this rumor.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2006 : 13:26:23

CDI uses #6 luff tape which I believe is the most common. As for my Urban cred, trust me, I can say it.

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2006 : 14:42:14

We sailed 6 years with hank ons and then got a furler. I could slap myself for not switching sooner.

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roktabija@yahoo.com
Deckhand

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20 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2006 : 16:20:36

Rollers are easy. I miss my old harken roller and I would have put it back on in a heartbeat except my racing crew would have objected to the scenery change (too many sterns on the horizon).

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Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts

Response Posted - 11/24/2006 : 21:49:38

After MUCH soul searching and speaking with many friends and this forum, helped

, immensley, we have decided to go with the roller furling

, we have ordered it from Catalina direct, which sends "All the Parts", we ordered the Harken 00, We will install it by Xmas and will not get to use it until April

, But we hope it lives up to expectations. We will keep you advised. Many thanks again for the input!
Now onto buying a headsail.. Cruising Direct is looking good for now..we will see how it shakes out. BTW When I ordered the furling I reminded Catalina Direct to kick back to the association for our order.

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Renzo
Admiral

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USA
621 Posts

Response Posted - 11/25/2006 : 07:54:15

It's kind of like the the difference between driving a stick or an automatic, and I guess I'd have to agree with the hank on side of this disscussion.I don't remember if that's the side with the shizzle or the coon dung; but I have sailed and raced with hank on sails for 24 years and they can't be beat for performance. Yes they are a little more work, but, over the years I have found ways to make raising and lowering a little more efficient. I go out with the head sail pulled back and cleated on one side of the boat, and I have it secured to the lifeline with a bungie cord that can be released from amidships. I raise the main first and when I am sailing on the appropriate tack I release the bungie cord and raise the jib,it fills imeadiately and I don't have to go foward of the mast. For dropping the jib in heavy air I usually heave-to and the sail, pretty much, falls on deck when the the haylard is released. I admit that I some times think about converting to a furler but I kind of like the "work" associated with sailing. The coiling of lines. the hoisting,trimming,tacking and folding of sails, gives me some much needed exercize and there is some zen like meditative quality associated with the tasks that relaxes me. I guess that's what attracted me to sailing in the first place. That being said I will probably get a furling system sometime in the future(for the convienince) but I'm not in a hurry,

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farrison
Navigator

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USA
166 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2006 : 17:36:18

Alan;

I have some off-brand furler ( unidentified anywhere) on my SR/WK that came with the boat. It doesn't have bearings, only a plastic pad that the furler spins on. I added two teflon pads to ease the turning. My friend has hank-ons on his Catalina 27. When we go out, we take my boat usually, because the furler is so much easier. Go with the furler, OMHO even a average furler is better than the clips.

Paul

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Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2006 : 22:00:38

Harken Furler was ordered from Catalina direct... Now ONLY 125 days till launch!

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/28/2006 : 07:25:18

Alan: The game of sailing just changed forever for you--you will love pulling that string!

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stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 11/29/2006 : 10:46:54

We need new sails and have gone through the roller furling debate. We've decided to stick with hank-on. The jib down-haul eased our concerns for going forward in a blow. Hanking on a sail is not a difficult job nor a time consuming job on a C25. We trailer our boat so the mast goes up and down at least 3 times per season. Hank fits well with our simplicity theme.
When I get a bigger boat that resides in a proper marina, I'll get roller furling.

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OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3477 Posts

Response Posted - 11/29/2006 : 11:38:01

I can see that the debate could go more for the hank-ons when one trailers their boat frequently. Hank-ons have got to be easier to deal with when the mast is continually raised and lowered. In that instance with a furling rig there is possibility of installation hangups or potential for damage depending on the furling rig. Many years ago I did not have a furling rig. That was mostly when I sailed on smaller boats, both trailered and left at the marina. But when I had my ODay 23 and also with the Catalina (not trailered), the furling rig is very easy to deal with with or without others on the boat. I never had an issue with it hanging up or whatever and it is just one less thing to deal with since the sail is ready to go.

I guess the only issue I have with the furling rig (IDC 4 or 6) is that the line the PO utilized always seems to come close to the end when I have to cleat it after the sail is fully out. Depending on how it wraps on the drum, I sometimes have to let it out again and ensure the wraps are tighter/more efficiently wrapped. I just added another block, yesterday, to feed it it better onto the drum and believe that will work. Otherwise, I will may just replace the line with another one about a foot longer than the existing one.

This first year I have had the Catalina, I used it as the PO had it set up with a furling rigged jib (original). But he also had a furling rigged, believe it is a 135, that is still in a bag at home. This next year I plan to try that one out and it looks in pretty good shape. i believe it was used far less than the original jib. I just do not have a line longer enough to go with the genoa and so I will order one before next spring. Not sure how I figure out in advance how much line I need but figure a rough guestimate would be to lay out the genoa at home and measure the length and then add to that, the length from the bow to the cleat in the cockpit area. then probably add a few feet for safety sake.

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 11/29/2006 : 14:27:25

For me the best part of the furler is not having to send the Admiral to the bow when the wind is wailing, she hates that. Also, it may seem trivial but the time saved by not hanking and unhanking and folding helps us to sail more often. We can be away from the dock in less than 5 minutes and back in the same. That makes after work sailing much more practical. If you go with a furler skip the sock, it is a pain and takes time. Go with the sewn-in UV protection.

When I crew on a race boat (Santana 20) each week, we do use hank-ons of course. Then the captain just tells me to get my ass up there and change the sails. Aye Aye sir!

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Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts

Response Posted - 11/29/2006 : 17:22:01

A furler is definitely a pain in the butt when rigging or derigging when trailering. But since I only do that once or twice a year, I'll go with the hassle. For daily cruising from a slip a furler is the way to go.

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Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts

Response Posted - 11/29/2006 : 20:23:16

Frank, I had more than one person and one sail loft that I have spoken with state that you do not need to take the sail off when trailering..Just wrap it tight so as not to bounce

. They only take the sail off in the winter for storage..

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Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 11/29/2006 : 21:00:29

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> Duane, What do you think?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Sorry I'm weighing in on this late...

I've sailed and raced very few boats with a roller furling. The bigger race boats have the full crew and the insane maniac that will go out and change the sails in just about any conditions...

Of the few furling boats I've sailed I've found the convenience of a furler awesome and can see that single handing would be made easier.

Our current tall rig/overall national champion had a roller furler - and a brand new mylar furled sail. (don't tell him but he would have beaten us in that 23 knot breeze on night one if he reeled it in a touch) Granted he was a tall rig, but I think his performance was very good with a furled sail relative to the hank ons.

I'd go with the furler. The worst that could happen is you don't like it and go back to a luff track or hank.

I can't speak to ball bearings or non ball bearings, but logic tells me the ball bearing unit is where you want to be. I am also partial to Harken.

dw

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Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts

Response Posted - 11/30/2006 : 05:22:21

I'm not going to trailer my boat with the sail on the furler for 1000 miles one way on the interstate going 65-70

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