Why Convert to a Roller Furling Unit?
Need a big crew to go out sailing? Not when you can just roll the headsail out and back in about 30 seconds! Imagine starting out with a large headsail when the wind is light. But instead of going forward to change sails when the wind pipes up simply tug on the reefing line and roll the sail in. Easily control exactly how much speed or power you like from the cockpit. Sailing in a tight area? Roll the sail in a little to slow the boat and gain better visibility. And how about those wet headsails taking up space below in the cabin? Gone forever when you have a furler! The advantages of using a headsail furling system are undeniably safety, convenience and fun!
These days the reliability, reefing performance and convenience is amazing. Furlers are even finding their way into the main stream racing fleets. Just look at the around the world racing campaigns for proof of reliability and performance. All in all there has never been a better time to upgrade to roller furling so if you are ready to make the leap then read on!
Which Brand is best?
Our advice on this is to choose your brand and model based on your intended usage and budget. We've selected 3 major brands because we believe they are the market leaders in each of the 3 main use categories.
CDI
Daysailing & Light
Cruise Duty
 We
believe that CDI is the best value for this category of usage.
Many boat manufacturers use CDI as their OEM Units
such as Catalina and MacGregor. We feel that CDI is the strongest
and highest quality of the low cost furlers on the market
and has the added advantage of using common #6 size luff
tape so stock sail availability
is much greater that with the competition.
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 ProFurl
Coastal and Offshore Cruising
Profurl would be our usual recommendations for this type of use since it is a strong and reliable system. So reliable in fact that is often used in around the world racing. Profurl Units come standard with long link plates that elevate the drum to give more clearance for anchoring and visibility (it can also be mounted low for racing if necessar y with the optional internal turnbuckle cylinder). Those features make it our choice for cruising.
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 Harken
Performance
Cruising and Racing
In this category Harken shines for its standard features. Features include narrow profile twin groove foil section and a removable drum for serious racing. Harken is the only unit in this class that has a double swivel reefing system that allows the sail to be reefed from the center first adding to its ability to maintain a flat sail shape when partially furled. (Profurl also has some race units with features such as the ability to low mount their removable split drums and aerodynamic foil sections available in the "R" series. Both brands score high in this category).
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Which Unit will Fit?
To determine which unit will fit you need to measure the following 4 dimensions from your existing headstay:
1. "Pin to pin" wire length - The "Pin to pin" dimension can be estimated by running a tape measure up on the halyard for the purposes of selecting the proper unit. It is taken from the center of the clevis pin at the mast head all the way to the clevis pin center at the stem fitting on your bow and must include all turnbuckles and hardware on the wire. For the actual installation you'll need the exact measurement accurate to within about 1/2" as measured by ascending in a bosun's chair.
2. Wire diameter
3. Turnbuckle screw diameter (the diameter of the screw left on the wire when you remove the turnbuckle barrel; this is what passes through the furler's foil section).
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4. Clevis pin diameters - if you are replacing the headstay get diameters of both top and bottom pins. Just the bottom pin diameter will do for ordering only the furling unit. With this information you can now go to the furler section and determine from the charts which units fit your boat.
Do I have to cut or replace the headstay?
CDI, Profurl and Harken #00 Units are all designed to be used with the existing headstay without cutting it provided the maximum wire diameter and turnbuckle screw will fit through the foil See the chart associated with each furler for the maximum wire and turnbuckle screw size. Some boats like the Catalina 22 and all MacGregor models use an aircraft eye with a thimble which won't pass through the foil. For these boats we carry a replacement stay in stock (see: Roller Furling Accessories)
Harken Units other than the #00 require cutting or replacing the existing headstay to shorten it and install the connecting hardware. The best alternative is to replace the headstay with a new one. Simply provide us with the headstay measurements as described above and we will supply a new one made the correct length with the hardware and terminals already in place. Exceptions to this are:
1) Harken 1.5 unit requires assembly with a Sta-Loc fitting
2) Harken 00 unit fits over most 1/8" & 5/32" headstays
What size sail should I order?
The maximum luff length can be determined using the chart below. Just take the deduction from your pin to pin headstay length and that is the longest possible sail that will fit on your installation.
On boats up to 25' it is common to have a 150% roller furling genoa. For larger boats (27'+), the most popular size is 135% which is large enough to drive the boat well in light wind but small enough to reef down into a working jib and still keep reasonable sail shape. Also consider the average wind you sail in when you make your selection. If you sail in a predominantly high wind area (white caps more than 50% of the time) you may even choose even a smaller furling jib ( 90% - 110%) and quite short on the hoist.
"Percent Overlap" is determined by the sail's LP divided by your boats foretriangle "J" (described here Measuring Sails in more detail).
Once you know what size will fit you can perform a Sail Search to see stock availability or make up a custom sail to order.
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UNIT
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Pin
to Pin deduction
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HARKEN
UNIT #00
|
20" |
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HARKEN
UNIT #0
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22" |
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HARKEN
UNIT #1
|
2'
3" |
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PROFURL
R25 (long link plates)
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32" |
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PROFURL
LCI/NCI 32 (long link plates)
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33" |
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PROFURL
LCI/NCI 42 (long link plates)
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42" |
| Profurl B29 series |
24" |
| Profurl B35 series |
30" |
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CDI
FF2
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13.5" |
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CDI
FF3
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16" |
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CDI
FF 4 & 6
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22" |
| CDI FF 7 |
23" |
| CDI FF9 |
27" |
| Pin
to Pin headstay length minus deduction equals maximum sail luff
length that will fit. |
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 What other items will I need ?
You may need to order a lead block kit which is the hardware to route the furling line back to the cockpit. The furling line itself is included with all Harken Units but not with other units. If the sail is more than a few inches short of full hoist you must install a pennant either at the head  or the tack of the sail on most furling units. Pennant instructions come with the sail and they are easy to rig. Extra foils may be necessary if you have a longer headstay than the standard package can fit. See the chart for the furler you are interested in for it’s maximum length. For these items click here:
Roller Furling Accessories
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