Headsail furling units…………….

[w32honu]

Cheers gang. Thanks for the input.

I have an old (15-20 years maybe) Furlex. But cannot get parts for it. I agree with your view of Furlex.

So we figure its time for a new unit. Furlers have evolved over the years to be sure.

Tx.

[Tayana42]

Our ProFurl has been giving us trouble free service since 1989. I'm happy with it.


S/V B'Shert

[roverhi]

Originally Posted by w32honu

Pete,

Thanks for the info. Pro-furl might be the way to go after all.

Our boat, also named Honu, began life as a "Whistler 32." She is an older Chuck Payne design. Its a long story, but we have modified the boat to suit our needs/desires. So much so that we refer to her as an Able 32 in deference to her builder…..Able Marine. So the handle W32honu. Confusing I know………...

How is Hawaii these days? Julie and I spent a good portion of our youth in Hawaii (high school/college/early working life….etc.) At times we miss those days. Especially after a historic New England winter. :face palm:

Steve n Jules
s/v Honu

The cruising must be wonderful in the NE in the non winter but there's now way I could suffer through the rest of the year. We did the opposite of you coming from Seattle and Kalamazoo to Hawaii after school and time working. Dropped the hook in Kona coming back from SoPac nearly 40 years ago and never left. The people are pretty much the same though the cost of living has gotten totally crazy. Traffic, especially on Oahu, ranks with LA. The government is totally screwed up and seems incapable of accomplishing anything except buying off the various constituency's votes. That seems to be the same with the mainland, however. After resisting having a weather segment in the nightly newscasts for years, they've finally gone mainland. Probably didn't want to feel out of step with the real world. Who needs weather reports when it's always 80 in the daytime and never much lower than 70 at night even in the depths of winter.

Our kids are on the mainland and my wife needs regular Tutu fixes so have been spending a lot more time there. Flew into Seattle in one of their infrequent snow storms and extreme cold snaps a while back. Had forgotten how totally unpleasant sub freezing weather is. Fled south to Carlsbad, CA and it was still only in '50s. Wife refused to get out of bed till it warmed into the '60s. Don't know how you people can take living in the real world.

Have always admired Chuck Paine's designs but 1. couldn't find one on the Left Coast and 2. probably couldn't afford it if found. Did you totally rebuild the interior or just rehab a neglected boat?

Probably should move this to a PM as I've totally hijacked your thread. Just to keep on the original track. Might look at the Schaeffer furler Believe Practical Sailor rated it as the best furler when they did comparisons. IIRC it's a bit pricey compared to the ProFurl, though. Whatever you get, make sure it has an open drum. Over rides and other jams in the furling line are a total PITA and maybe even fatal if you can't get at the line to clear the problem.

[carstenb]

I'm no expert (god forbid!) but I've had both furlex and facnor. The furlex needed to be disassembled and greased etc every year. The facnor needs a bucket of fresh water thrown on it once in a while.

neither have ever failed - but the facnor seems a lot simpler

[w32honu]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Have always admired Chuck Paine's designs but 1. couldn't find one on the Left Coast and 2. probably couldn't afford it if found. Did you totally rebuild the interior or just rehab a neglected boat?

Whatever you get, make sure it has an open drum. Over rides and other jams in the furling line are a total PITA and maybe even fatal if you can't get at the line to clear the problem.

Pete,

Honu was an old gal in need of some TLC for sure. So there was a fair amount of rehab. At the same time there was good bit that we simply tore out and started from scratch. Bottom line was that the boat was very inexpensive initially so we felt comfortable doing some of this work.

We have owned and refurbished three of Chucks designs. All of the older boats……Francis, Annie, and the Able. We are obviously fans. Everything is a compromise, but for cruising boats they get the job done nicely.

Julie and I lived in Kaneohe for years. Spent a number of years in town as well. Your comments about life in Hawaii definitely bring us back. All of them so true. After so many years in Hawaii Ne it would be easy to loose some perspective. Remember that old cliche……. "lucky you live Hawaii."

Open drum on the furler is good gouge once again. That is the kind of real world info that the forum is so good for. Sounds kind of basic, I realize. But we are sort of old school. All of our headsails have been hanked up to this point. So that is something I would easily overlook.

Cheers,

Steve

[w32honu]

Summer cruising in New England is top notch. But the off season………..well lets just say….."Lucky you live Hawaii."

[Ketchgould]

I put alado nautica on last year. Sailed 500 Lake Superior miles on it. Great product. Robust. Simple. Half price of others. Lifetime warranty.


Christian Gould
St. Paul, MN
S/V Sea Dog
Apostle Islands Lake Superior

[ketchcng]

Alado nautica makes a great product and in my research they are by far the least expensive. I installed one last year. Very impressed. Easy to install. Very simple design. Less to fail on the unit. Extremely simple design so the parts you need can be overbuilt it seams. Practical sailor rated best value.


Christian Gould
St. Paul, MN
S/V Sea Dog
Apostle Islands Lake Superior

[nauticalnomad]

Just bought a new profurl as I have remasted and re rigged my 45 yr old boat. Nothing wrong with the old profurl just that I thought whilst I was installing everything new. The 750gbp I was quoted for replacing the 18 year old bearings which weren't worn btw. It cost me around 1300 gbp for a complete new setup..

[barnakiel]

We have a Plastimo. Works great. Less expensive than the big names.

b.