To furl or Not to furl

That furler deal looks time saving... Do you have to take off the jib if you unrig the mast??

You will have to remove the jib to unstep the mast. Also, you will have to recut your jib to fit the furler. Then, without the battens you will loose some power. This is no big deal if you are just sailing for fun.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

I have never sailed a hobie with a roler furler but my Sidewinder (15 foot monohull, similar to a laser 2) has one and I love it, I sail with a guy who has a laser two allot and can help him get his boat down to the water, then help him raise his main before going to my boat to pull it down and i can still be completely rigged and sailing long before he is. being able to leave the jib rolled up untill you get out is also a big help in the first few cahotic moments while you are first getting out, then when you pull that jib out it is like grabbing another gear. So i think a furler would be a great addition to a Hobie.

_________________
The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the realist adjusts the sails.

My point was im sailin off a trailer so i rig and de rig every time out. I see great advantage if you dont have to take the jib off.... Is that furler spring loaded like a old style window shade that when you unlock it rolls up automaticallly?

Hmmm... The furling jib is a thing of convenience. Performance wise the full batten jib is way better. Not sure what effect the roller furling jib would have on the ability of the boat to point well (which is not all that great with a Hobie 16)

I have a furling jib on my H16 and it is money WELL spent. It is not spring loaded - pulling a line rolls it up and pulling on the jib sheet unfurls it.

I too have to trailer my boat every tiime I sail and I find the furling jib very easy in this regard. I recommend you purchase the "Jib snorkel" (like a zippered sleeve) to protect the jib - both on and off the boat when it is furled. I would suggest the snorkel is (almost) mandatory in this regard and I personally wouldn`t be without it. Also, you CAN leave the jib attached to the mast once it is de-rigged. However, you would have to secure it as such and keep the road grime off as well.

As for cutting the old jib, I hear it can be done, but I went for a new furling jib made specifically for the purpose. This way you can retain both setups if that is important to you.

My understanding regarding the performance hit is that it is so minimal that most sailors don`t ever notice it. It is also my understanding that the performance hit occurs primarily downwind. So I do not really agree that the regular jib has "way more power". Perhaps a world-class sailor would notice the performance differences more than I.

Overall, I have found the furling jib to be the handiest addition I have made to the boat. I use it to quickly/easily de-power the boat ,and just like another poster suggested, I routinely leave it furled until I get to the good water. It is also one less sail to take down (or setup) if you choose to leave your boat rigged on the beach for any time.

Incidentally, there are two versions offered by Hobie; the Harken - which has the furling drum ABOVE the bridles, and the Hobie version which has the drum BELOW the bridles. I liked the logic of having the drum below the bridles (ie. keeps the jib lower, and the drum out of the way) and figured if Hobie went through the trouble of modifying the setup than there was probably a good reason to do so...I went with the Hobie - no regrets.


Dave

Captin` Dave:
Ive just about drawn the complete pic in my mind..
So now the "rope" that winds up when you unfurl... to you cleat it somewhere if you were to say use half jib? and where is it when the jib is full out ie does it have a storage place/cleat/ dangle in the breeze??
Im guessin the jib is furled around the front stay or is that separate cause that front stay is pretty important part of steppin and seem to be alot more weight with the sheet wrapped around it. So what is the steppin procedure... I find the performance factor nil.. I race every day, but only against time............z

Zingaro,

The jib kit comes with a cheap v-lock cleat you can attach to the mast or cross bar - this will secure (kinda) the furler line. Keep in mind, this line only needs to be cleated when the jib is furled up. That way it doesn`t unfurl on its own - which happens easily in a decent breeze. When the jib is unfurled, I set the furler line length so it has a little bit of slack and just hangs between the v-cleat and the drum. The v-cleat included in the kit is the only thing I don`t like. I will replace it with a more effective jam cleat or even a small set of cammatics

I think you would find sailing half-jib to be completely uneccessary, but I guess it could be done. On the occassions where I needed to de-power the boat the descision was obvious and the whole jib gets furled in a couple seconds by uncleating the jib sheets and simply pulling on the furler line sitting ready in the v-cleat.

Rigging is simple. There is NO forstay. The furled jib is the only cable/attachment at the bow. You may have to modify your solo stepping procedure a bit, but from what I can see, stepping is simplified somewhat with this setup. The furled jib attaches to the mast tang as usual. However, your existing 10 hole stay adjuster attaches up there as well (not at the bridles) along with a heavy-duty swivel and another shackle (both provided in the kit). The one disadvantage to this setup is that the furling drum/jib attachment only has only two holes for rake adjustment. If these two holes are not enough, you must step your mast to get at the upper 10 hole stay adjuster to make greater changes. But, once you have a good idea of your desired rake settings, I think that stepping your mast to make bigger changes will not be needed for most sailors in most cases.


If your budget allows and you are not a strict "class" racer, then go for the furler setup...The only thing you might regret is not installing it sooner!


Dave

Cpt Dave:
Lookin at your other posts i checked out your referbished H 16 pics.. nice job...Now on the pic showing the front rail you have 2 fittings attached..One on the outboard side and one near the mast. Are they both used on that furler?
And now on a different note: im wanting to add a stirrup on the rear casting. Wots your opinion of drilling a hole or 2 in that casting for some self tapping screws to secure said stirrup?

Zingaro,

Thanks for the compliment on my restoration.

Regarding those fittings, they are jam cleats that were already attached when I got the parts for the boat. I believe they were originally intended for a traveller system. In that sense I do not need them - I upgraded/installed the Hobie swivel cam traveller setup. I do use one of those jam cleats for my furler line - it is better than the v-cleat supplied in the kit. But I have other plans for those fittings and will upgrade to a separate cleat for the furler line this winter.

As for drilling into those castings, I am not the best person to ask - I have not done it myself and I am not familiar with any factory specs regarding such a modification. Having said that, I would probably go for it as long as you drill relatively small holes, stay away from the edges of the cast when doing so, and keep the number of holes to a minimun. Also keep in mind that drilling into those casts may hurt the re-sale value of the boat.


Dave

I have a decent amount of machining experience and a decade of machine design under my belt. I would reccommend avoiding drilling holes into the rear corner casting, especially for self tapping screws. Those castings see alot of stresses and a hole in them will not help the structure of the casting. Plus you don't know the density of the castings to determine the appropriate thread pitch.

I wouldn't do it, but worst case scenario is you break a casting and have to buy a new one.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

Well Nick, That`s a good enough disincentive for me! I wouldn`t do it either.


Dave