Tiki Steve wrote:
So you were able to use the off the shelf Hobie furler kit? Any modifications needed?
The few modifications I did to make the furler off the shelf kit to work was by adding a block of wood for the fairlead on the top right side picking up the two insert holes using #14 screws. The length of the screws will determine how much you have to recessed the screws into the wood. And also not to go through the bottom of the insert, I left maybe about .125" before I bottomed out. I also added a thin foam rubber basket underneath it.
The 2nd mod, where you have to stretch the two lines off the fairlead from the attached bungee, I had to attach it behind the back seat with a cord to reach the bungee clip like you see in the picture. You have to play with the cord length to give you the right tension for the furler to work nicely. You can see my length from the picture for guidance.
for the 3rd mod, I purchased the recommended shackle and micro block for the stern "D" ring for the main sheet as you see in the picture. This was smoother then just going through the "D" ring as the main sheet is your typical braided cord where you feel the little bumps.
For 4th mod, most importantly, how do I have my lunch without constantly holding the main sheet? I use a cam jam connected to my Scotty mount with an eye hole to loop a cord for the cam jam as you see in the pic.
All in all the furler kit works but you need to do mods 1 and 2 the very least. I had friends in another kayak yesterday where I could easily furl the sail up while pulled up next to them instead of the sail flapping all over like there's no tomorrow. You can see the sail furled up in the pic where my lynx is in the parking lot. So, if I had no furler, the sail would be dangling or catching wind all over the place while bringing the boat down to the boat ramp. Hope this helps.