Hobie Kayak Furler Kit Future Availability

I was able to finally purchase a Hobie kayak sail this winter when they became available again. However, I called Hobie the other day about the availability of the furler kit for the sail and the lady on the line said they’d been discontinued. I knew they were backordered, but this is not welcome news if indeed it is true. I’ve scanned YouTube on DIY videos using PVC pipe for something temporary. Does anyone have information about the future of the Hobie Kayak furler? The Hobie continuous line kayak furler with mast locked to the kayak seems like a very well thought out solution.

I just bought one over the weekend from my local Hobie dealer in SF Bay Area. Maybe look around online?

I've yet to install it but I hear that it's not as good as the STAR sail furler. Some say that the Hobie one is hard to furl with wind in the sail.

This part will be unavailable as tooling has gone awol.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I have made a few of these furlers out of ASA plastic if anyone is interested. All Stainless hardware with Harken bearings.
[img]C:\Users\mhumphreys\Desktop\JUNK\melon\MG-3895.HEIC[/img]

I really hope that Hobie re-creates the tool or at least publicly releases the design. I just bought 2x sail kits for my compass and I'm scrambling to try to find a solution that looks as functional as the official furler kits.

I've seen the Hobie version of the furler, and install videos for it. Also saw people commenting on problems with the set up... Also have seen a few DIY versions. In my opinion, EVERYONE is over thinking, over engineering, and using way too much hardware. My sail kit for my Revolution 11 will arrive today (being the narrowest Hobie, I've already installed the Hobie stability kit.) As for the roller-furling, I've already tested my idea with a fiberglass pole similar to what the mast will have.

Very simply, I used small braided cotton line and tied a tight clove hitch at the bottom of the mast. I left a long tail and spaced two more tight clove hitches above. Twisting the mast wraps up the line (with the sail fully out). The end of the line will probably be a tennis ball or small handle. To furl, loosen the sail sheet, and pull the furl sheet. As one line unwraps, the other wraps. As you are letting the sail out, it would probably help to keep a slight tension as the furling line wraps around the mast. In my backyard, it seems to work great. Weather permitting, I'll test it in the next few days.

Tested on a sail a couple days ago and it worked perfectly on the first try. BTW, I didn't secure the mast in the socket. It's not going anywhere, and that lets the mast rotate during furling. Using 6' of quality braided line, I tied a bowline to the sail bungee downhaul so the mast AND sail will turn together. Leaning forward, it's easy to put 8 wraps around the mast (only needs about 5) and then tuck some of the tail under the cargo hatch bungee to keepbit from unraveling. Roller-furling is not something you do often, or even in an emergency. If the wind suddenly picks up, the first act is to slack the main sheet. Furling is handy for beaching, or coming up to a dock. In any case, it's easy to lean forward to reset the furling mechanism as needed if you like to furl often. I'm headed back out tomorrow for more sailing. As much as I've loved my kayak (200+ hours & 200+ miles since 2020), I love it 10x more with the added capability of sailing. You don't NEED to pedal while sailing, but when you do, it seems go at the speed of a decent jog! LIFE IS GOOD!