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Roller furlers & Roller Furling systems There are many reasons to put roller furling systems for jibs, Genoas, or headsails on your boat. Sometimes referred to as a jib reefing system. Convenience is the big one, to be able to set the sail and get rid of it quickly and without having to leave the cockpit. Storage is another, you do not have to put the sail in a locker, saving space.
Whatever your reason for wanting a roller furler this article attempts to
help your decision, by presenting each furler and their features.
We take a look at some of the most popular manufacturers of reefing systems and roller furling equipment, such as Harken, ProFurl, Schaefer, Reckmann etc. We looked around and there is not much in the way of Roller Furler reviews, so we have attempt to give you an idea of how each one is different, what you should look for when choosing a furler and a price comparison. Pic; Caliber 40 "Windom" sailing comfortably in breeze under roller furled jib and main. Apart from issues in deciding which furler unit you need, we also discuss other aspects. Roller furlers are like any piece of mechanical equipment, they do come with issues that should be addressed. Then you know that its going to work, and not jam up when you least need it to. Also when using roller furling there are some considerations for your sail to get the best shape and life out of it.
Most traditional furlers use solid extrusions for the luff of the sail. The
Foil sections can be aluminum, carbon or plastic. Simply pull the line on
the furling drum and the foil turns. The sail attached to the foil is
wrapped around the foil as it turns and is wrapped evenly from top to
bottom. Another version of the furler is the Code Zero furler which has a rope luff or soft luff. The advantage of the soft luff is that the whole furler can be lowered down to the deck while under way. These soft rope luff furlers are also known as "Top Down furlers". The reason for the name is the furling process. Because the sail is only attached to the top furler, (floats loosely on the bottom drum) it is only this part which gets wrapped when the furler line is pulled. As the furler turns, more and more of the sail gets wrapped around the rope luff and does so from the top down, hence the term, "Top Down furler". This furler works well for spinnakers and sails that are set with a loose luff.
For cruisers a Jib or Genoa works best with the solid furler, which we are
discussing below.
Bearings Find out what type what arrangement and how many bearings there are with a system. Torlon is preferred Schaefer, Hood, and Harken use Torlon bearings. Furlex Rondal and Reckmann use stainless steel bearings. Profurl uses carbon steel bearings which are housed in a lip seal. The issue here is if the seal gets worn through or damaged corrosion will occur. Extrusions shape There are various shapes of extrusion round or airfoil. Round is better for furling as it rolls the sail evenly. Airfoil or oval shapes are best for racing. Extrusions weight Airfoils sections are usually lighter with thin wall. Round sections like Schaefer are very thick walled and heavy. You also have twin groove for racing. Extrusions connections Some are plastic lined, others use screws or rivets. Its important that the extrusions do not come apart, as furlers are subjected to years of rattling which can undo even well seated screws. Screwed systems need to use Locktite to stop them coming out.
For a jib furling system to work properly you, need the top swivel to turn when you pull the furling line. If the swivel does not turn then the foils pull the halyard around with them. Then you have a common problem which is called halyard wrap.
Jib Halyard Restrainers are designed to be attached to the Mast under the Jib (or Staysail) Halyard exit to increase Halyard Pullback Angle, and stop the Halyard from wrapping around the Furling System when furling. In this case we are looking at Harkens restrainer. There are also models available from Schaefer. Ideally you will have a 7-10 degree angle between the jib halyard and the headstay. You can see in the bottom picture the halyard restrainer installed between the swivel and the masthead sheaves. This is what you are looking for.
Harken MkIV, Schaefer and Profurl use your existing headstay so you can use them with a turnbuckle or not. Harken MKIII uses a turnbuckle body built into the furler drum and so some modification is necessary. With Furlex you get a new headstay w choice of (turnbuckle) rigging screw or not. Independent tack swivel A fully rotating tack swivel allows the sail to Furl from the middle first, which results in taking shape out of the sail. Furled sails tend to be quite baggy and so flattening helps. See also the section on sail shapes below. Furlex has what they call turn free. This means the tack swivel turns almost 1 turn and then stops. The reason for this is the Hood Patent on the fully swiveling tack. Drum diameter larger drum diameters mean more leverage which reduces the load on the furling line. Harken MKIV has a better drum diameter to foil size than the MKIII which is one of its improvements. Materials Materials used include, injection molded plastic, cast aluminum, machined aluminum, investment cast Stainless Steel. Machined aluminum is best say for the halyard swivel. Toggles Its very important to have toggles at top and bottom end of extrusion to allow for the sag of the headstay.
Comparing all furlers and cost is difficult if not impossible because there are so many contributing factors. We decided to pick a size of boat, headstay size and pin diameter for our comparison. This way we compare apples to apples, however even with this approach we get into size overlaps. For example we could have chosen the Schaefer 3100 or the 2100, for the 40 ft yacht size we picked. We chose the 2100 but this means we need an extension kit to get the 55ft headstay length we need for our imaginary 40 footer. For this Quality/Cost comparison we chose a typical 40 ft modern cruising sailboat with 55 ft (17m) by 3/8 inch wire head stay and 5/8inch pin. This way we can compare apples to apples. Pick another size of boat you will get a different result as each has its own market.
Prices shown are retail for comparison only and you can get substantial discounts on these figures.
Check to see in each package what comes with the furler as you may have to get toggles or extrusion extension kits if the standard length is not long enough, for your headstay.
There are many more furler types that we have not covered here however we included the most popular brands.
The image left shows the toggle at the bottom of the Harken MK IV
furler. The pin holding the drum in place goes through the toggle. The
pin has two options to allow for fore and aft and athwart ships chain
plates.
Description
Schaefer 2100 Roller Furler
Bearing Design: Open For Life
Pros
Heavy
Beefy sections, bullet proof robust construction
Comments
Schaefer has many bearing races,
this and the round foil makes it easier to start furling. The foils are connected via rivets which cannot back out, and Schaefer
invites you to put the furler line on a
winch if needed.
Description Furlex roller furler Genoa systems ;
200S
Highest grade marine stainless steel feeder for
improved durability and service life.
Warranty 5 years covers defect in design flaws or workmanship
Other Furlex Products
Furlex has thru deck furlers which provide very clean layouts
especially if you have an anchor and need to work around the furling
unit. The J/122 uses this thru deck unit.
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| Profurl Furlers systems include; | basic system | For boats 15-44 ft for coastal or mid range cruising |
| Classic | For boats 23-98 ft | |
| Elite system | For boats 23-89 ft best of Profurl technology | |
| EC | For boats 21-130 ft Ocean racing | |
| T26 | For boats 16-23 ft | |
| Also motorized roller furling available; | ||
The solid one-piece
connectors are designed and machined to lock in place and transmit all
torque loads equally throughout the foil column. No torque loads are
transmitted to the set screws. Small tolerances assure the alignment of the
sail luff grooves.
The halyard swivel is
permanently sealed and lubricated. This
Profurl
exclusive design feature
ensures a life time of maintenance free and smooth furling even under severe
loads in extreme conditions.
The
Profurl
Furlers
drum is manufactured from unbreakable, unscratchable, UV
resistant high impact plastic. It is open for easy furling line inspection.
Its slippery surface and conical flanges also minimizes any jamming. The
strong stainless steel guard arms keep the furling line in the drum, should
the line become slack during sail reefing.
Hardened carbon steel bearings (100C6) are non-corrodable because they are permanently housed in a grease protected by special double lip seals which ensure water tightness to a depth of more than 5 meters. This technology guarantees maintenance-free operation under extreme loads. The drum mechanism is designed in a shape which will not chafe dock lines, mooring or anchor lines or running rigging.
Foils
Round and oval
Pros
large well constructed drum & cage
Cons
No tack swivel,
carbon steel bearings which can rust when the bearing seal is broken,
locktite screws past with kit is not enough.
Warranty;
Covered by a 5 year worldwide warranty.
| Facnor Furlers | LS, | |
| LX | ||
| RX headsail furling systems | ||
Description
Facnor Roller Furlers
are well known for their
reliability and their simplicity of installation by the well known boat
builders (BENETEAU, DEL PARDO, DUFOUR, JEANNEAU ...) as well as by charters
company. Each furler is composed of a drum, a series of sections which come
around the forestay and a hoisting system : halyard swivel or sheave box.
The jib furler is designed to be installed without unstepping the mast nor
cutting the wire.
Race Developed Technology
The LS/LX/RX Range has been developed according to a definite technological
concept to establish the west-about solo non-stop record. Now the same
technology from offshore racing is available for every boat thanks to
Facnor’s continuous development.
Bearing box : Strength - Performance - Innovation.
The Ls/Lx/Rx drum and swivel are fitted with a “bearing box” (a stainless steel thrust bearing between 2 large self-lubrificating polymer fibre bearings). This was tested over ocean races under loads up to 20 to 30 times higher than a 30ft cruising boat. Even under high halyard tension furling remains easy. Is available for every boat.
Foils
Round and elliptical sections
Pros Code 0 systems one of the best
Cons plastic top swivel,
bearings & grease bearings
Warranty
international 2-year warranty
Code Zero roller furling systems are among the best and most popular with short handed
round the world and distance racers.
Max system length: 67' - boats from 34' to 53' (10-16.1m) One-of-a-kind design meets
state-of-the-art construction in this performance-oriented furling and
reefing system. Designed to make an effortless transition between cruising
and racing, the hybrid stainless steel and Torlon bearing system is built to
last a lifetime. 
Hood
Roller furler H325 Seafurl 5
Features
Twin aft facing groove round extrusions.
Cast 356 aluminum drive unit and upper swivel.
Hood's hybrid 1/4" stainless steel ball and 3/16" Torlon ball bearings.
One piece stainless steel tapered sail feeder.
Integral universal mounting toggle. Eliminates
the need for headstay modifications.
"C" style open splice pieces with molded bearing
liners.
Aluminum top cap with upper bearing splice
Tack socket pin Titanium coated.
P.T.F.E. Coatings applied over anodized drive
unit and upper swivel.
Pros Tack Swivel, cheaper but still good quality
Cons Harder to find Hood products
| Reckmann Roller furler systems; | RC30/40 | All carbon lightweight system with spilt drum for removal |
| RS2000 | Reckmann standard system | |
| RS3000 | Lightweight version of the standard system with carbon foils | |
| Custom MaxJ | Below deck version | |
| Custom RS2000 cz | Code Zero | |
| Also they have Electric and Hydraulic versions |
The NYYC Swan 42 uses Reckmann
Description
Foils
Anodized aluminum oval section
Pros
quality bearings materials, virtually maintenance free
cons cost,
Warranty
Other Reckmann Systems
We developed the RC 30 and RC40 carbon systems for sailors, who
up to now have operated a Tuff Luff racing forestay system in addition to
their standard roller reefing system in order to satisfy their racing
ambitions. They were developed to eliminate the need for cumbersome
retrofitting prior to each race. They are designed for yachts from approx.
42 to 68 feet with forestay lengths up to about 30 meters. As one meter of
the double groove carbon profile weighs only from 0.327 kg (S2) to 0.77 kg
(S4), the entire system is so light that it weighs even less than the
corresponding racing profile forestay system. The RC 30 and RC 40 are hence
very light reefing systems for cruising and you no longer require any other
system for racing. Prior to the race, both halves of the carbon drum are
removed with a few manual turns in order to tack the sail on deck.
The
Spin-Tec Roller furler for headsails takes a different approach than many of
the other roller furlers on the market.
First is the absence of a halyard to hold the Genoa or jib up instead a novel halyard lock is used.
Second is the use of stainless and lack of ball bearings.
The system is comprised aluminum foils, with delrin bearings spaced on the forestay. The foils slide together without the need for screws. Dissimilar metals are isolated and the all stainless drum is long so the furling line does not wrap too much onto itself unlike lower profile designs. This should ease the load on the furler line. The drum is easily detached from the furler extrusions.
The furling drum sits on delrin bearings which sit on the forestay turnbuckle assembly.
To hoist the headsail the plastic Halyard Accessory Clip, is used to hoist the sail with the halyard. A trip mechanism attached to sail to the top, and the halyard and clip are lowered back down. The image showing the top of the mast shows how the sail is attached.
A very simple effective design that should last for years for boats 27 to
60 ft
Foils
Anodized aluminum
oval section
Pros
No halyard wrap, Virtually maintenance free, cost,
Cons
No tack swivel, roller bearings
Warranty
lifetime warranty
Five hydrofurl sizes are available. These Hydraulic furlers are for large yachts the smallest size is for -17 rod headstay.
Rondal has been manufacturing hydraulically driven headsail furling units for over two decades. Over this period, designs have been changed, upgraded and improved as a result of client demands and experience. This is especially true for the larger sailing yachts, where increasing loads demand larger and more powerful furling units.
All Hydrofurls are built from marine grade stainless steel, the
outside of which is polished to a high gloss. For mounting on deck, a custom
toggle is supplied to fit the chainplate.
In the unlikely event of hydraulic failure, manual backup is
available in the form of the supplied ratchet winch handle.
When unfurling the sail, the luff section turns clockwise (viewed from
above); furling the sail, the luff section turns anti clockwise.
Features
- Direct hydraulic drive
- Stainless steel custom toggle to fit chainplate
- Manual back-up for emergencies
- Easy maintenance through grease nipples
- Ultra-reliable
- Powerful
Pros
engineering
Cons
cost and you need a big boat
| Resources tips & roller furling maintenance |
Sail Jazz has a good article on the maintenance of roller furlers and set up issues with jib Roller Furling systems. If you set it up right in the beginning it will provide years of uninterrupted use.
Make sure furler line has as little friction and is in a straight a line as possible. Any friction will make it harder to start the furling process. If line is deflected make sure those deflector blocks are roller bearing or offer as little resistance as possible. Its still best to have a straight line, more than convenience of position.
Headstay tension is important, if you have a floppy headstay its not conducive to furling. The headstay needs to be fairly tight, not slopping around.
If you are leaving your boat and a gale/storm is forecast while you boat is at its mooring, its best to drop the sail or tie a line around the furled sail. This is a precaution incase the furler line comes uncleated, it happens, you probably have seen shredded jibs unfurled on a boat that has not been maintained in a while.
If you have a sail furled on the headstay for a long time, even years its important to have some sort of UV protection. Sail material degrades like anything else and since its your engine you need to make sure its structurally OK. One common way to protect the sail is with a UV cover that is added onto the exposed leech part of the sail when furled. This cover runs the whole length of the leech normally on one side and is about 2-3ft wide. Make sure that when the sail is furled there is no exposed sail cloth. Another is to get a jib sock which can be hoisted over the sail with a zipper closure. These can be gotten through your sailmaker canvas maker or here
The other thing to consider is a foam or rope luff. I do not like these due to the esthetics. However they do help flatten the sail which allows you to partially furl the sail and still have a sail that works.
Roller Furler accessories |
One issue with roller furling is how to set a storm jib. If you are caught
in a storm, the Jib or Genoa gets furled up so the luff track is hidden,
stopping you from setting the storm jib in the luff track.
With the Gale sail it is possible to set the storm jib around the furled headsail. This way you do not have to unfurl and drop the headsail in extreme windy conditions.
The patented "Gale Sail" from ATN, inc. is the safest and easiest way to hoist a storm jib in storm conditions.
| Conclusion |
Installing a roller furler is often best handled by working with your local rigger, as they'll get the measurements right, inspect the old system for improvements and can handle the whole installation.
However installing a roller furler can be done by any that possess some mechanical know how. Each Roller Furler comes with good instructions and if you take your time a proper installation can be achieved.
It is worth inspecting the headstay as this is the time to replace it if it needs to be.
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