Furler Genius

In only six hours, Glenn Bates and Evan Harrell of Performance Rigging in Hampton replaced my 25-year-old jib furler by linking the topping lift atop the mast to the anchor chainplate to remove the old rig and install the new one. That saved $1,000 and a full day of labor normally required by dismasting the boat.

The old Selden furling system began to fail two months ago when it seized up and then wrapped the halyard 37 feet above the deck. Through various jury-rigging, I managed to fix the system so it wouldn’t spin uncontrollably in the drum. As a caution, I only used the jib in light winds and then only reefed by two-thirds.

Glenn and Evan added the spinnaker halyard as a second brace when they went to Hampton to fashion a new forestay for the new Harken system. The temperatures pushed to 95, making things slower.

With the boat turned bow-to, they were able to finish building the new drum and track on the dock. From there, the three of us gently extended it onto the boat and up in the air to attach to the top of the mast.

Closer inspection of the old rig showed extensive damage to the aluminum track at the top end. That may have led to the seizure issues and certainly caused considerable frustration in recent months.

I had inserted four steel plates into the old drum to give the track traction as it spun. Examination of them afterward showed extensive torquing, suggesting enormous loads. You can see at the photo at right that the top plate twisted fully 90 degrees. Lucky that it held as long as it did.

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Check the “Book A Cruise” charter tab and pick a day for a sailboat charter. Scroll down reviews on Trip Advisor. Go back to the home page.   

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