On the way to Shanghai last Monday, I got chatting with a colleague who has a Morgan 38, & a SuperCat 21. He sails the SC on an inland lake, & says he doesn't go out when it's howling.
However, he wants to add roller furling on the jib.
I think the Hobie furler that the H18 uses should be robust enough. (He said it uses 1/4" pins, so the rigging is about the same strength). After all, H18 furler design is such that the SS plate must be torn apart for the drum to fail.
One concern, with the longer hulls- will the H18 furler carry enough line on the drum to reach the SC crossbar?
Anyone have any photos of their setup. Anything different to be aware of vs the Nacra, Hobie setups?
His jib does zipper onto the forestay.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

I use a Hobie 18 furling setup on my Hobie 20. Had to shorten the forestay and add a 10"-12" upper forestay for the swivel connection keeping the overall length of the OEM forestay length pretty close to stock. There's many small diameter line that is plenty long, added a jam cleat on front crossbar to hold the line. Works great.
The hobie 20 jib is stock with the mini 6" battens so it furles about 90% but that's ok. I use it when coming into the beach, parked, for quick setup at regattas and when the wind kicks up hot anytime. I never have experienced crew so its a huge comfort to know I can pull out a bunch of power when needed.

I'm sure this setup would be ok on a 21 as long as the drum and standing rigging are in really good shape.

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Tim Grover
1996 Hobie Miracle 20
Two Hobie 14's
1983 G-Cat Restored
Memphis TN / North Mississippi
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I've had several SC20s that came with Ronstan furlers that are very similar to the ones Hobie uses on the 18, so I think you'd be fine with either. I have a H18 furler, with upper swivel and jib hlyd blk, for sale, and maybe a furling SC20 jib as well, if needed. PM me if interested.

Dave



Edited by davefarmer on Dec 21, 2017 - 08:24 PM.

I'm sure the Hobie 18 furler would be plenty strong for the SC 21. However, it might be a little tricky to install one if the boat has a spinnaker pole or compression pole. I think most 21s came with a self-tacking jib, which are fully battened and therefore can not be furled. The Supercat self-tacking or spinnaker set up uses a pole that is very low, just above the hulls. They use a pelican striker to attach the pole to the bridle connection, so they have bridles with forked ends. I don't see how you would be able to attach the Hobie 18 style furler in that system, you would probably have to go with the style of furler that has one attachment point at the bottom, not the two on the sides. That would change the jib angle by 5-6 inches.

If the boat has a standard jib, it shouldn't be that hard, I agree that you could adapt a Hobie 18 forestay/jib system to the boat and you may have to get custom bridles with forked ends.

I suggest posting on the Supercat site, Aquarius-sail.com. I'm sure Tom could work something out.

The early SC 20s had the high bridal wires that Dan is referencing, and did come with a furling jib, no battens. Ed didn't mention having a spin pole on the boat in question, so Dan's concerns may not be relevant here if that's the case.

The issue of the amount of line is a non issue. The amount of line on the drum is related to size of the jib, and the number or rotations needed to completely furl it. The distance from crossbar to the furler doesn't affect that. Normally, furlers this size can be run with 1/8" line which should offer plenty of rotations for the SC jib. I have also employed a tapered 3/16" double braid for a furling line, with just the dyneema core on the drum.

If there is indeed a spin pole on this boat, it does indeed get more complicated to do the furler.

Quote

The amount of line on the drum is related to size of the jib, and the number or rotations needed to completely furl it. The distance from crossbar to the furler doesn't affect that

In this instance the obvious escaped me!
I don't think he has a spin setup.
I mentioned that bridals ending in forks would be best, & that he may need to shorten the stay.
Thanks for the replies. I have a spare H18 setup I'll lend him. If it doesn't work he can always drop it back in my mail folder at work.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--