I've come to have a love/hate relationship with the gennaker on the H21sc. The standard Hobie roller furling drum is a pain to use and there's never enough line to get the gennaker tightly wound. After reading up on it this seems to be a common problem. I noticed that the Weta Trimarans upgraded the standard Harken drums to a continuous line system. Anyone using one of these that can comment on a downside besides price? The Harken 1134 is $280, the Ronstan is $235. Thanks.

you say gennaker: do you mean gennaker or jib?

if it is jib, it is the first i have heard of this issue (although not a H21 sailor). i don't have this issue on my 6.0 and since your boat is 1' longer, i would assume you actually have a little more line in your jib furler line. this should be enought to furl a jib. and i would suggest you may need either a thinner line (too much line in the furler would jam up) or something is not right

if you actually mean Gennaker than a standard harken/hobie furler is probably not gonna handle it (too much sail area and turns needed) and a continuous would be the answer. My buddy used a continuous on his Code zero without issue

I went to the weta page and saw the cont. furlen on the screetcher ... that would not work so well on a reg furler (even though i assume the size of a weta screetcher is much smaller than a cat/mono)

downside to a cont. furler is 2 more lines on your deck to deal with and possibly a slower unfurl (depending on wind, you may have to manually pull the entire sail out vs a jib that with just a little wind will usually unfurl itself once it gets air in it) - that is about all i can think of

Thanks MN3,

The jib works great with the factory Hobie furler, it's the Gennaker that is the problem. The sheet has to be kept relatively tight and it seems you always need a lot more line to wrap it up than what it takes to pull it out. If it's not tight the upper third of the sail tends to remain loose enough to catch the wind. I've tried loading more line on the drum but it becomes an absolute mess due to how much line is needed.

My H-18 furler (on my H18) works better (pretty well) when I furl the sail with zero load, with just enough line to get the sail furled. However, if there is any load on the sail (from wind or the sheets), it wraps tighter, making every rotation smaller and making it furls less of the sail. Like you guys, I can't fit anymore line on the furling drum. Not offering a solution, just an observation.

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Tim Young
Hobie 18' + other stuff that floats and goes.
Kentucky
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t's the Gennaker

gotcha - yea i wouldn't expect a furling spin/gen/code zero to work well on a regular furler
the results you state are exactly what i would expect - and this is not a good thing if the wind picks up

a little sail sticking out at the top can become insane windage and cause your entire rig to violently shake with enough wind

i have had to cut free a spin once when it hourglassed and bound up - i then shrimped it (sailed over it) making a huge issue (the wind had picked up a lot in just a few min)

I am surprised to see the harken cont line furler for that cheap. i think they used to be a lot more expensive when i was considering a code zero sail

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My H-18 furler (on my H18) works better (pretty well) when I furl the sail with zero load, with just enough line to get the sail furled. However, if there is any load on the sail (from wind or the sheets), it wraps tighter, making every rotation smaller and making it furls less of the sail. Like you guys, I can't fit anymore line on the furling drum. Not offering a solution, just an observation.

i would recommend a smaller diam line
also suggest one that is made from a material that doesn't absorb water (as it will swell a bit with this water)

You may want to try the Ronstan Series 60 Gennaker Furler. I used this this past year on my H17 having switched to a Code 0 from a spin to quicken setup times. You will have to have a longer continuous line spliced since their line is not long enough for our spin poles but a custom one that extends all the way aft is better anyway. You can splice this yourself but the line is small diameter and I had to purchase a smaller fid just for this task.
James

I'm happy to report that a continuous furler worked like a charm for the H21sc gennaker. I ended up fabricating one as a proof of concept before I consider buying a Ronstan or Harken. The "Franken Furler" works really well, I just need to make a new loop out of slightly thinner line. I cannibalized an old hobie furler, a 75mm sheave from a busted harken ratchet block and some 1' thick Starboard. Here's a link to the pictures on google photos, let me know if it doesn't show-up. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ScYKPz4RoxUiCuMR8

Dido smaller line and anti-absorbent

I have a Ronstan Series 60 Gennaker Furler that I use on with my new top down furling spinnaker. This setup is so easy to open and close that huge sail in seconds. What a perfect upgrade on my '89 Hobie 21 SE. Pricey.....but life has been good to me .

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Bill 404 21SE
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