So you want Roller Furling, eh?
This is a compilation of what people have done to convert to roller furling. I was given a vast amount of help during my first conversion, when I barely knew what a furler was. I'm hoping a bunch of photos will make it easier/quicker for others.
There is no single "best" solution. What is best for a trailer sailor who rigs everyday on the beach, may not be best for one who keeps the mast up all year.
Take all suggestions, but in the end, do what works for your individual situation.
You will need a drum, upper swivel, & the means to connect them to your forestay.
The stay will either have to be shortened by the length of the drum & swivel,(5" for the Harken Small Boat Furler), and a pigtail added, or a new stay made. If you have thimbles on both ends, it may not work, as you loose about 6" to cut the thimble off & add another. You can decrease this loss to only about 3" if you elect to cut the thimble & swage a marine eye to the end. You will have to get a rigging shop to add the marine eye, as they need to be hydraulically swaged on.
On the N5.0 we had a stay with thimbles on each end. By removing the 10 hole adjuster, it essentially shortened the stay by almost the exact length of the drum & swivel, so we were able to use the original stay.
Essentially the stay will be able to rotate, & will roll the jib up with it.The system will work with full zippered luffs, or hanked on luffs. Your jib will be pinned somewhere just above the drum, so as the drum/stay turns, so will the jib.
You will need a small fairlead & cleat on the front beam, or lower mast in which to secure the furling line after you have pulled it to furl the jib.(The drum winds up the line as you run the jib out, & as you pull the line back out it turns the drum in the opposite direction,furling the jib.
Remember to tape the ring dings at the top swivel. Last year my mainsail halyard snagged a ring ding on the swivel, & left it as only a bent piece of wire. Lose that pin & you lose the mast.
When leaving your boat for ANY length of time with the jib furled, use a safety, so it can't come unfurled. I use the clam cleat on the mast that was originally used to tension the jib for the furling line. To safety it, I wrap the tail around the mast & tie it. When I leave the boat for the night, I also run a thin line through the jib tack grommet, wrap it around the jib & tie. It's redundant, I know, but I sleep better in Hong Kong when I see storms on Ontario radar.
If your jib comes loose in a squall it will turn into dental floss. I don't personally know this fact, but Andrew(MN3) does:-(
Finally, if you leave the jib on, as I do, spend $150 & have a sail maker sew a UV strip to the leech of the sail.
While they are at it, have them pull the jib battens & replace with double length battens, set at roughly the same angle as your forestay. Without those two small battens (talking Nacra here) the leech tends to vibrate & flog, especially when pinching. If the battens are left perpendicular to the mast, it furls like shiit.
Sorry, I cannot give due credit for some of the photos as I don't know where they came from. If they are yours, & you would like credit, send me a PM (EDCHRIS177)
I try to use hi res photos, so you can click on "full size" & get more detail. Some of the photos I "borrowed" were not originally in hi def, & I can't improve them. Some captions may be truncated, click on the photo to see the whole enchilada.
While figuring things out you WILL do & undo things several times. I found the easiest way, especially if working solo, was to tip the boat over on the lawn. Then you can tinker away without worry.
Enjoy, roller furling was the single best upgrade I did to our N5.7 & N5.0 as I single hand them more often than not.Please PM me any errors, or omissions you think should be added.
You are looking for Part #435(kit),which consists of
part #165 drum & #164 swivel. The newer ones will have the part # stamped on the top of the drum, or barrel of the swivel. Here are the links. Sorry, I can't make these links live. If you click to highlight the link, then right click, you will see an option, 'OPEN IN NEW TAB'...at least that works in Firefox, can't vouch for other browsers.
http://www.harkenstore.com/uniface.urd/scpdinw1.showProd?B4RPMEB9Y95NX8
http://www.harkenstore.com/uniface.urd/scpdinw1.showProd?B4RPMEB9Y95NX4
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Date: 07/13/2012
Owner: Edchris177
Size: 29 items
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2-2-1 furler
A Hobie Wave. I believe this was done by Rick White..
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1724
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IMG_0770
What my Nacra 5.7 originally looked like. You can simply reuse the wire block,(hang it from the pigtail) & stay with your original wire halyard. The block with becket is the original 5.7 setup. When the jib is raised the block is about 1' from mast ba
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1734
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IMG_1984
Here is how it ended up. TAPE THOSE RINGDINGS on the swivel, they are easy to snag with the mainsail halyard.Note: I had not yet removed the original wire block/wire halyard from the mast.
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 2000
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IMG_1985
Here is how I used it for the first season, before removing the wire halyard, hanging a Harken Micro Block, & changing halyard to fluorescent lime green Spyderline. As Damon said once, you can never underestimate the cool factor or bright colors!
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1765
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Triangle plates
These are an easy way to connect bridals to drum if using a harken drum AND have bridals terminating in forks.This phot was lifted from West Marine. The listed kit shows plate(S), as in plural.The idea is you assemble the two plates with the pins,the ga
Date: 07/14/2012
Views: 1254
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Furling adapter
Tang used to connect swivel to mast hound shackle.
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1288
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IMG_0857
A photo of new forestay with pigtail. the top item is a Harken Small boat swivel,#435, that is the Hi load system,(torlon bearings, #434 is lo load delrin bearings)with tang at top & a block used for original wire halyards.I initially was going to u
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1405
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furler return
A 1:2 furling line. This gives a very quick furl, though I have not found it necessary.IIRC the owner stated he used the thicker return line because it was easier on the hands.
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1425
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portugeuse turnbuckle
A Portuguese Turnbuckle, simple & effective.It allows you to easily tension your rig as you can have 16:1 purchase.
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1521
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pigtail
Another setup. Note the extra shackle used to connect the forestay. This is not required, there is enough room with the harken furler to insert the thimble right into the swivel,(or drum) jaw.If the thimble is a tight fit, just tap the sides with a ball p
Date: 07/14/2012
Views: 1559
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upper furler
One way to rig the upper swivel. Notice he did away with the pigtail by using a marine eye on the stay, & a stamped shackle to connect the block required to hoist the jib. See the sister clip,(bottom right) used to remove the extra halyard after the
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1245
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furler 2
This is hardware overkill, but it does give the owner 3:1 purchase & mast rake options,(note marine eye inside 10 hole adjuster). He cleats to hold jib tension.
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1700
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furler 3
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1354
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andrews roller furling
I believe this is Andrews (MN3)swivel setup
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1763
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andrews port setup
I believe this is Andrews (MN3)drum setup
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1149
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furler2
Note the 10 hole adjuster is in the wrong place, making it useless as an adjuster. It also causes the jib to set at a poor angle. I think it was done this way to enable the drum to be attached, as the shackle jaws won't fit around the drum forks.
Date: 07/13/2012
Views: 1553
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IMG_1987
This was taken during the experimentation phase,(note the bolt holding the forestay!)I was figuring out how to best adapt things to my situation. My Cats sit on lifts all summer, fully rigged except for the main sail, making it awkward to reach up & t
Date: 07/14/2012
Views: 1666
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IMG_1998
I use a double Portuguese Turnbuckle to tension the rig, as I'm generally solo, & don't like the idea of hanging in a harness while trying to put a pin in the shroud. I always kept a screwdriver handy to insert in case I dropped the dammed pin in the
Date: 07/14/2012
Views: 1731
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IMG_0534
It's not great for detail, I'll change it later,(promise)but see how neatly the jib furls AFTER the 2 original battens were removed, & replaced with 2 longer ones, orientated to match the forestay angle.If you blow the phot up you can see the furler
Date: 07/14/2012
Views: 1613
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IMG_0567
I use the original eye strap & clam cleat on the mast that were used to tension the jib, as a guide & cleat for the furling line. After jib is furled I secure it by wrapping furling line,(blue with yellow trace)around the mast a couple of turns, t
Date: 07/16/2012
Views: 1537
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IMG_0568
Safety line for overnight storage. I leave my boat rigged all summer. This line is "insurance", in case the furler line were to break or somehow come loose.Fold the line in half, pass the fold through the jib clew, then pass the ends through t
Date: 07/16/2012
Views: 1657
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IMG_0570
This shows the drum setup. The same shackle that holds the forestay also serves to anchor the jib tack. This would not be advisable for those who take their mast/jib down every day.The safety portion of the double Portuguese Turnbuckle also goes through
Date: 07/16/2012
Views: 1355
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20130630_121010
Here is how we quick rigged the Nacra 5.0, using the original fore stay, with no pigtail.This stay had thimbles on both ends. The thimbles just fit within the jaws of the drum & swivel. The thimble leaves plenty of room to place a small bow shackle
Date: 07/02/2013
Views: 1208
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20130630_121132
Another view.The black patch is a piece of inner tube that was secured to the mast with Aquaseal. It served to prevent the original wire block from banging on the mast, as the boat is left mast up all season.
Date: 07/02/2013
Views: 1101
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20130711_135817
Here is the final build of the 5.0. It had a fore stay with thimbles at both ends. By attaching the short end to the drum, & pinning the thimble to the first hole, we were able to use the original fore stay, without shortening it. This can save you a
Date: 07/17/2013
Views: 1130
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20130711_135838
The clam cleat pin goes through the loop in the thimble, it is held secure by the 10 hole adjuster.
Date: 07/17/2013
Views: 1147
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IMG_5142
I installed a C Sherman Johnson Quick release Shroud Lever between the furling drum & forestay.It is not required, but made a 10 second job out of tensioning the rig & jib.This shows the system in the "rig tight" position. The lever
Date: 12/03/2016
Views: 820
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IMG_5139
The forestay uses a marine eye that pins inside the jawas of the hyfield lever. There are several holes, so you can adjust the tension.
The purple line serves only to shackle the tack of the jib to the lever.
Date: 12/03/2016
Views: 915
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IMG_5138
Bottom end is secured via a 1/4" SS ring that fits between the jaws of the furling drum.
Date: 12/03/2016
Views: 1014
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