Can you make a DIY furler?

Rivers & creeks

Rivers & creeks

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 Nov 2004
Messages
10,924
Location
Norfolk
Visit site
We sail a Heavenly Twins 27 which is cutter rigged. The stayasil is very small and only costs £120 to have made. It's benefit is that it's self tacking and also acts as a great storm jib set so far back from the genoa. The trouble is, roller reefing is ridiculously expensive for the very small sail area. I'm never going to want to reef it - it will either be in or out. Going the hanked route is no good as the big genoa on an HT slides over the inner forestay and hanks would ruin it. Bearing in mind that I want a traditional furling mechanism I looked at Wykham Martin (? sp) but it's still a big investment. Has anyone made a simple drum furler - surely it's just a drum at the foot and a swivel at the top? In which case, what would you suggest for both?

Thanks as always for suggestions. Simon
 
I'd sooner have my eyes pecked out by seagulls than take on that idea. Consider the problems that jamming would cause and so on. Suggest you find a decent secondhand one at a boat jumble or wherever.
 
If the stay is small wire, maybe a dinghy system would be ok. I think I'd want the SWL of the swivels to be more than the breaking load of the wire.
The top swivel needs to be ball race, even on a dinghy.
Some modern dinghies (eg RS800) hank on their jibs using short links of webbing as the hank, secured with a small pinch clip. There is therefore no metal hank to attack the asymmetric kite. I believe that other dinghies have zipped the jib onto the forestay to achieve similar. You could have a storm jib with conventional hanks to use without the genoa?
good luck1
 
Yes you can - but whether the parts available are suitable for your size of sail.

When I was looking to furl foresail on my alacrity - I discussed with a rigger about the dinghy system. basically a wire strop between a swivel top and bottom. The bottom swivel being part of a rope drum.
So in fact your forestay would be replaced by the assembly. The sail would be set on the stay by attachment to each swivel at head / tack - not via the normal halyard and as tight as possible.
I didn't fit it as we had reservations about its ability to cope with a larger sail than a dinghy. Pack instructions said suitable up to large dinghys ....

Personally for what you are looking at - what about a refurbished Plastimo 406 system ? Even second hand unrefurbed - simple design and not hard to service yourself.
 
Yes, I have made a couple. First one from bicycle hub bits. Bearings top and bottom, drum from s.s. sheet. Three years on still fine. More recent, lower unit from Tufnol with thrust bearing. S.S. ones available from Classic Marine. Not used yet but looksgood. I do have a small lathe. Otherwise a lot of filing needed. This is furler only, a la W.M. Not reefing.
A
 
The swivel and the drum are no big deal if you are handy with tools. Access to a small lathe would make a great difference. I think that I would first try to source some suitable profiles. Once you manage to source them, the rest is pretty straightforward engineering: no rocket science is involved.

It is certainly feasible; whether it is viable or not in terms of money is, of course, a different story.
 
my previous prout quest had hank on staysail and I never had any problem with the hanks damaging the genoa. Have you had problems? You could fit a luff foil, but of course a bit more awkward raising and dropping the sail.
 
Owner built fiurlers are common.

One type uses a simple system with no expensive parts.

The sail luff is inserted into a split aluminium pipe, powder coated would be good.

The pipe encircles the forestay and between the stay and the pipe is a full lenght plastic pipe of the required diameter.

No top bearing, no bottom bearing, no wraps or problems with the bearings.

At the ft, a drum is used, size dependent on the rurling line dia and boat length.

Split pipe is available for awnings, the awnins is commonly inserted into the split. Alternatly visit New Zealand where3 many small boat have these furleras and I believe the pipe is commonly available.


Though that this was Practical Boat Owner !

An enterprising soul living near here builds thee for boats from 20 to 50 feet, I believe they are called Simplicity.
 
Sail hoisted by halyard on forestay encircling split pipe rather than on mast.

No wrapped halyard!

Haven't built mine but have seen many locally on east side of Vancouver Island.
 
So you mean that there is a sheave at the top of the pipe and the halliard returns down, through the pipe. In that case it would be similar to the Bamar and the Nemo furlers. It was not clear from your original posting - or I was too sleepy at the time! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Bit of a late entry - I have a Holman Luffspar reefing system on my little (15') old ('74?) boat's genoa. Very simple system - swivel at the top of the forestay, swivel and drum at the bottom, both connected by a split aluminium tube which the forestay runs up the centre of. Small sheave at the top of the tube. Halyard runs up the tube, over the sheave and down on the outside and is cleated off at the bottom, just above the drum, or some people use an extra-long halyard and thread it through the drum to use as the furling line. I believe the system was originaly built using low-cost dinghy furling swivels and drum, but wouldn't be too hard to make yourself. Still being sold today I beleive, by Holman Rigging - see here - Chris Holman was v. helpful in emailing me the instructions on how to set it up. Works well, used a lot on Wayfarers, Drascombes and the like, I beleive.
 
Interesting reading. I have a Hood seafurl (continuas furling line type) and would like to modify it to drum type furler. Any ideas? No budget to replace it this year but have lathe and mill at work!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top