Facnor Furling gear

[30boat]

I have just bought a Facnor Furling gear for my Fulmar.The model is the SD180 wich I think is a bit too large for my boat but I got it at a special price.
It seems to me that it is superbly engineered ,very simple to assemble and fit and it has clever details like the telescopic foil section that obviates the need for cutting down to size.In addition the drum will swallow the rigging screw thus allowing it to be mounted lower down the stay.This will allow for a larger sail area and also a lower centre of effort.
Does anyone know of problems associated with this make of furler or is it just plain good?
Thanks

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[charles_reed]

Excellent gear - I'm looking at an SDG for my gennaker.

Very widely used by Open racers - Mike Golding & Ellen McArthur had them fitted to their 60s.

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[AndrewB]

I've just fitted a Facnor SD200, following earlier favourable comments on this board. It has to be the easiest furler for a DIY fitting, as it is entirely independent of the forestay and the telescopic section avoids any need for accurate cutting.

You mention the drum swallowing the rigging screw. I found that the drum had to be mounted quite high in order to provide access to the top swage in order to tighten up the rigging screw. The maximum amount of clearance permitted at the top is 10cms, so as far as I can see the lowest the drum can be positioned is such that the bottom is 10cms below the spanner grip on the top swage. This arrangement is fine with my high cut yankee, but I'm not sure how it would work with a deck-sweeper. It did occur to me to use screws rather than pop-rivets to secure the telescopic section, so they could be removed and the telescopic section withdrawn when access is needed to the rigging screw.

I rejected several other makes of furler because it isn't possible to tension the forestay once they are mounted. I don't like having to do all the tensioning from the aft as this leaves little scope for fine tuning.



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[30boat]

Yes,I was thinking of using screws so that the drum can be raised in order to tighten the rigging screw.Even with poprivets it is not difficult to cut them out and once the work is done one just has to put new ones back in.

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[vyv_cox]

I fitted mine in July of this year after persistent failure of my Furlex, the final one very nearly causing the forestay to part. It has yet to receive any really serious use but definitely no problems so far.

The only disadvantage by comparison with Furlex and Profurl is that the centre part of the jib luff is not taken up first, as it is with these more complex types. However, you gain considerably on overall strength and simplicity. The rigger who fitted mine advised that the bearings between furler and forestay are better on the Facnor than on other types, where the full length plastic sleeve can add a lot of friction which is transferred to the forestay. Hence the tendency to unravelling and basketing of the wire.

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[ccscott49]

I am thinking of extending my mast by ten feet, so after the comments here I'll look at the facnor roller, as I'll need a new one for my forestay, the present furlex, will go on my inner forestsy, for the staysail. Thanks guys!

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[qsiv]

I'd say they are the class act - I use one for the gennaker and Code 0, which are both free flying. They both work well, the gennakert (North) furls less well than the Code 0 (Doyle). The Code 0 needs the halyard eased a fraction before furling as the 4 tonne tension seems to cause the top swivel to bind, but other than that it's brilliant - the new boat will have a smaller version of the same gear for the Zero - can't say better than that.

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[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Absolutely no trouble with mine. Two suggestions:
1. Smear isolating paste to the stainless screws that hold the sections together before inserting them.
2. Make absolutely sure that the furling line is at right angles to the drum and keep some tension when unfurling.
I particularly like the second luff groove: excellent for hoisting a second genoa - using the spinnaker halliard - when on a long downwind stretch.
Fair Winds!

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