Furler systems

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Medway Matt

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Hi all

We recently lost our mast from our GK29 and inevitably the furling gear was damaged too. Assuming we can't get replacement foils for our Rotostay furler, does anyone have any recommendations for a complete replacement? The options seem to be Plastimo, Selden Furlex, Harken ESP, Sailspar or Profurl.

The Plastimo seems suspiciously cheap compared to the others, does it cut the mustard?

I've not heard of Sailspar before, are they and their kit any good? It would be nice to support British manufacturing. Come to that, I haven't heard of Profurl before either, so the same question there too.

I know some people rate Harken kit but I tend to fairly ambivalent about it and think it's overpriced for the quality, having had to replace badly corroded cam cleats in the past. Should I revise my opinion?

Looking around marinas, Selden seem a fairly popular fit, is that justified?

Cheers
Matt
 
Selden supply a complete kit with everything you need at a good price.

Profurl seem - to me- better built. I couldn’t decide between them and ended up with Profurl as going by my previous experience they work better for longer. I’d be happy with both I think.

No experience of any others on your list.
 
Not sure about the latest Profurl models but the old kit is fantastic IMHO, titanium body and the ability to totally strip them down and swap out standard lipseals and SKS bearings and they are as good as new again for another few years.
 
vyv_cox said:
We replaced our furlex with Facnor. At the time reasonable price and 20 years on still good, although we replaced the top swivel two years ago.
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You are lucky: my Facnor SD165 system new in 2005 has so far had one new replacement drum unit and two new top swivels, and the drum unit is now again jamming. I am dithering between putting a second new drum unit on at about £1500 fitted or junking the whole system and getting another brand at £2500+

Although I am reasonably practical and do a lot of my own maintenance removing and disassembling a unit that both the manufacturer and my local riggers say is non-maintainable is outside my comfort zone.
 
We replaced our broken rotostay earlier this year with a selden furlex, which is a significant improvement - so much easier to furl. We have a 40' yacht, so you could get away with a smaller furler than us, but I would be happy to recommend the furlex, which as mentioned comes as a complete kit, including a new forestay - I believe many do not so you have to include that in your cost comparison.
 
We had a second hand Sailspar Furler installed on our 29 ft Shamrock. Trouble free and low maintenance.Its still going Strong and that must be 30yr old now .
It’s an excellent no nonsense gear .Great with the single furling line on the drum as you don’t get tangles there.
i recommend them to customers wanting to buy UK kit .
 
Medway Matt said:
The Plastimo seems suspiciously cheap compared to the others, does it cut the mustard?
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I would stay well clear. If a new one is anything like their previous versions then it's made from lots of plastic and a mixing of stainless and aluminium housing the bearings to guarantee failure around 5 years.
 
I think that I see more Furlex around than any of the others. I have used mine for 20 years now without a hitch and only the recommended maintenance and I think this is typical, though whether it is superior to any other system I can't say.
 
I also recommend Sailspar, slightly different from other makers as it uses an endless furling line - I fitted a Rutgerson clutch so you just reef and thats it - no trying to cleat it off(and it slipping) You can slip the Rutgerson clutch over the endless line as the side plate comes off, I believe Spinlock make a similar clutch.
 
PetiteFleur said:
I believe Spinlock make a similar clutch.
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The spinlock bullseyes are just normal ones that have been hacksawed ((badly), sharp burred cuts) from the factory. I would suggest you sent the clutch to Sailspar to get them to splice the look to a standard Spinlock clutch if that was the way you wanted to go.

Sailspar have great customer service and and as you've mentioned it's great to support small British manufacturing, even moreso when it's a decent piece of kit ;) .
 
Thanks for your replies so far, they're really useful.

I got in touch with Sailspar earlier who seemed very on the ball and have sent me a quote. I'll be following up the other manufacturers too and will formulate a plan. I'll let you know how it goes if you're interested.

It's a shame we don't have a London boat show anymore to go and look at the things.

Cheers
Matt
 
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