Furling gear identification

[Big-Bang1]

Afternoon all!
Can anyone help? A friend of mine has recently purchased a Catalina 27 and the furling gear looks like nothing I've ever seen. Can anyone identify it from the photos and possibly shed some light on how it works?
Many thanks.

 

[alahol2]

Can't really help... Is it definitely a furler and not just a foil system?
Looks like you have to yank on that bit of wire 'halliard' to unclip the slider from the 'cylinder' at the head of the foil.
If it is a furler then looks like the forestay and foil rotate together, the 'cylinder' being a bearing taking the forestay tension.
Pictures of the furling drum?