Headsail Rollers:...Profurl, Furlex, Facnor, Harken

aidancoughlan

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Hi all, Any opinions on roller Furling gear...

- Are any of these makes are considered best, or are they all good products? Is any one of them a clear winner in terms of quality and value for money?
- Anybody had experience of buying a roller system mail order from overseas ?
- are enclosed or open drums better?
- Is a sealed drum a good idea (no bearing maintenance)?
- Are any makes considered more reliable than others?

- Any good deals out there at the moment ?
 

aidancoughlan

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m, I've seen Sailspar during recent search on the web for rollers - I came across an article at http://www.eoa.org.uk/mag/gear/tests/gear_test_home.html
The single line looks interesting, but is there the possibility that the line could slip when furling in high winds? with a normal drum there is no danger of the line slipping when the sail is being furled. It didnt make my short list, since I was put off by this and the fact that I hadnt heard of it before. Maybe I've been hasty... my Sailmaker quoted for a sailspar and also said he had one on his own boat which worked well.

At the moment Profurl seems like a good bet to me, I've read comments about blue-water cruisers and southern ocean charter boats using them because of reliability, and a previous posts on the forum commented on its widespread use among cruisers in the med. It also seems to be possible to buy these at good prices from american sites on the web.

A local rigger quoted for Harken at a price which seems comparatively good (for Harken), but considerably dearer than a Profurl bought from the web. I've also seen Facnor offered locally at a similar to a Profurl bought from the web.

Anybody know the market well enough to give me a run-down on the relative positioning of the different brands of furlers?
 

heartlander

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Hi
I'm in the process of making the same decision. At the moment it is between Sailspar and Furlex.
I will probably go for the former as I like the idea less rope in or around the cockpit and the smaller drum. All reports have been very positive and I have not heard of any problems with the rope slipping.
Furlex has also been highly praised by the sailmaker and there is not much in it cost wise.
I have no had no reports on the other systems nor, sadly, on any particularly good deals.
 

tillergirl

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There is no possibility fo the Sailspar system slipping. the line is positively held in the 'drum'. Had one ten years now and have no problems with it at all. It is well made, easy to fit (DIY job) and comes with all the bits needed except a cleat so as to make it fast furled or semi-furled. Requires no great feats of strength and is easy controlled. Have tried other sustems on flotilla holidays and find the Sailspar vastly superior. Sailing Today did a review of use after a season in a recent addition.
 

30boat

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Fitted a Facnor last year an sd 180 wich is a bit oversized for my boat but in my view that can only be good.

Assembling was very easy and it works beautifully.It has a feature that sets it apart from other makes.It comes with several extrusions of different lengths and the bottom tube slides over the tube that's connected to the drum.This means that when you have all the extrusions connected together with the stay already inside ,to achieve the correct total lenght ,all you have to do is slide the lower outer tube to position and then rivet it with the rivet provided.No cutting involved.
Besides all that ,I think it is superbly engineered.And you can hide the rigging screw inside the drum too(if you have one ).
 

tugela

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I fiited a sailspar furler to my jib last year having spent too many occasions trying to recoil the line around a traditional drum hanging on to the bowsprit with my knees.

One season of faultless furling later I have nothing but praise for sailspar.

The continuous line takes a bit of getting used to but it has been 100% reliable. All the feedback I've ever heard has been positive in fact - prettty rare in itself!
 

AndrewB

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Bought a Facnor SD200 two years ago following advice on this board. It was about 25% cheaper than all the main rivals I looked at, and more suitable for DIY fitting. Haven't regretted it yet.

Got a quote for buying it in France (where they are made) as well as in England. The slight price advantage in France was not worth the cost of the extra travel.
 

Sans Bateau

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Take a look at Rotostay. Very simple tough units, no plastic. Look them up on the Google, Ian Cochrane runs the business at Haslar, friendly people who will give lots of help and advise, and they are British.
 

cjepearson

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Is Plastimo really as bad as the name implies? The blurb is good, and the price too. Has anybody had a bad time with one of their units.
My personal choice would be a Sailspar....continuous line system means less string in the cockpit, and bigger string too, 8mm rather than the usual 6mm, much easier to handle.
 

Stemar

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Re: Plastimo

I have a Plastimo on Jissel. It was there when I bought it, and I suspect has been there for a good few years. It does what it says on the box with no drama

Jissel's only little, so my experience may not be valid on biggter boats, but the only problem I've had was a refusal to roll away coming out of Chichester into a brisk southerly. Things got a bit exciting for a couple of minutes, but it was soon sorted by tightening the halliyard, so I can't blame the furler! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 

trouville

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Re: Plastimo

Ive just been to sailspar,as i to am going to buy,and had in mind plastimo,as in France there are a lot of people useing it and seems to work.
Plastimo give their price, Sailspa dosent !!!to expensive then.
 

aidancoughlan

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Re: Plastimo

Many thanks for all the responses guys... I had been thinking since posting last night about the price from the local Facnor supplier (from the local bennetau dealer - they are fitted to new benetau's afaik). The price is the lowest of the 'brand' names (ones I recognise!), and I see a couple of good responses among the list above - enough to make it the favourite at the moment.... but I didnt expect the flood of Sailspar comments ! Sounds like you guys are happy with your Sailspar systems, enough to make me think a little more... and the sailmaker offers it as an option. Many thanks for the input.
 

aidancoughlan

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Re: Headsail Rollers:...Profurl, Furlex, Facnor, Harken ,and Sailspar!

Is it the case that all these roller reefing gear is reliable nowadays... it seems like everybody is happy with their brand of roller ! There's very little negative comment above.
Maybe it simply comes down to personal preferences ? It's definitely narrowed my choice down to Facnor (open drum, cheapest 'brand' name locally, and I'm reassured by the good reports above), and Sailspar (about 50% extra from the Sailmaker, but offering the single-line no-drum mechanism which is attractive as I will be sailing short-handed.) Just have to decide if it's worth the extra 50%.... it's a lot more to pay.
 
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Re: Headsail Rollers:...Profurl, Furlex, Facnor, Harken ,and Sailspar!

One downside of the Sail Spar is that you have to accommodate 2 larger diameter ropes running the length of your side deck, otherwise it is a nice piece kit. Saw one setup where the aft block was pulled backward via an elasticised attachment.
 

aidancoughlan

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Re: Headsail Rollers:...Profurl, Furlex, Facnor, Harken ,and Sailspar!

Update:..... I've just ordered a Facnor S100 from the local Benetau dealer (it was even cheaper than I thought he had quoted, and it looks to be a good piece of kit based on the blurb).

For anyone looking at this thread later, some links are (in order of my perceived desirability):

www.reckmann.com
(very high end gear from what I see - scratched from my list!)

www.harken.com
(v good quality, good price from local dealer but was still 50% more expensive than Facnor) & I think I'd feel like a bit poncy with a Harken on my little Westerly...

www.profurl.com
Would have been my first choice for an open drum system, as it looks top notch,is the only totally sealed (non-maintenance) system I found, and I found articles/post on the web giving very positive from blue-water cruisers & southern ocean charter boats. Informative website. The UK distributor is www.improducts.co.uk, which refused to answer my emails, it's available at very good prices from www.mauriprosailing.com and www.cruisingdirect.com

www.facnor.com
Several good reports from previous post history on the forum, website looks professional with good blurb on the kit. claims to be easy DIY fit with no cutting required. open drum.

www.sailspar.co.uk
seems to me like a smaller company than the others (lower quality website)... I was unprepared for the number of positive responses above though, and the single line (no wrap on drum) system looks good (see link in my second post above). Buying direct was cheaper than going for an all-in price from my sailmaker...

www.rotostay.co.uk
looks like another smaller company (from website), although the gear seems well regarded. open drum.

www.seldenmast.com (Furlex)
Seen a lot of these in local marinas,looks good but was working out more expensive. closed drum, off my list.

Cheaper systems .... CDI (available from www.cruisingdirect.com), Plastimo (www.plastimo.com - sold through lots of chandlers in UK), ZSPARS (www.zspars.co.uk - very cheap quote from a local rigger, although I couldnt find any info or comments on the system from the web), NEMO (an italian import).

In short, with all the browsing I've done I couldnt find much in the way of negative comment on any particular system - pretty much everybody that comments seems to be happy with their brand on gear. I went with Facnor in the end because it was cheapest of the middle-road systems, easy DIY and available locally at a good price, but I would have gone for the Sailspar single line system if it wasnt for the extra 50% cost in my case.
 
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