Smartroller furler for hanked on jib

LoneHort

LoneHort

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Hi folks,
I am looking at options for putting my inner jib (Currently hanked on to a removable stay with a highfield lever ) on a reasonably priced furler.
My stay is 8mm and any of the Plastimo,Seldens,Harkens models to fit 8mm are north of £700 just for the furler. Meanwhile this has come across my bows, http://smartroller.se/ (In Sweedish but you get the idea) , designed for hanked on sails.
Anyone got any experience with them? I would not be intending to use it to partly furl the sail, just to fully furl the sail and keep the deck tidy.
Thanks,
Micheal
 
No experience of the smart roller system , though had a good look at the numerous youtube vids last night. Seems to me to be a good product well made and reasonable priced (£350 fish depending on conversion)furling system. tempted to give it a punt for my Staysail! . Very interested in any experience from the forumites!

John
 
No experience but interested. My new boat has hank on sails. This would save a lot of money as opposed to fitting a conventional Furler and modifying / replacing sails.

It is also potentially more flexible because sail changes to match weather conditions would be easier. I would still remove the sail when off the boat for any length of time.
 
Looks interesting for times when you're shorthanded and want to furl quickly. It doesn't look as though the head of the sail furls tightly on the video and this could be a potential problem in stronger winds if you were planning to leave the sail up. Definitely wouldn't leave the sail hoisted and furled like this for any length of time. Certainly a potentially cheaper option than full roller reefing systems and one which maybe useful if the limitations are acceptable.
 
greeny said:
Looks interesting for times when you're shorthanded and want to furl quickly. It doesn't look as though the head of the sail furls tightly on the video and this could be a potential problem in stronger winds if you were planning to leave the sail up. Definitely wouldn't leave the sail hoisted and furled like this for any length of time. Certainly a potentially cheaper option than full roller reefing systems and one which maybe useful if the limitations are acceptable.
Click to expand...

I thought the same about the top of the sail not being as tight and the need to remove the sail when leaving the boat. However, that means that there is no need to add a UV strip making installation cheaper and quicker.

I have emailed the manufacturer and asked for deilery options / costs and suitability for my 28 foot boat. I will post their answer here.
 
I also have emailed them and I think that may be the most challenging aspect as they do not seem to be contactable anymore. I did speak to the chap on youtube that installed them on his boat and he is very happy with them. Obviously not really for partially furling but he said it was great for fully furling.
 
LoneHort said:
Hi folks,
I am looking at options for putting my inner jib (Currently hanked on to a removable stay with a highfield lever ) on a reasonably priced furler.
My stay is 8mm and any of the Plastimo,Seldens,Harkens models to fit 8mm are north of £700 just for the furler. Meanwhile this has come across my bows, http://smartroller.se/ (In Sweedish but you get the idea) , designed for hanked on sails.
Anyone got any experience with them? I would not be intending to use it to partly furl the sail, just to fully furl the sail and keep the deck tidy.
Thanks,
Micheal
Click to expand...

Looks very interesting for our staysail on Vancouver 27, I would be interested to hear some experiences too
 
Another option with hanked sails is to use a downhaul led from the head cringle of the sail, down to a preferably ball bearing block at the forestay tang then aft; it's handy but not perfect, as when the sail is lowered a bit the sheets become ineffective so ideally a clued up crew holds the foresail leach out with one hand and the boathook in the other while approaching the mooring downwind in wind over tide, but it's a useful option to have.

I also have diagonal lacing on the forward guardrails to prevent the lowered sail going over the side before I get to the foredeck if solo, I think this is near essential.

But after a few interesting moments with rollers jamming on other people's boats in various wind strengths, for a 22' I'm happy with hanked sails and a downhaul, hanked sails give better pointing too; on boats larger say over 30' as I normally sail singlehanded or with an inexperienced girlfriend I'd go for the best roller job I could afford with a foam luff genoa, and a separate stay for a storm jib.
 
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I had a reply from the smart roller people - see below:

Smartroller suits the size of your boat very well. We do deliver to UK. The Smartroller is right right now on a campaign price of 3490SEK appr. 320 GBP. Shipping is an additional 35GBP. You order by sending me your confirmation, address and mobile number. We will issue in invoice for prepayment and dispatch when payment arrives. All the best, Ulf
 
Shamaya said:
Please let us know and if you can post few photographs, look like very interesting piece of kit
Thanks
Click to expand...

+1

I'm very tempted but I'm just a little concerned about the head with the sail not being tightly furled. Apart from furling it when going into harbour (so it can be quickly unfurled if needs be) the only time I could see me using it would be if it got to rough to go up on deck and if it's that bad I don't really want the wind opening up the sail while its wrapped.
 
So my SmartRoller arrived promptly from Sweeden. A very nicely made bit of kit. I took it down to the boat a few days ago and it only took about 15 mins to install. It now sits on my removable inner forestay so I have the best of both worlds with it tucked away when not in use or rigged for my inner jib.
Here is a link https://youtu.be/NA0xsmS3sDU for a short vid of the first furl, not great as I was furling and videoing an the same time but it does illustrate how it works. All in all very happy with it.
 
Looks interesting - I sail a gaff cutter with both foresails on furlers, and have had some snarl-ups.

Does the drum store the line? - If it does, what length of what diameter line for all-in to all-out?
 
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