Lauri Tarkkonen wrote:
In Lloyd Sumpter writes:

On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 17:29:41 +0000, Mic wrote:

On a sailing craft which purchase would be a priority an AutoPilot or
a furling (head sail)? And why?

"Furler" I donno. Roller reefing, absulutely (on the headsail at least). A
properly-balanced sailboat under sail doesn't really need autohelm anyway:
I've sailed across Georgia Strait and never touched the helm. Having
roller reefing allows you to reef the headsail without having to go
forward.

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36

I would beg to differ, an autopilot is something that you can use for
most of your time afloat, the roller of the headsail is needed only for
a couple of minutes when you hoist and take your headsail down. If you
are interested in sailing then a partly rolled headsail is not a
satisfactory solution.

- Lauri Tarkkonen

I have both RF and AP on my 28' S2 and I bought the AP many yrs ago but
the RF just last year. It is my experience that the RF is used far
more than the AP and greatly increases the amount that I actually sail
because it can be unfurled easily when you get a light breeze and
easily furled when the wind dies. Sailing on close quarters where you
have to drop the jib a lot, say the ICW, the RF means you will sail
much more of the time because dropping the head sail every time you go
under a bridge is a pain whereas the RF is a breeze. For short or
single handed sailing, the RF means not going forward to deal with a
headsail so you can stay and steer while furling or unfurling the
headsail. I believe the RF will greatly improve your sailing
experience. Under these conditions, I also consider the RF to be a
safety enhancement. I can definitively say that RF has increased the
quantity and quality of my sailing.
The AP is very nice, but not essential for most coastal cruising. On a
recent 30 hour sail across the Gulf of Mexico (only about 130 miles),
we had 3 people aboard and rarely used the AP although we did use it
some. For shorter distances, you might like the feedback of using the
tiller. I have to admit, for those long hours of motoring when there
is little or no wind, the AP is nice. Note that it is also possible to
rig up a "self tending tiller arrangement" with bungees and line that
will keep you on a specific course with respect to the wind.
In short, if I was short of funds and had to make a choice, I'd go with
the RF and rig up a self tending device for the tiller.