Bart Senior wrote:
I have had only one a roller furl fail. That was in horrific
winds. I was able to lower the sail without any trouble.


I've never had a roller furler fail.
We were sailing in company with a friend who left his
dockline laying on the foredeck, and the tail of it jammed
the rollerfurler in a T-storm.
All the cases I know of roller furlers "failing"... at
least, after about 1990... was due to either improper
installation or poor maintenance. Now, back in the 1970s and
previous, materials were not avalable to build them strong
enough & with low enough friction. Those old-timey units
were a problem.

Maybe the problem here is that in addition to a lot of
people who shouldn't be trusted with machinery more complex
than a shovel, we have a lot of people whose grasp of
materials engineering includes just two substances... wood &
iron. All else is a mystery, not to be trusted!


I can't count the number of times I've counted my blessings
as my jib easy furled and got rid of my problem in seconds.


It's a really great way to slow the boat down, clear your
field of vision, and free up crew for maneuvering in close
quarters... when docking, say for example. And you don't
have to drag wet sails into the cabin.

But in all fairness, roller furlers certainly have their limits.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King