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wrote:
I am shopping for a new cruising sailboat.
My eyes are set on a 34.3 Beneteau and 33 Hunter both have in mast furling.
The specifications shows that they are build to CE A and equipped with front
opening frig. I never had any furling gears before let alone the in mast
furling. All I have on my old sailboat is top loading icebox and a tiller.
As for the wheel, going around it does not leave you much space for quick
reactions. The folding wheel is one option but is it good? From what I can
see you can only fold the wheel when at anchor or maybe on a long tack? I
could benefit from any comments and feedback.

None of these issues are necessarily a problem, though there is
potential. A front opening frig is only a problem if it is not well
insulated. In mast furling is generally considered better now then in
years gone by, but it is one more thing to fail. Almost all mid size
boats now come with a wheel. Racing boats (or those with pretensions)
may have a large wheel which can be awkward for the shorthanded
sailor, but there's nothing wrong with using a smaller wheel if you
wish. I don't think I would fold the wheel while underway - that
could be painful if the wrong body part where to get caught ...

Frankly, though these are all issues worth some consideration, they
are pretty far down my list.