I've had one in-mast furler jam and it took lots of
playihng with it to get it to furl. Consider what a
have furled in mast sail will do when the wind picks
up. The in boom furlers, if the fail, will at least let
your drop the sail normally. Also the battens have
to be vertical as you said, and the leech straight or
hollow.

I've read that the angle of the boom to the mast
is critical for in-boom furlers. Even with this headache
I think in boom is best option if you can afford $10k or
more for a boom.

Maxprop wrote:
Does anyone have experience with one of these main-furling systems?

I'm considering putting one on my current boat, if I choose to keep her for
a while longer. But I'm open to other suggestions. I'm not a fan of
in-mast furlers. Too risky, considering a jam with the sail half-furled
could be disastrous to the sail--or boat-- if caught in a blow. And mast
furlers don't allow for horizontal battens--I'm not sold on the new vertical
battens yet.

Any suggestions will be welcome.

Max