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

Interesting quesyion. If you are daysailing and coastal cruising I would
think the roller furling is probably a better value. If you are
voyaging and sailing shorthanded 24/7 then the auto-piot is probably
better value. In my opinion!