sherwindu wrote:

I never owned a furler, but have crewed on boats with them. I don't trust
the things. They are good for racers, single handlers, and lazy people. Like
anything else mechanical, they have the possibility of jamming, just when you
needthem, especially when trying to shorten sail in a blow where it can be
down right dangerous.

"Good for racers"? Hardly not - they rarely set well when
furled and when not the whole mechanism is windage.

But that's not my point here. Where I sail, Adriatic and
Greek waters, we often experience unexpected, sudden and
very strong katabatic winds. It is impossible to predict the
onset of these winds that arrive instantly and soon raise a
short and steep sea. I was often caught out with a hanked
genoa up by these winds and found myself struggling on the
foredeck to lower sail with my wife on the helm fighting to
keep the bows up to windward. When one time the entire sail
was taken overboard after lowering by a wave breaking over
the bow and I had to haul it back, hand over hand, swept by
further waves, I vowed never to go through that again and to
fit a furling headsail.
That was fifteen years ago and I've never looked back, nor
had any problem with my furling system. One pull on a line
in the cockpit and the sail is immediately reduced or
completely furled. For me, "trying to shorten sail in a
blow" without a furling headsail "can be downright
dangerous", on a plunging foredeck swept by waves.

See details of the Adriatic bora wind he
http://www.istrianet.org/istria/mete...s-bora-adr.htm

BrianH.