Thanks Dick,

BTW, how long have you owned it, is it on
sal****er or fresh, and how much do you use the
boat each year? What is the highest wind speed
that you have used the furler in?

Don W.

dick wrote:
We have a Schaefer 3100. It has been trouble free and easy to use.
Dick McKee
S/V ONE9TEEN

Don W wrote:

Hi everyone,

We're going to purchase a new headsail roller
furler for our Irwin C 38, and know very little
about the pluses and minuses of the various units.

Which units are the best for long term cruising,
considering overall quality of construction, and
ease of repair if something does go wrong?

Right now, we're looking at Harken, Profurl, and
Alado Nautica. Are there other brands we should
consider?

If you consider price, ease of maintenance,
longevity in a salt water environment, etc, which
unit do you think is the best overall value?

Regards,

Don W.

I've been looking on the Profurl website. Based
on the prices I see on the web, it looks like the
properly sized Profurl(C350) for my boat would be
about price equivalent with the Alado. I'm still
researching.

Don W.

GBM wrote:

"Don W" wrote

Right now, we're looking at Harken, Profurl, and
Alado Nautica. Are there other brands we should
consider?

If you consider price, ease of maintenance,
longevity in a salt water environment, etc, which
unit do you think is the best overall value?


Don,

After 25 years of installing furlers and using them on boats from 22 to 50
ft, I have an opinion, but not a strong one.

Profurl - You can't go far wrong - But there are some who got a run around
getting parts when in distant parts. But, they are a world wide company and
more likely to have service than the lesser known makes.

Harken - ( I have one on my boat that is an original Mk 1from way back!) -
More streamlined, less rugged looking than Profurl. If sized properly should
give good service and parts widely available.

Alado - Never seen one despite having been in business - probably a choice
if the price is the main consideration. Maybe buy two so you will have spare
parts

Others to look at:

Hood Yacht Systems - Seafurl - Hood were one of the first into modern
furlers - probably still worth looking at. sailed many miles on the original
units - no experience with recent units.

Furlex - Definitely worth considering - Good Swedish engineering.

Schaeffer - Installed several of these - not bad, but I would choose them
behind Profurl, Furlex and Harken mainly because of lighter duty extrusions
and joining system.

If faced with same decision, I would price all of above units, except Alado.
Then add on any extras that may be needed such as furling blocks, furling
line, shackles, halyard wrap preventer, new forestay (may be needed), sail
modifications etc. Sometime the price/size breaks result in one make being a
better value.

Good Luck

GBM

All RF's have weak points and you can find failure stories about all of
them.
Most RF's have to be installed by a rigger, not Alado.
All use plastic bearings including Alado but Alado doesn't use screws to
hold them in.
If you've never used or installed or even seen an Alado, how can you
knock em? Price doesn't mean anything!
Yes, I've installed and used one on a 32' Gulf Pilothouse. I didn't have
the boat long enough to really evaluate the Alado but I can say it is simple
and strong and easy to install. Drawbacks are that it sits quite high on the
stay and the drum holder needs to be secured at the base so it doesn't turn.
Go to the seller and ask for other owners names and email addy's and ask
them.
Gordon

"Don W" wrote in message
m...
Hi Charlie,

The intended installer will probably be me, and
I'm trying to figure out what brand I like best ;-)

The problem with this type of thing is that
furlers are an esoteric and fairly expensive piece
of hardware. Its hard to find a place where you
can look at different furlers side by side and
compare the designs. Once they're installed,
pretty much all you can see is the bottom drum.

Don W.

Charlie Morgan wrote:


I'd go with whatever brand the intended installer likes best. Proper
installation is truly a large part of the "quality" of any furler.

CWM

Practical Sailor did a piece on furlers recently, the first few
paragraphs of which can be seen he

http://www.practical-sailor.com/issu...es/4996-1.html

....and (of course) you can purchase the entire artilce if this whets
you apetite.

MW

In article ,
Don W wrote:

We're going to purchase a new headsail roller furler for our Irwin C
38, and know very little about the pluses and minuses of the various
units.

Which units are the best for long term cruising, considering overall
quality of construction, and ease of repair if something does go
wrong?

Right now, we're looking at Harken, Profurl, and Alado Nautica. Are
there other brands we should consider?

If you consider price, ease of maintenance, longevity in a salt water
environment, etc, which unit do you think is the best overall value?

I put CDI Flexible Furlers on our last two boats. We've had zero
problems in over two decades' use. They've always dealt fairly with me,
even recommending against my buying something they didn't think was
appropriate for our application.
http://www.sailcdi.com/ffmain.htm

Dead simple, nearly fool- and bullet-proof and easy to use, with
virtually nothing to go wrong, particularly for cruisers.

Their warrantee tells it all "[includes] All hazards at sea, including
winching against obstructions, unseamanlike use, and dismastings. This
warranty remains in force for charter and other commercial operations.
No maintenance is required to keep the warranty in force.". [Hmmm, used
to be a lifetime warrantee, but I can read between the lines to what
people have done and tried to claim.]

It won't allow racing-speed sail changes, but that's not a consideration
for cruisers. We choose a sail in the morning and keep it up the rest of
the day, furling if necessary.

That it's also probably the least expensive in that size is an
additional plus. I installed both, BTW. Was trivial except for the
measurement.

Note: If you get the FF9, I suggest ordering it direct from them,
uncoiled, as even the FF6/7 is a BEAR to straighten. If you get the 7,
get the 6' coil and straighten it immediately upon receipt. You'll
probably want the bearing, though we haven't needed it as I have only
winched it in once. It rolls so easily that a simple tug on the line
does it.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

"Don W" wrote in message
news
I've been looking on the Profurl website. Based
on the prices I see on the web, it looks like the
properly sized Profurl(C350) for my boat would be
about price equivalent with the Alado. I'm still
researching.

Don W.

If you have a turnbuckle, you should order the "I" version with turnbuckle
cylinder - this allows the drum to be lower.

Otherwise, you would need the optional long link plates so that the
turnbuckle will be below the drum (Some suppliers may include them as
standard).

Check what length of extrusions are supplied as standard - you may need an
extra one.

Make sure you have enough turnbuckle adjustment so that you can install
rigging toggles top and bottom if they are not already there - probably need
about 2.75" for each.


GBM

Hi Jere,

We would for sure need an FF9 because our headsail
luff is ~52.2 ft. This means the FF9 would be
just barely big enough since it is for a maximum
headstay length of 53 ft.

I'll take a look at them.

Don W.

Jere Lull wrote:
In article ,
Don W wrote:


We're going to purchase a new headsail roller furler for our Irwin C
38, and know very little about the pluses and minuses of the various
units.

Which units are the best for long term cruising, considering overall
quality of construction, and ease of repair if something does go
wrong?

Right now, we're looking at Harken, Profurl, and Alado Nautica. Are
there other brands we should consider?

If you consider price, ease of maintenance, longevity in a salt water
environment, etc, which unit do you think is the best overall value?


I put CDI Flexible Furlers on our last two boats. We've had zero
problems in over two decades' use. They've always dealt fairly with me,
even recommending against my buying something they didn't think was
appropriate for our application.
http://www.sailcdi.com/ffmain.htm

Dead simple, nearly fool- and bullet-proof and easy to use, with
virtually nothing to go wrong, particularly for cruisers.

Their warrantee tells it all "[includes] All hazards at sea, including
winching against obstructions, unseamanlike use, and dismastings. This
warranty remains in force for charter and other commercial operations.
No maintenance is required to keep the warranty in force.". [Hmmm, used
to be a lifetime warrantee, but I can read between the lines to what
people have done and tried to claim.]

It won't allow racing-speed sail changes, but that's not a consideration
for cruisers. We choose a sail in the morning and keep it up the rest of
the day, furling if necessary.

That it's also probably the least expensive in that size is an
additional plus. I installed both, BTW. Was trivial except for the
measurement.

Note: If you get the FF9, I suggest ordering it direct from them,
uncoiled, as even the FF6/7 is a BEAR to straighten. If you get the 7,
get the 6' coil and straighten it immediately upon receipt. You'll
probably want the bearing, though we haven't needed it as I have only
winched it in once. It rolls so easily that a simple tug on the line
does it.

Riggers will tell you CDI are a piece of crap only because they hate
installing them. In actuality, users seem to like them.
Gordon
"Jere Lull" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Don W wrote:

We're going to purchase a new headsail roller furler for our Irwin C
38, and know very little about the pluses and minuses of the various
units.

Which units are the best for long term cruising, considering overall
quality of construction, and ease of repair if something does go
wrong?

Right now, we're looking at Harken, Profurl, and Alado Nautica. Are
there other brands we should consider?

If you consider price, ease of maintenance, longevity in a salt water
environment, etc, which unit do you think is the best overall value?

I put CDI Flexible Furlers on our last two boats. We've had zero
problems in over two decades' use. They've always dealt fairly with me,
even recommending against my buying something they didn't think was
appropriate for our application.
http://www.sailcdi.com/ffmain.htm

Dead simple, nearly fool- and bullet-proof and easy to use, with
virtually nothing to go wrong, particularly for cruisers.

Their warrantee tells it all "[includes] All hazards at sea, including
winching against obstructions, unseamanlike use, and dismastings. This
warranty remains in force for charter and other commercial operations.
No maintenance is required to keep the warranty in force.". [Hmmm, used
to be a lifetime warrantee, but I can read between the lines to what
people have done and tried to claim.]

It won't allow racing-speed sail changes, but that's not a consideration
for cruisers. We choose a sail in the morning and keep it up the rest of
the day, furling if necessary.

That it's also probably the least expensive in that size is an
additional plus. I installed both, BTW. Was trivial except for the
measurement.

Note: If you get the FF9, I suggest ordering it direct from them,
uncoiled, as even the FF6/7 is a BEAR to straighten. If you get the 7,
get the 6' coil and straighten it immediately upon receipt. You'll
probably want the bearing, though we haven't needed it as I have only
winched it in once. It rolls so easily that a simple tug on the line
does it.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

"Don W" wrote
..
Hi Jere,

We would for sure need an FF9 because our headsail
luff is ~52.2 ft. This means the FF9 would be
just barely big enough since it is for a maximum
headstay length of 53 ft.

I'll take a look at them.

Don W.

Don,
Shipping is a factor with the large CDI units. Here is an excerpt from the
CDI site:
--------------------------------------------
Shipping Options:
UPS delivery: The FF1 through FF7 can be shipped via UPS. The luff extrusion
is coiled in a 40" ( 50" for FF7) hoop and will require a straightening
process requiring 3 people. You must follow the straightening directions on
the box or the luff won't come straight. You will need to cut the bands on
the coil within a day or two of receipt.

Air freight delivery: All Flexible Furlers (including the FF7.0 and 9.0) can
be shipped via airfreight in a 6' coil. If you uncoil the hoop within a day
of receipt, no straightening process is necessary. Air freight costs are
approximately $100 when sent to a commercial address and approximately $120
when sent to a residential address. Air Freight shipments take 4 days.
Available within the continental US only.

Motorfreight delivery: (Not available everywhere in the US) All units can be
shipped in the flat (not coiled). The advantage to this is that is requires
no straightening. Shipping costs will depend on destination. Available in
most of the continental US and Canada.
---------------------------------------------

Straightening units that have been coiled for some time is not easy - You
need a lawn near the boat where you can drive in some stakes that will hold
the foil straight while exposed to the sun. For the larger units, much
better to have them shipped straight, but this adds to cost.

We used CDI furlers on several local 22-27ft boats using up to FF6/7 size.
They ARE very simple and don't give many problems.

BUT, with due respect to Jere's experience, we felt they were great for lake
or light coastal use, but would not recommend them for offshore use. The
people that make them ARE easy to deal with and we sold a lot of their FF4
units for 22-24 footers.

Our experience: We did have lufftape pull out of PVC foil on one unit and
under heavy load, the flat sections, unlike round aluminum foils, do twist.
Changing or removing sail is inconvenient in that you have to go to the bow,
attach a temporary halyard extension and then haul the sail down. In heavy
seas, not the greatest place to be!

Keep up the research - It's great to consider all options!

GBM

BTW - The pyacht site is a good place to compare pricing:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?B21A1288D

In article ,
"Gordon" wrote:

Riggers will tell you CDI are a piece of crap only because they hate
installing them. In actuality, users seem to like them.

I suspect riggers hate them because they don't do the work! All of the
ones I've seen were owner-installed.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/