A New Inexpensive Roller Furler That Works!
Hello Folks,
I did not design this invention but I have seen one and from all
reports it works very well. The original post came from Mary Wells a
very proficient catamaran sailor in her own right on the forum she
and her husband Rick White ownhttp://www.catsailor.com/.I am
fixing up a Pelican sailboat that I bought with a trailer for
$100.00. All of the fittings had been stripped from the boat but the
solid Mahogany mast and spars still remain. I was looking for a used
roller furler I could use with this boat but all of them were in the
$100.00 dollar range. I didn't want to spend that much as I am on a
very fixed income.
Here is the design basics in the post.
""TITLE: $10 Roller Furler System.
The Sizzler catamaran had a very simple roller-furling system that
consisted of a PVC pipe (that went over the forestay) and a plastic
furler drum glued to the bottom of the pipe. The sail was zipped on
over the tube and secured to the PVC pipe with hose clamps at the top
and bottom of the sail. This is very high-tech stuff, folks. As I
recall, there was a loop of webbing at the top of the sail and at the
bottom -- the hose clamp went through loop and around the PVC to
secure the sail.
You could leave the jib on its furler tube on the forestay all the
time, or you could remove the jib each time you dropped the mast. (I
think the PVC pipe stayed on the forestay all the time, though).
Using this furling system, you did not need a jib halyard, because
the hose clamps were keeping the luff of the jib stretched taut.
It worked just fine and would be very easy for anybody to make. It
should work with any existing jib, just a matter of putting the
webbing loops at top and bottom of the sail.
P.S. I am using the words "pipe" and "tube" interchangeably.
--------------------
Mary A. Wells"
I thought I could turn a deep wood spool to wind the furler line
onto. I will drill the spool to mount the PVC into with epoxy the
put UHMW tape on the bottom to turn on a washer just above the bottom
shackle. In the article it talked about mesh sewn to the sail as a
mount. To non Catamaran sailors that is the UV proof trampoline mesh
used as a seat on most small catamarans. Any Material will probably
do and I will find something that will work good. They used hose
clamps but I think sewing on a strip and then gluing the edge with
epoxy will work also as long as I can stretch the sail while gluing.
I will also put non chafe coating over the jib stay so that the
stainless wire will not contact the PVC tubing extending its life.
It takes an expensive product and turns it into a Home Depot part
number! Now if I could find inexpensive replacements to my 7:1
purchase main sheet system I will be doing very well.
John Cupp
I did not design this invention but I have seen one and from all
reports it works very well. The original post came from Mary Wells a
very proficient catamaran sailor in her own right on the forum she
and her husband Rick White ownhttp://www.catsailor.com/.I am
fixing up a Pelican sailboat that I bought with a trailer for
$100.00. All of the fittings had been stripped from the boat but the
solid Mahogany mast and spars still remain. I was looking for a used
roller furler I could use with this boat but all of them were in the
$100.00 dollar range. I didn't want to spend that much as I am on a
very fixed income.
Here is the design basics in the post.
""TITLE: $10 Roller Furler System.
The Sizzler catamaran had a very simple roller-furling system that
consisted of a PVC pipe (that went over the forestay) and a plastic
furler drum glued to the bottom of the pipe. The sail was zipped on
over the tube and secured to the PVC pipe with hose clamps at the top
and bottom of the sail. This is very high-tech stuff, folks. As I
recall, there was a loop of webbing at the top of the sail and at the
bottom -- the hose clamp went through loop and around the PVC to
secure the sail.
You could leave the jib on its furler tube on the forestay all the
time, or you could remove the jib each time you dropped the mast. (I
think the PVC pipe stayed on the forestay all the time, though).
Using this furling system, you did not need a jib halyard, because
the hose clamps were keeping the luff of the jib stretched taut.
It worked just fine and would be very easy for anybody to make. It
should work with any existing jib, just a matter of putting the
webbing loops at top and bottom of the sail.
P.S. I am using the words "pipe" and "tube" interchangeably.
--------------------
Mary A. Wells"
I thought I could turn a deep wood spool to wind the furler line
onto. I will drill the spool to mount the PVC into with epoxy the
put UHMW tape on the bottom to turn on a washer just above the bottom
shackle. In the article it talked about mesh sewn to the sail as a
mount. To non Catamaran sailors that is the UV proof trampoline mesh
used as a seat on most small catamarans. Any Material will probably
do and I will find something that will work good. They used hose
clamps but I think sewing on a strip and then gluing the edge with
epoxy will work also as long as I can stretch the sail while gluing.
I will also put non chafe coating over the jib stay so that the
stainless wire will not contact the PVC tubing extending its life.
It takes an expensive product and turns it into a Home Depot part
number! Now if I could find inexpensive replacements to my 7:1
purchase main sheet system I will be doing very well.
John Cupp