by jdoorly » Thu Apr 25, 2013 9:57 pm
I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't work, but here is some things to consider...
The drum unit and the swivel unit take up X inches of space in addition to the jib luff between the stemhead and the jib halyard block, you may not have enough length, or need too much mast rake to deploy a furler.
When I got my UPS from Doyle Sails they suggested I use the UPS or jib luff wires as a fore stay. I tried this for a season but since I dry-sailed and the mast comes down after each sail, and my mast raising system involves a 4 to 1 purchase on a fore stay it worked better for me to have a real fore stay. BTW, I have both my jib and my UPS (asymetrical spinnaker) on furlers and I only put up one sail at a time even though the jib mounts to the stemhead and the UPS mounts out at the end of a bow sprit.
I have had some difficulty getting enough tension on the jib halyard, especially when I used to run my halyards back to the cockpit. I tried several different ways of getting better leverage on the halyard but the best so far is simply leading the halyard straight down to a cleat on the mast, getting a wrap on the cleat, pulling the halyard sideways from the mast, pulling the slack out at the cleat and cleating the halyard. If you need more tension than that you'll have to use a purchase on the last few inches.
When a boat is equipped with a furler there are 2 ways to come-about. The regular way is to turn the boat through the wind, release the jib and pull in the new leward sheet. However, with a furler you have the option of simply rolling the sail up, tacking and unrolling the sail. The reasons for doing it this way might be that it is easier while single-handing or easier in stronger winds, or your UPS is on a furler and it will get tangled in the fore-stay if you tack or jibe.
DS2 #6408 "Desperado"