THinking of adding a furling Jib

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THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby fatjackdurham » Tue Jul 03, 2018 9:56 am

I'm thinking of adding a roller furling jib to my DSII. I was curious about how hard they are to attach and detach. One thing I never could figure out was, does the forestay run inside of the furler, or does a furling system replace the forestay? Or is it just a little aft of the for stay?

Also, I trailer my boat and won't be leaving it rigged permanently. How hard is it to detach and reattach the furling system during mast raising and lowering?
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby Alan » Tue Jul 03, 2018 4:51 pm

Mine is mounted aft of the forestay. It's easy to attach and detach, as long as you remember to attach the upper end before you raise the mast. :D
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby GreenLake » Tue Jul 03, 2018 6:22 pm

I have a furling jib on another sailing dinghy. That one replaces the forestay. There's some shackle where it attaches to the mast, and a pin that goes through the fitting at the bottom. On that boat we use the spinnaker halyard as a temporary forestay to hold the mast in place while raising and then we take it off while we attache the jib.
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby Alan » Tue Jul 03, 2018 6:52 pm

GreenLake,

Does the luff wire in your furling jib take the place of the forestay? If so, what is it made of?
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby GreenLake » Wed Jul 04, 2018 12:55 pm

It does and I think in that sail it is wire. However, properly sized Dyneema should work just as well (it has comparable low stretch to wire). Don't have it at hand, so all of this if from memory.
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby Alan » Wed Jul 04, 2018 7:07 pm

Thanks, GL. Now that I've looked at my jib with that in mind, it looks like the luff wire is 1/8-inch stainless (same as the D&R Marine forestay). Think I'll give it a test fit, using the luff wire as the forestay. Running the jib and furler aft of the forestay is kind of a pain, so this should be easier.
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby fatjackdurham » Thu Jul 05, 2018 12:19 pm

WHat is a "luff wire" and what brands of furlers to you use?
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby GreenLake » Thu Jul 05, 2018 4:06 pm

The "luff" is the front edge of the sail. A luff wire is just that, a wire that runs the length of the front of the sail and is integrated with it. Usually, there's a bit of a sleeve to which the sail it attached. 1/8" is the right size.

My other boat uses some "no-name" brand furler- that is, I can't see a name on it.

Biggest beef with furlers is that they can jam (and in my experience they will). However, on a DS it's at least physically possible to get someone forward to straighten things out if stuck; on my other boat, you don't pass the mast (or you will dunk the boat, esp. if you are alone).
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby 109jb » Fri Sep 07, 2018 3:55 pm

Saw this thread and had a question about the jib furling. I have been searching and reading a lot and am considering using a furling system that replaces the forestay on my DS II. The type that puts a swivel at the top, drum at bottom, and uses the jib luff wire as the forestay. My question is if this type of system is an all or nothing type arrangement, or can it be used for reefing the jib as well?
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby jalmeida51 » Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:25 pm

My 2 cents about adding a furling jib. Early 80's I had an Apollo 16. It had a furling jib by Harken and the jib was in or out. You could not reef with it. It had 2 fore stays, a temporary one to hold the mast up while you rigged the jib. The luff wire was main fore stay. You tensioned the luff wire by using a Harken magic box. On my Rhodes 19 I installed a Schaefer Snap furl 500 and this system you could reef the jib. The problem I had with that the plastic foil would bend it would not stay straight. Changed the foil 2 times went back to a hank on jib with a downhaul. On my Daysailer 1 I use a downhaul. It is simple and it works. Hope this helps you. John
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby 109jb » Sat Sep 08, 2018 3:08 pm

Thanks. That is what I was thinking, that this method is all or nothing. That's fine. I will probably still do it because all I have right now is a big 150% genoa and dropping it while hanked is a bit of a pain when single handed. I'm thinking about the little ronstan R76 furler at the bottom and an appropriate swivel at the top. I just need to get my forestay off and measure its loaded length and compare to the jib luff to see what all I have to do.
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby jalmeida51 » Sat Sep 08, 2018 8:42 pm

I agree with you about not using a down haul for your 150%. Does your 150 have a luff wire? You will have to figure out if your Ronstan RF76 will hold enough furling line to completely furl in your jib. I am sure the Ronstan office up in R.I. can give you a answer on the size of the line and how much the reel will hold. You are going to have to find a way to support the mast while you connect the RF76 to the stem head. Maybe a spare halyard or another person? I don't think using you fore stay will work due to no room to mount the fore stay and the RF76 on the stem head. You are going to have to find a way to put tension on the luff wire because the luff wire will be your new fore stay. Also it will furl much better with tension on the fore stay. That was the reason the Apollo 16 had the Harken magic box. Not sure if Harken makes it anymore? Maybe someone else will have an idea on how to tension the luff wire?
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby 109jb » Sat Sep 08, 2018 10:20 pm

Yep. The 150 has a luff wire so that part is good. That's a good point about how much line the reel can hold. I'll be sure to ask Ronstan before I commit.

As for stepping the mast, I'm thinking I can either just leave the standard jib halyard on and use it, tying it off once the mast is stayed by the furling setup. Or, I have also practiced stepping the mast using a cam lock cargo strap hooked to an eye strap on the mast, and the bow cleat, to hold the mast up until hooking up the forestay. Both ways work equally well.

As for tension, I have been thinking about that too. If I have enough room, I could make an adjuster to go at the stem fitting. I was a machinist for many years and have a milling machine and lathe in my shop I could make something with. I have also thought about doing as shown in the picture below. I would remove the stem fitting and drill a hole through the deck/hull lip and install an eye bolt for adjusting the tension, of course making everything as waterproof as possible.

Image
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby 109jb » Sat Sep 08, 2018 10:22 pm

Another thought I just had was to attach a very short bowsprit and do essentially the same as the picture in my last post. Essentially just long enough to get the eye bolt past the existing bow.
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Re: THinking of adding a furling Jib

Postby jalmeida51 » Sat Sep 08, 2018 11:11 pm

You will need your jib halyard connected to your top swivel unless you have another way to connect it to the mast. The adjustable strap is a great idea. I googled Harken magic box and it seems they are no longer produced but Holt Allen makes them. Used one on e bay $200, Too much$$$$$. If you Google Harken magic box there are ways of tensioning the jib halyard without a magic box. Of course your idea would work if you don't mind the machine work. Your idea is a good way of saving money. The only problem with it you can't adjust the jib tension while you are sailing. Maybe you are like me and never adjust the jib tension.
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