Hood 915 Continous Line Furler

[Ken Juul]

Finally made the upgrade to a single line furler.  Using the Hood owner upgrade program I got a Hood Sea Furl 5 model 325 for about half the list price.  What an improvement!!

I've given away most of the reusable pieces.  For those of you that still have the continous line 915  model, I have 2 of the small plastic rope strippers that are inserted into the furling drum assembly.  They are usually the piece that gets sacrificed to King Neptune when you do maintenance.  Anybody want them?

[Lance Jones]

Ken,
Did you have to replace the entire assembly including the foil or was it just the drum?

[Ken Juul]

Hood does not have the single line replacement drums for the 900 series furler anymore.  When I spoke to the Hood rep at the Boat show he said the rationale was.....why spend $800-900 to put a new drum on a 20+ year old system. 

I paid $1,700 & change (+ shipping) for a unit that lists for $3880 at Defender.  Totally new design, new equipment top to bottom.  Leaving the headstay in place, took about 5 hours to remove the old and install the new.  Most time consuming part is getting the furling line wrapped correctly.  I have a 150 Genny, so the twice the boat length gouge for furling line length was too short.  Spliced a new tail on the line and now working on getting the correct number of wraps on the drum.  Third time should be the charm.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : I did the same thing a few years back and used the same rational as Ken.  Wrote a Mainsheet tech article comparing the prices of Hood/Harken/Schaeffer.  It also gives you a chance to inspect the head stay!!!

As mentioned then and confirmed by Ken, Hood gives old Hood furler owners a super discount.  Great info in those Mainsheet Tech Notes!!

[Footloose]

I just got off the phone with Hood.  They need to know the diameter of the clevis pin at the bottom of the head stay.  Anyone have that info?  They also need the dia of the head stay which is 5/16 in case anyone needs it.

[noworries]

I've got a Harken.  From the documentation on it my clevis pin size is 5/8".  YMMV

I just swapped my headsail and getting that furling line right is a PITA.  I didn't even think about it, just swapped the sail out.   First time out, I couldn't furl it all the way.  Second time out, I couldn't unfurl it all the way.  Back and forth 2 more times.  Hopefully I got it right this time, but I'm not holding my breath!

[Footloose]

Thanks for the info.  I assume that the foils slide down the forestay and that this upgrade does not require a trip up the mast or unstepping the mast.

[Ken Juul]

The pin is 5/8", the head stay is 5/16".  You need to specify that to get the correct fittings.

I did it from the foredeck, no trips up the mast.  Support the mast by attaching a halyard to the pulpit.  Use the headsail halyard to hold the foils in position. Disconnect and slide the lower part of the furler up the headstay and disconnect the turnbuckle.  Remove the lower assembly.  Reattach the headstay, doesn't have to be real tight, slide the foil as far up the forestay as possible and take measurements from the bottom of the foil to the pin.  Detach the headstay and slide the foils off. It wil be necessary to drill out the rivets. Use a punch to punch the center pin in, drill out the soft rivets and pull apart.  Remove the centering assembly and go after the next section.  Once they are all off measure the length of the old foils and add to the measurement you made earlier.  Following the directions in the instructions you can figure out how to cut the new foils to length.  Putting the new foils on is easier, remove the plastic centering piece from the foil, snap it onto the headstay, slide the foil over the head stay and attach with the provided locktite and set screws.

[Footloose]

Thanks Ken!  Knowing which tools to have with me will certainly help.  The boat is still on the hard so that should make it easier to do.

[Ron Hill]

Dave : What I didn't say in my above post is that I changed my roller furling when I changed all of my standing rigging!!  You might consider changing out your head stay if it's the original. 
Standing rigging life is usually about 15 years.  Your boat Your decision - A thought.

[Ken Juul]

I totally agree with Ron.  I replaced my standing rigging about 3 years ago.  The recommended procedure is to install the furler on the forestay prior to installation on the mast.  The fact that the old furler was working ok and limited boat bucks at the time led waiting until now to replace.

[Ken Juul]

I'll leave the thread here, but the rope strippers have a new home.

[Footloose]

I installed the system and took it out for a sail today.  Very nice upgrade.  Thanks again for the help.  On of the riggers at the boat club made some derogatory remarks about Hood furlers.  Has anyone had any problems or is he grousing since I didn't employ his services?