Top Down Asymetrical Spinnaker furler

[Roc]

Hi all...
Has anyone bought one of those top down furlers for their spinnaker?  How do you like it?  There are many out there (Karver, Selden, Profurl Spinex, etc, etc....) which did you buy and why.
Doing some fact finding and thinking about getting one.

Thanks 

[Jim Hardesty]

Roc,
I've only looked.  I realy like the idea.  One concern I had was getting the spinnaker forward of the rolled up jib far enough.  Looks to me like may need a bowsprint and an extended spinnaker crane on top.  Decided not to be one of the first to prototype and work out the bugs. 
I'm rooting for you to do it Roc.
Jim

[Clay Greene]

We had the Selden GX furler with the Selden bowsprit that we bought from the Catalina Yacht store.  It worked great once we got the adjustments right.  The key thing was getting the torsion line really tight when you furl the sail and furling as far downwind as possible so the main blankets the spinnaker.  But we used it racing and gybed with it very successfully.  We liked it better than the sock because we could do everything from the cockpit - we cruise and race short-handed so we don't want to send anyone up to the foredeck if we can avoid it.   Keep in mind that it is not something you would keep up all the time like the genoa furler because the asym does not have any UV protection.   Plus it is a lot of extra line on the deck when it is up between the furling line and the spinnaker sheets. 

I use the past tense only because we just sold our C34.  It is on the wish list for the new boat, although I don't think we will need the bowsprit pole because the bow roller on our C387 extends farther than the roller on the C34 past the forestay.  I don't know if the pole would be absolutely necessary on the C34 but it helps the sail perform better to get out farther in front of the boat.  I also don't think there is any way you could gybe the sail inside the forestay if the furler was attached to the bow roller.

Let me know if you have any other questions.   

[Roc]

Clay,
Thanks for the feedback...  I have a question based on Jim's reply. Was the stock crane at the mast top sufficient?  Or did you feel it had to be extended more? 

[Wayne]

I put a gennaker on a furler on my boat.  I purchased two stainless tangs from MW--the heavy ones that are about 12"-14" long.  These are bolted to my anchor roller and extend forward to provide an anchor point for my spinnaker; a bail at the forward end holds them in place and provides the point to attach my Selden furler.  I used a turnbuckle bolted into the bottom of my anchor roller and projecting downward and bolted to the bottom of the SS bow fitting, thus creating a bobstay.  Since the anchor roller was never designed to handle upward loads I think this bobstay is really a key part of my setup.  I had a new crane manufactured for two reasons.  My gennaker requires a tight luff, and the factory crane is not strong enough to support the load (it is just a SS flat plate, and just bends downward with the load).  My crane has 'ribs' on the top side to counteract the downward pull.  The second reason is that I extended the crane forward several inches (6 to 8?  I really don't remember accurately) is in order to give the spinnaker plenty of room to furl.  The head of the sail is a little stiffer than the body, and kind of 'puffs out' a bit at the top.  I think it is pretty important to give the furlers room to operate without interfering with each other.  In really light air I can jib without rolling up; otherwise it is easier to just roll the sail up and jibe; I always roll it when tacking.

[Roc]

Wayne,
My boat (2000 model) does not have a ss plate for a crane.  It's a u-shaped rod.  I didn't measure the diameter it, but maybe the rod has better bending strength than the flat ss plate on your boat. 

[Jim Hardesty]

My masthead, 2001 with rolling furling main, doesn't have a spinnaker crane.  There are (2) 1" holes one on each side forward.  I think that they were intended for the spinnaker halyard block, or may be that's where the crane was to be mounted.  I've been using the 2nd jib halyard for the spinnaker.  With the sock pulled up it keeps things forward enough.  That was just FYI.
It would be very kind and appreciated if the guys that have installed the spinnaker furlers would post pictures.
Jim

[Roc]

I second the posting of pictures..... 

Jim, yes those holes are were the crane would be mounted.  The crane on my mast is mounted in the spot you describe.  It came like that from the factory.  I was told by the sailmaker that the spinnaker needs to be forward of the genoa triangle.  Using the spare halyard is not supposed to be used. 

I had a messenger line already installed where the spinnaker halyard is supposed to be led.  I took the spare jib halyard, and using the messenger line, ran it through to now come out of the exit plate, up to the block mounted on the crane.  At the same time, I ran the messenger line where the jib halyard was just incase I wanted to run a spare jib halyard in the future.  My boat came with the spare jib halyard already mounted and the messenger line mounted where the spinnaker halyard is supposed to go.

[Clay Greene]

We used the crane on the forward part of the mast that came installed on the mast.  We attached a Garhauer block and ran the spinnaker halyard from the exit point below.  It was far out enough in front of the forestay that the furled spinnaker did not chafe.  This was true even when we used a tacker as the connection point for the tack of the spinnaker and that was almost right on the forestay.  The tack was out farther when we had the pole installed but chafe was not an issue under either circumstance. 

[Jim Hardesty]

Roc,
I know I'm not doing my spinnaker exactly right.  It does work.  A spinnaker halyard is on the to-do list.  I'll add the crane and block.
Jim