M26 Roller Furler Recommendation for Genoa

[EricM26]

I am very dissappointed with the MacGregor-furnished CDI roller furler and am looking for an alternative. Any recommendations out there? I am constantly frustrated with the line getting jammed in the drum and having to go forward to twist the drum. I like to keep my Genoa attached and often find it difficult to reef in when I have a bit of a wind. Has anyone tried the Harken MKIV Unit 0 ($1165 @ WM) or the MKIV Unit 1 ($1675 @ WM)? Thanks.

[March]

The CDI furler comes in several sizes. You might have gotten the size for a jib rather than for a genoa, hence te ensuing trouble. We have a CDI/jib furler on our 26X and we never had any problem with it.
The Harken furler will probably work just fine, but it's twice as expensive. But paying $1600 for a furler? Holy cow! The sails must cost you all that much, altogether, including a spinnaker and a Musclehead

[c130king]

... Harken MKIV Unit 0 ($1165 @ WM) or the MKIV Unit 1 ($1675 @ WM)?

I have the CDI FF-2. Works fine for me. Less than half that price.

Good Luck,
Jim

[jim nolan]

You must be doing something wrong. I have a 130% genoa on my 26X and for 10 years it's been flawless. When you deploy, don't let it fly out, and keep tension on it when you roll it up. jim nolan

[Highlander]

Eric

Disregaurd these last post's you get what you pay for I have two CDI furling systems on my
I also have a mac furler on my jib on my 26M simular to the CDI furler
Anyway you get what you pay for The mac & CDI furlers you can not adjust the jib/genny halyards without a lot of pita
I have the Harken 0 on my Genny on a 4ft bowsprit I have just bought another for my jib to replace the mac furler that is already their.
the harken furler allows you to ajd. the halyard from the cockpit not poss. with the mac or CDI furler's .
lookat this video I have posted & check out the diff on the sail shape of the genny on the Harken 0 furler
check out the diff on the jib which is flying off a Mac furler with a twishttp://s844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/TheHighlander111/The%20Highlander%20111/?action=view&current=I3010091.flvted bent foil & the genny which is flying off a Harken 0 furler check out the diff in the sail shape & sail control


& you will see why I went to two Harken 0 furlers .
The Mac & the CDI furlers are OK for the avaerage sailors , but if you are loooking for more sail control & speed go for something better like the Harken 0 or some thing simular

J

[March]

Naturally, nothing but a $1600 furler befits an admiral.

[Ivan Awfulitch]

We keep a 150 genoa on our CDI FF2 all the time. As we sail Western Lake Erie, we're usually in winds 10-20 knots and haven't had any problems. Make sure that you're feeding the line into the drum properly, and then let off the sheet and the sail furls without incident.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

We have no problem with CDI unit. It's not a Cadillac, but it is perfectly serviceable. I don't know of any other plastic foil furlers. Using a metal foil furler is just asking for trouble on a trailerable boat. You might see if you could buy the MacGregor manufactured furler separately which they have been shipping for the last year or so. I don't know how it's quality compares to the CDI as MacGregor doesn't build Cadillac's either, but it might be worth looking at.

Having the line get jammed in the drum sounds to me like you have a problem with the angle of the feed going into the drum. Many CDI furlers were installed by dealers or owners and perhaps the person who installed your's selected some poor locations for the fairleads.

I was unhappy with the fairleads on my X when I got it and I installed different ones in better locations which definitely improved the feed angle of the line into the drum. By moving the fairlead eye on the deck you can get the right angle so the line winds evenly on the drum as you unwind the genoa. It's also a good idea to keep a little tension on the furling line as you unwind the sail, this keeps the line winding as tight as possible on the drum. Perhaps you are using too large of a furling line so the drum is getting too full too fast as you unwind the genoa and the line is wound on the drum. Another trick often used in bigger boats that have drum capacity problems is to de-core the first part of the line so it winds flatter and takes up less space on the drum.

Instructions for de-coring line are a way's down the thread linked below.
http://paceshipowners.com/forums/pviewa ... 47193749.2

I also replaced the final fairlead right before the drum with one that has a metal liner. The all nylon one had a pretty deep groove worn in it. The metal also has less friction as the line makes the final turn.

I'd spend some time looking at the feed angle and checking out different possible lines before I would go out and buy an expensive replacement.

[NiceAft]

Eric,

I have the same problem as you. I just have not been fed up enough to do anything. If you can afford the equipment you want, then get the equipment you want I happen to agree with John.

Ray

[Matt19020]

Eric ....Do you have the CDI FF2? If so ...what size line are you using? 3/16 or1/4?
Never had a problem with furling.... You may want to try a thinner diameter line of the high tech type..... this should keep it from binding

[Hamin' X]

I have an FF2 furler on a 2001 MacX and it works flawlessly. In my experience on many other boats with furlers, jamming of the furler line is caused by misalignment of the furler line, or failure to keep a slight bit of tension on the furler line when unfurling. I have had this type of failure on other brands of furlers: Harken, Profurl and Schaefer to name a few. Is the the FF2 the best furler on the market? No. Is it adequate for a Mac? Yes. Want a better furler? Just insert more money, like most other things on a Mac. The choice is yours. As others have said, check the furling line alignment.

~Rich

[Obelix]

I second the importance of keeping some tension on the line when unfurling. If not, the loose line on the drum may jam the whole thing and make it extremely hard to roll the sail in.

Obelix

[Kelly Hanson East]

Eric - with the 150 genoa on an FF2 and 3/16 furler line, you should have 5 wraps (no more) on the drum with the sail all the way out. If you have more than this, you will jam up the drum. One way to get around this is to 'decore' the line for the first few feet, which will give you more room in the drum.

If you trailer, stick with the CDI. The guy who runs CDI in Homer NY is a great fellow and will give you advice on this too. (no financial connection to me)

[c130king]

I run the 150% Genoa on the CDI FF-2. I have less than one wrap of line in the drum when the sail is fully un-furled. No issues. Like others have mentioned...it is important to keep tension on the furling line as you let the sail un-furl. This will ensure nice tight wraps on the furling drum. If you don't you will get loose wraps, possible tangles, and problems. And when bringing the sail back in you get a nice tight tight furled sail if you keep some tension on the Genoa Sheet as you pull on the furling line.

And you need a fairlead close to the furling drum to help ensure your line is running into the drum in the center of the opening and close to a 90 degree angle.

I was having problems the first few times I took my boat out. The PO never gave me those tips. I had to ask the board and the great folks here set me straight.

Furling and Lazy Jack Video

I am sure the more expensive units work well...possibly even better...but I don't know if they are $500-$1000 worth of better.

Cheers,
Jim

[Hardcrab]

If you have the M model, and if you are running the control line aft right out of the drum, then you will get all tangled up.
A way to route the CDI FF2 control line (and perhaps the Mac version also), is to route the line between the vertical pieces in the bow cleat on the side you want the line to travel aft. For most folks, the port bow cleat.

So, line out of the drum, through the port bow cleat, to outside the next two lifeline stantions, back in and through the babystay loop welded on the next stantion, to the cleat. This method requires no bullseyes anywhere and the bow cleat will make for the 90 degree drum exit that is required for perfect functioning.

As others have said, always keep some tension on the sheet or line when it's being the one rolled up.

Forth season for us with this method on a CDI FF2 with no headaches or bullseyes.