Head Sail Furler Details continued...

The Lower Furling Unit
The most important aspect of the lower furling unit are the bearings. For long term low friction operation the bearings must be high quality and very well sealed. Most units have some type of sealed bearings. The bearing assembly in the lower unit of Reef-Rite has three bearings with two seals at top and bottom of bearings. Other manufacturers have only one bearing and a single seal top and bottom. With this single narrow bearing, the assembly can twist on the vertical axis as the spar moves, opening the seal joints.

Another innovation of the Reef-Rite system is the use of a mechanical pawl. This is similar to the primary winches. The pawl, when engaged, allows the furler to rotate in only one direction. As a result, when a sail is reefed the load is on the pawl and not on the reefing line. The solid locking action of the pawl means improved sailing performance under reefed conditions.

A second benefit is improved safety. With normal furling systems there is a continuous, often heavy, load on the reef line when the headsail is partially reefed. If the reef line becomes loose or breaks the sail is suddenly released. This usually happens when you want it the least. To disengage the pawl a small wire is led aft to the cockpit and controlled by a small lever.

Sail Handling
As sails with bolt ropes are lowered, the entire luff is free to catch the wind, blow overboard or simply flog the poor individual who has been talked into bringing the sail down. More often than not the activity resembles a sumo wrestling competition staged on a pitching foredeck more than the controlled exercise it should be. In fact it can be quite dangerous. On top of that, bolt ropes are costly to install and to repair. On many types of spar the groove is so small that a damaged luff tape can’t be repaired. It has to be replaced in its entirety.

With Reef-Rite Reefing systems we incorporate what we call the "Kiwi Slide" and "Downloader". The Kiwi Slide is a very strong plastic slug that is sewn onto the luff of the headsail at normal jib hank centres. The "Down-loader" gate is a section of spar about as long as the width of your fist. It is situated about waist high on the spar. This short section of spar can be unlocked from the adjoining sections and rotated 90 degrees. This opens the two parallel grooves. The sail is then loaded by sliding each of the "Kiwi Slides" attached to the headsail (staring with the bottom) downward into the section of spar below the gate. When the sail is loaded the gate is closed and locked into place. Attach the halyard car and you’re ready to hoist.

Some of the advantages include:

• Captivated luff - whether hoisting or lowering a sail, the captivated luff makes the process simpler. The sail won’t go overboard and you won’t have to wrestle it to the deck. In short, it offers control.

• Cost - It is cheaper to change your sails to Kiwi Slides than to change to luff tapes.

• Repairs - Repairs can be made at sea. Kiwi Slides can either be sewn on by hand or tied on through eye-lets in the sail (Kiwi Slides can be supplied with long webbing). Luff tapes usually can’t be repaired at sea.

• Friction - There is less friction when hoisting or lowering sails with Kiwi Slides.

• Double headsail wing on wing It is quite simple to hoist two headsails that have been loaded onto the spar using Kiwi Slides. It is very difficult to hoist two headsails with bolt ropes.