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Sails - Roller Furling Jibs & Asymmetric Spinnakers


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I have a class jib, a 155, and a drifter. All are traditional hank-on type. Has anyone had experience with a roller furling jib on a J22? I am getting lazy, but I have always wondered (1) if there are significant sail shape compromises with today's roller furling jibs, (2) also in the vein of sail shape, how well do they do when partially furled, and (3) is it difficult to switch between the roller furler and hank-on.

 

I also have a class spinnaker and all the gear, however, with crew limitations, I wouldn't dream of using it. However, I am interested in an asymmetrical. Has anyone used one on a J22? I'm particularly interested in whether some type of bowsprit is needed.

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I've not had experience with furlers on a 22; but, sail shape can be very good on a furler if the sail is designed for it (J/80, J92, J100, J105, J109). Sail shape will be horrible, for racing, if partially furled. Ease of installation and removal depends on the unit. Unfortunately, most small race boats that have furlers do not change back and forth. Not sure what is available out there for you to pick from. Report back what you find as others may be interested.

 

Brant

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  • 2 months later...

On the roller furler, Schaeffer has a snap-on furler (CF-500) for about $670. My sail maker told me he has had good experience with it. It requires no headstay alteration. It has a groove and feeder so that you can change headsails. J Boats uses Harken. Their's (1110 Unit 00AL) runs around $1100, and you have to cut the headstay.

 

A partially furled jib is definitely out. I would leave the class jib on, since that is what I usually sail with. If the air was really light, I could put the 155 on without a lot of fuss, stay with the class jib, or go home.

 

On the asymmetric spinnaker, I decided against any type of retrofit sprit, since it would clutter up the boat's nice, clean foredeck. My sail maker recommended a tri-radial cut, since it would be better for reaching (who would want to run down wind anyway?)

 

I need to do this in two stages. I think I will do the asymmetric first, and then the roller furler. The asymmetric will be fun in any case.

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Guest Chris Doyle

Robert:

 

I just received an e-mail from one of our Dutch members saying he saw a J/22 in Europe retrofitted for a gennaker. He said he thought the package was designed by J-Boats and was produced by the US manufacturer, US Watercraft...something you might want to look into.

 

Also, what are you going to do about the battens in the class jib? You could retrofit the sail with battens that parallel the luff (like the Melges 24 or the J-80). Or maybe you could just remove them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Chris, you are right about the sprit. I called Waterline Systems, and they confirmed it. They also directed me to a website where you can see photos. It looks like the sprits on the new J's.

 

http://www.jboats.ch/news/182.html#

 

It's a Swiss firm. Waterline told me that they plan to make it available in the US soon. I'm pretty excited about it.

 

On the battens, I think I would go with the vertical ones.

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  • 2 months later...
Guest Guest_JouJou_*

You can also sue roller battens as they are provided by Rudgerson

 

Chris, you are right about the sprit. I called Waterline Systems, and they confirmed it. They also directed me to a website where you can see photos. It looks like the sprits on the new J's.

 

http://www.jboats.ch/news/182.html#

 

It's a Swiss firm. Waterline told me that they plan to make it available in the US soon. I'm pretty excited about it.

 

On the battens, I think I would go with the vertical ones.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have a furler (shaffer 500) professionaly installed on my J22. I do not race and sail single handed most the time so it is really a godsend. It can be easily removed and replaced with a stay should I ever want to race it. You need to really tighten the stern stay though to keep it taught and working smoothly. I use the standard jib for now without any battens and it works very well. Eventually i plan to replace the jib with a genny. stein146@msn.com

post-132-1293893085_thumb.jpg

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