Opinion on Leisure Furl

[Larry]

An interaction with a partialy open bascule bridge in Woods Hole last week creates the necessity to replace the mast on my 1999 Tayana 52' aft cockpit cutter. Forespar built the original rig which we had lengthened by about 5 feet from the standard. The main is a North,10.8oz dacron with 5 full length battens. I use an Antal track and slides. My option is to simply replace the mast and damaged parts of the standing rigging or replace the mast and (according to what I have been told) for not much additional cost replace the boom with a Leisure Furl. A new main is recommended based on the cost/value of recutting a 9 year old sail. I am interested in any negative (or positive) feedback on Leisure Furl. We sail offshore (my wife and I) generally a passage north and one south from Florida to New England, most times riding the gukf stream going north and outside it as much as possible headed south.

We have not experienced an unusual amount of bad weather but fdo get our fair share. Shorthanded, safe fast passages, and simplicity our are goals.

A second, subsidiary question has to do with mast finishes. All the aluminium spars I have had have been painted (Awlgrip most likely). A new painted spar will not ship from Forespar for about 7 weeks (Leisure Furl notwithstanding). Annodized will ship as much as 10 days sooner, but I have no first hand experience with pros/cons of paint v annodized.

[Brian Duff]

Larry,
We won't touch cost here, as that is not the important part of your question.

The Leisure Furl boom has gone through many slight design changes in recent years, and now works great. Combined with good headsail furling and an electric winch or three, this system can make sailing nearly push button. There are a number of problem areas which will require careful attention during installation and operation, but all in all the system is great. On a rig in this size , the improvement from not having to handle the mainsail is huge. Some important issues are being able to observe the sail near the gooseneck area during raising and lowering (window in your bimini/dodger), having some sort of guage on your boom vang to measure boom angle, and having a good ear for monitoing winch load by gear noise. We typically install these systems with a hydraulic vang and digital angle guage on boats this size and up. choosing the right sailmaker can have a lot to do with how well your sail holds up, how well the system works, and your happiness in general.

An anodized spar finish (30 years+) will far outlast a painted finish(~10years) , and provide a better picture of the build quality and condition of the spar throug-out its life. The quality of the installation of hardware will also have a large effect on longevity.