[Alberg30] Roller Furling and Props

[Brian and Elaine Timmins]

Roller Furling / Reefing
My A30 is the first boat I've had that has Roller Furling. I have what most people consider not a great system. It's an older Hood Line Drive system that uses a continuous loop of line that goes through a furling drum that resembles a self tailing winch top. Although this system has a few drawbacks, (I'll discuss them seperately if anybody really wants to know), I highly recommend adding roller furling / reefing. It just makes going out sailing that much easier and more convenient. It takes away the excuse that it's too much work or I'm too tired after work or whatever your own favorite excuse is. You can have your present jibs and genoas modified by almost any sailmaker or if your so inclined, Sailrite and others sell what you need to do it yourself. You should add a sacrificial UV Blocker band to the foot and leach of any sail you'll leave on the furler to protect the sailcloth. In my area, I find it most appropriate to have a 135% bent on. It has the widest range of usage for my local wind conditions. Don't think that one all purpose sail will go from drifting to storm conditions. The most you should plan on is the ability to reef 10 - 20 %. If you go past that, the sail shape deteriorates Quickly. It can be done but as you go smaller, the sail gets baggier instead of flatter which is what you really want as the wind picks up. If you get a new, purpose built sail, it should have a foam (or other style, thick) luff pad to help flatten the sail as you reef. Most sailmakers also will give you reference marks and reinforced patches at the suggested reef points. I actually have a 170%, my favorite 135%, and a working jib (100%??) set up to use. Only the 135% has the UV strips. In 5 years of use, the 135% is up 95%, the working jib 4%, and the 170% 1% (approximate guess). If your a high tech racer, there are some systems that let you remove the drum easily and use the airfoil shape extrusion alone. In my opinion, This is overkill, but it does let you remove the drum for maintenance.
There is one drawback to roller furling/reefing. On longer passages where the wind can pick up on you, if you reef down and then find you want to change down, you have to let the whole sail out to lower it. In other words, after you think the wind is too strong for the full sail and the wind is getting worse, to go smaller, you have to deal with more sail than you want in those wind conditions. There are other potential problems, but they're minor (in my opinion)
Go for it, You'll love it (after you get used to it). Buy the best you can afford. The Profurl units in the group purchase are great. I know several people that have them, and the group prices seem good.
Props
I have an A4 in my boat. It had the standard 2 blade 13X7 which kept the engine RPM max too low. I changed to the Cruising Design Atomic 4 Prop (7/8 shaft). It's OK, not as great as I originally thought after installing it. It does let the engine run up to a better max RPM (for engine health), but it's not as great in reverse as they say. Believe me on this. I'm still tending to an ankle/calf injury I got last May that was ultimately caused by my own stubborn stupidity when I couldn't back out of my slip due to high winds. The Prop also doesn't react well to things like a plastic bag getting caught on a blade, but no prop does. All I can say is this prop works but it's not the end all, be all of props for the A4 in an A30.
Regards,
Brian      Free Spirit      #497
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