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New VS Repair Sail and furler ---Please Help---

Clarime

Member I
Last year I bought an Ericson 27. Sailed it for the summer and have a list of parts to buy and things to fix (which I expected for the price). On the top of the list is the Genoa 150 and a Seaflex furler for said Genoa. The Genoa has a tear along and close to the foot of the sail. I wanted to have Sunbrella material put on the foot and leach of the sail along with fixing the tear. The furler needs several parts replaced including the aluminum extrusion.
My dilemma is that in each case the cost of said repair will be at or slightly above half price of replacement cost. Any suggestions on ROI here? I don't want to repair these only to find I am going to need to replace them in the near future

Thanks
Chris
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
It's hard to say - is the sail otherwise in good condition? If it's worth repairing, the job sounds like something that is within reach as a relatively inexpensive DIY project. If not... Well, replacing the ancient worn-out sails that came to me with my boat made a most dramatic improvement in sailing and handling characteristics, and was definitely a good investment.
I don't know anything about that make of furler. If parts are available for it and it suits your needs, I'd fix it. Even at 50% it seems like money-ahead. Maybe someone else can advise on the long-term reputation of Seaflex.

(BTW: I kept the old sails to use as material for future "projects." But there are places you can send them to that will convert them into tote bags and such for you.)

Instructional videos: https://www.sailrite.com/How-To-Projects-Guides/type/Projects--AND--Tips?order=custitem_popularity
Reference: https://www.amazon.com/Sailmakers-A...rs+apprentice&qid=1553019131&s=gateway&sr=8-1
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
As for the furler, How old is it and are parts still available? The furler on my '87 had no parts available for the Harkin system. If it is an older system and I had to spend half the cost of it, I would replace it.

Take the jib to a good sailmaker and get an evaluation of the sail. It may or may not be salvageable and he can tell you that.

Good luck with it and welcome to the group,
 
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Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Agree with all.

The overall stitching on the genoa--will it break easily anywhere you insert a paper clip? Stitching doesn't bury in Dacron, it's exposed, and so it goes first. If the tear isn't stitching but the cloth, well, probably the end is at hand. But as was said, a sailmaker will take a look for free.

If you are doing it yourself, getting the extrusions off an old furler off the forestay can be difficult (corrosion, and so on). New ones are expensive and used furler assemblies hard to find. For a 27-foot boat hanked sails still work well. In the end, just a budget issue.
 
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Afrakes

Sustaining Member
If all else fails

I have a complete North Sails (privately labelled early Harken) furler and 36+ ft. of foil in good shape. This is off of a northeast, fresh water, Ericson so in spite it's chronological age should have many more years of good use left in it. I disassembled the drum to remove the old head stay and everything spun freely.
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
Agreed on the hank on comment. I also have a SJ26. It has a Hank on jib. For single-handing I use a jib downhaul. It goes from the head of the sail through a block at the bottom of the forestay and back to the cockpit. To lower it, you release the halyard and pull the downhaul. the sail is pulled to the deck and it stays there. You stay in the cockpit until it is completely down and it won't creep back up. A 150's cloth is too light to carry in heavy air even while rolled without stretching and it is a pain to change the sail on the furler. The furler has a slight advantage in aerodynamics.

When you get to that monster of a jib on my 34, my opinion changes and I go with something like a middle weight 130. Just thinking about carrying that sail back to the cabin is off-putting while I can tuck the 26's sail under my arm.
 

Clarime

Member I
Thanks for all the advice

There are plenty of parts for the furler so I will probably rebuild it. No way really to know how old it is.
I believe I will take the general advice and have the sail looked at, at a local loft.
 
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