hello all,
i recently purchased a '78 E27 that i'm in process of restoring to sailing shape before good weather returns. i'm already purchasing a new main from Doyle (the boat came with what i believe to be the original main, after 29 years basically a bedsheet), and now i have to turn my attention foreward. so the question: a roller furling system with, say, a 135 for general purpose cruising, or a compliment of No. 1-4 sails?
my local "panel of experts" are remarkably divided in their opinions, and equally strident: the furling camp cites ease of use (after complexity of installation), and say they would never go back on their own boats; the hank-n-hoist set maintains that furling jibs are less efficient performers, harder to change out for blades in squalls, take too much abuse from the elements when they're not in use, etc.
i didn't have a furler on my last boat, so i have no experience with them; basically i'm an open book on this issue and *i need to decide soon*. for what it's worth, it will be me sailing with my girlfriend up and down Puget Sound; occassionally i'll be with someone less experienced on the water than she; the only races i'm in are pretty informal affairs.
what would you do? all advice welcome!
i recently purchased a '78 E27 that i'm in process of restoring to sailing shape before good weather returns. i'm already purchasing a new main from Doyle (the boat came with what i believe to be the original main, after 29 years basically a bedsheet), and now i have to turn my attention foreward. so the question: a roller furling system with, say, a 135 for general purpose cruising, or a compliment of No. 1-4 sails?
my local "panel of experts" are remarkably divided in their opinions, and equally strident: the furling camp cites ease of use (after complexity of installation), and say they would never go back on their own boats; the hank-n-hoist set maintains that furling jibs are less efficient performers, harder to change out for blades in squalls, take too much abuse from the elements when they're not in use, etc.
i didn't have a furler on my last boat, so i have no experience with them; basically i'm an open book on this issue and *i need to decide soon*. for what it's worth, it will be me sailing with my girlfriend up and down Puget Sound; occassionally i'll be with someone less experienced on the water than she; the only races i'm in are pretty informal affairs.
what would you do? all advice welcome!