J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Roller Furling For Racing

I have been considering for some time making our boat easier to handle for a shorthanded crew. One of the mods on the list is a roller furler. I need one that can be removed for racing with minimal loss in performance. Something that is reliable but doesn't add much weight aloft. It should retain the double luff track for sail changes.

Suggestions are welcome from the infinite knowledge base that is the J30 Class.

we have used the harken rollerfurling system for the last 4 years. works well and is extremely reliable.

I second the Harken unit. With the drum and upper swivel removed, the unit is still fairly heavy. If I were serious about the racing I believe I would go for a spare forestay assembly with turnbuckle, prefeeder, and TuffLuff. Changing out the entire forestay is probably no more difficult than removing the drum and upper swivel if you have two crew to help. You could use 30 ft of 6-in. ABS pipe as a transporter/protector for the Harken unit with drum and upper swivel still in place while it is off the boat.

Thanks for the info. I've been looking at the Harken units. The Harken website suggests the MKIII Unit 1. Is this the one being suggested in the above replies?

I also have a Harken unit, but I think it is a Mk II, possibly a unit 0 - can't really recall. I do not bother removing the drum and swivel for racing. It just does not seem necessary, as the jib is not really distorted by the drum at all. We just slide the upper swivel below the feeder and that's it.

My furler is a Harken Mark II Unit 1.

my unit is a II ALSO

Mark III Unit 1 Did it myself, works great..

I went with the Harken MK IV Unit 1 furler and a new head stay. Mauri Pro has Harken on sale.