Re:Reef Rite Furler Questions (Alfred)

Paul West posed a couple of questions . . . >The brochure says that you can release the pawl from the helmsman position >to start furling process. Can you also set the pawl from this position? Is >it spring loaded constantly and if so, when you pull the line to release it >do you need to tie it off to keep it unlocked while furling? I guess the >shorter question is how do you release and reset the pawl? There's a little lever (Hyfield) that pulls back and locks down to put the pawl in the disengaged position. The only time you use the lever in this position is when you want to unroll the sail. The rest of the time, you leave the lever in the forward position; there is no strain on the release cable and the pawl is in position to ratchet/lock as needed. When you want to reef or furl, just pull on the furling line. When you get to the position you want, just let go of the reef line and the pawl will hold the drum in that position. It's a very simple arrangement, though we did have to make a small wedge of wood that we mounted on the deck to get the lever at the right angle to lock down. >When changing sails with a twin groove head foil do you have to let one >down before you can raise the other or can you raise a new one to leeward of >the other and then drop the windward sail? Will the Kiwi slides bypass each >other w/o hitting or binding on each other? I have not done this, but since the slides are completely contained within the foil grooves, they can't bind with each other. I have used the twin grooves to fly two headsails "wing and wing" downwind, with the main down and an awning rigged over the cockpit. Much less effort involved than flying a chute, and a very comfortable rig. (And the Kiwi Slides can be used with other furlers; you don't need a ReefRite to use them.) I'm happy to answer questions here, but I'm probably more comfortable answering them offline out of respect for the non-commercial tradition of this list. All the best, Alfred

Despite the arguably commercial aspect, I for one find this discussion quite interesting. At least it's on topic! Jean-Louis Cal 20 # 343 "Casa de Perro" San Pedro CA From: Alfred Poor <ap… [at] bellatlantic.net> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com; pw… [at] aol.com Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 6:08:42 AM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Re:Reef Rite Furler Questions (Alfred) Paul West posed a couple of questions . . . >The brochure says that you can release the pawl from the helmsman position >to start furling process. Can you also set the pawl from this position? Is >it spring loaded constantly and if so, when you pull the line to release it >do you need to tie it off to keep it unlocked while furling? I guess the >shorter question is how do you release and reset the pawl? There’s a little lever (Hyfield) that pulls back and locks down to put the pawl in the disengaged position. The only time you use the lever in this position is when you want to unroll the sail. The rest of the time, you leave the lever in the forward position; there is no strain on the release cable and the pawl is in position to ratchet/lock as needed. When you want to reef or furl, just pull on the furling line. When you get to the position you want, just let go of the reef line and the pawl will hold the drum in that position. It’s a very simple arrangement, though we did have to make a small wedge of wood that we mounted on the deck to get the lever at the right angle to lock down. >When changing sails with a twin groove head foil do you have to let one >down before you can raise the other or can you raise a new one to leeward of >the other and then drop the windward sail? Will the Kiwi slides bypass each >other w/o hitting or binding on each other? I have not done this, but since the slides are completely contained within the foil grooves, they can’t bind with each other. I have used the twin grooves to fly two headsails “wing and wing” downwind, with the main down and an awning rigged over the cockpit. Much less effort involved than flying a chute, and a very comfortable rig. (And the Kiwi Slides can be used with other furlers; you don’t need a ReefRite to use them.) I’m happy to answer questions here, but I’m probably more comfortable answering them offline out of respect for the non-commercial tradition of this list. All the best, Alfred