How to build a roller furler for under 40

Ellies home-made sub-$40 roller furler

Introduction:

There are many different types of roller furling systems. This furler is a "Wykeham Martin" or "wire luff" type.  This popular design has been in continuous use worldwide for over 100 years.  It requires a jib that has a stainless steel wire sewn into the luff, or has a "jib set flying" (a jib that does not attach to a stay).  If your jib hanks onto a fixed forestay or needs to wind around a forestay this furler wont work for you. The furler you need would be more like this one.

This furler, as illustrated below, is sized for my 15 Welsford Navigator, or any similar sized small sailboat. It is comparable to a Ronstan RF76 or a Harken 434 dinghy furler.  It can be scaled up in size and strength for larger boats by substituting a stronger eye-bolt, stronger u-bolt, upper swivel, and ball bearing thrust bearing.

Here is a test run of the furler

Origin

In issue #58 of Small Craft Advisor magazine, Kirk Gresham wrote an excellent article on how he designed and built two roller furlers for his 17 cutter Eider for a mere $40 each using bits of scrap and a few bits and pieces of hardware from a local hardware store. This saved Kirk a whopping $670 off the $750 price tag he was quoted for two furler units from a local Port Townsend chandlery. I knew from the moment I read Kirks article that I wanted to build one of his furlers too. I love building things. Id much rather build something than buy it, even if it ends up costing me more. But in this case building it saved me a bundle too. Thats a two-fer for me!

I had some questions after reading the article, but I knew Kirk attends the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival every year, so I met Captain Kirk at the festival. He answered all of my questions and allowed me to take some close up photos of his furlers.

Being a mechanical designer by trade, naturally I couldnt resist making some improvements to the design.  I used bronze thrust washers in place of the steel radial bearings Kirk used, and I made the spool with a core of solid hardwood instead of using a section of PVC pipe.  These two changes significantly increase the strength of the furler, make it operate more smoothly and increase corrosion resistance. I also used an ABS end cap instead of the bent aluminum strap used to contain the furling line. It looks better and does a much better job of containing the line.

So, here I present my improved version of Kirks $40 roller furler.

Click to enlarge

Making the Drum Assembly

The drum is made from an inexpensive 3" ABS drain pipe end cap available at any home center that sells indoor plumbing supplies, like Home Depot, Lowes, Grainger, etc.  The cap I used is a Mueller 2979H.  (Note: a 3" cap is actually 4" in diameter.  It caps a 3" inside diameter drain pipe).  Caps are available in a variety of sizes if you want a larger or smaller furler. You will also need a stainless steel eye-bolt. I used a 1/4" x 4" Stanley V2161, but welded eye bolts are a better choice as they are much stronger. To make the drum assembly, drill a 1/4" hole in the center of the end cap for the eye-bolt. Drill 7/8" diameter holes every 45 degrees around the outside for access to the furling line. Locate these holes so they are 1/4" below the open end of the cap.

I also drilled a series of small drain holes in the bottom of the drum.

Use locktite to secure the two nuts on the eyebolt.

Making the Spool Assembly

To make the spool assembly, first I cut two plywood disks from 1/4" plywood. The outer diameter of the disks should be just slightly less than the inner diameter of the ABS cap. We dont want the furling line to slip through the gap and jam the furler. Sandwiched between the disks is a piece of oak (or any other hard wood) that is 2" in diameter and 7/8" thick. Glue these three pieces together taking care to align them accurately. Drill a 1/4" hole through the center for the eye-bolt. Drill two more holes to match the stainless steel U-bolt legs. The U-bolt I used is a 1/4" x 1-1/8" x 3-1/2" Stanley V2193. Drill one extra hole in the upper disk for the stop knot of the furling line. Paint the spool with several coats of enamel paint. Cut and file the legs of the U-bolt flush with the nuts. Use locktite to secure all four nuts.

Assembling the unit

To assemble the unit, place the spool onto the eyebolt of the drum assembly. Then add a 1/4" stainless steel washer, your thrust bearing, and a locknut. Additionally secure this locknut by drilling a tiny hole near the end of the eyebolt and adding a cotter pin, or use Locktite (blue not red).  The thrust bearing is simply two or three 1/4" I.D. sintered bronze thrust washers. These strong, inexpensive corrosion resistant self-lubricating washers should be readily available at any good hardware store, or you can order them here. Once in a great while, apply a drop of motor oil to the thrust washers. It will soak into the porous metal and lubricate them for a long time.

A ball bearing can be used instead of the thrust washers if you prefer. They are more expensive but may operate more smoothly under high tension.  The exact size you need will depend on the diameter of your eyebolt and the space available inside your u-bolt. The style of bearing you would want is shown below, and a source for stainless steel thrust bearings in many sizes is here.  Ive tested both the thrust washers and the ball bearings on my boat and there was no noticeable difference.

Tie a stop knot in the end of your furling line, feed it through the hole in the upper disk and out through one of the holes in the drum. Spin the spool to wind up the line.

Upper Swivel

A swivel is required at the head of your jib to allow the wire luff to spin and roll up the jib.  With this type of furler you want a swivel that spins easily. I have tested three different swivels on my boat that have worked well for me.

This anchor swivel, is a good choice provided your luff tension is not too tight.  If your jib uses a jib halyard, this swivel will work for you. It is extremely strong, very inexpensive, and spins well under moderate tension.  However, since its not a ball bearing swivel, it can stick when tensioned too much.

Ball bearing swivels are a better choice.  The Ronstan RF75 swivel is considerably more expensive, but is an excellent choice for larger sailboats with higher luff tensions.  And this jumbo sized (size 10) fishing swivel is an excellent choice for smaller sailboats and sailing dinghys.  It is the largest ball bearing fishing swivel Ive been able to find and works very well on my Navigator. It is rated to support up to 810 lbs.  Do not rely on this fishing swivel to hold up a mast on anything larger than a sailing dinghy.

A word about strength

Make sure you select components that are strong enough for your application. An easy and conservative way to do this is to look at the diameter of the stainless steel cable used to make your jibs luff wire.  My jib uses 1/8" cable, which has a Safe Working Load (SWL) of 352 lbs.  3/16" cable has a SWL of 740 lbs, and so on.  The SWL of each one of your components (eye-bolt, u-bolt, swivel, thrust bearing, shackles, etc) should be at least as high as that of your cables.  Youll be able to find the SWLs on the products packaging, at the manufacturers website, or with a bit of Googling. That way youll know your furler is stronger than your luff wire.

$40 furlers around the world

Click here to see Barrys UK version of this furler.
These young folks are enjoying their furler on their homebuilt catamaran
John Hows Fulmar
SailCanoeFan in Montreal  

Conclusion

This furler has performed flawlessly on my Navigator Ellie for over 5 years now, and I couldnt be more pleased with it.  If you have any feedback or if you build one of these furlers for yourself, Id love to hear about it.  Please leave a comment below.

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Organization How To Make Boatbuilding Not Suck

Boats are made of lots and lots of funny precision parts that all look more or less the same but are subtle different.  A bow skeg stringer end accidentally exchanged for a stern skeg stringer end and its all over.

The previous build day, in my excitement I threw together the dead simple building form, and assembled it wrong.  The building form is just made of 2x4s nailed together, but the boat members will be screwed and epoxied.  Theres no going back on wood parts epoxied together.  A serious error could mean having to start completely over on that member. 

 

So the previous build day was a lesson in the need for precision.  Before going further, I created labels for every piece of every member of the hull.  As I ripped pieces and then cut them to length, I stapled my sturdy cardboard labels directly on to the boards.

This way, when it came time to assemble, say, the starboard skeg stringer, I would only have to gather up all the pieces that said SKEG STRGR 1 (top, bottom, fore post, aft post, fore end, aft end) and bring them into the barn for assembly.

I also got a quad-ruled comp book and started taking detailed notes.  All the things youd normally scribble down on scratch paper as you were calculating angles and measurements and offsets went into the notebook.  All my little sketches of what pieces should look like before I cut them, lists of procedures, materials I needed to get, and a detailed journal of each day of work went into the comp book.

Along with a place in the barnyard to build the boat, Lawrence let us use an unused horse stall in the barn.  This made a perfect build office, a place to layout the plans, organize all our tools, and most importantly keep snacks and beer.

Having the right tool at hand when you need it, is not only convenient but can be critical during the stressful build process, especially when you are dealing with epoxy.  We spent time making sure that every tool had its own place.  This also had the benefit of making daily clean up more fun.  It felt good to do a lot of hard work and then have everything all neat and tidy at the end of the day.

Here Kai, one of my co-builders, in a goofy moment, models the first photo for our Little Shantyboat Pinup Calendar.  This also helps make boatbuilding not suck.

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How to make a boat tent for under 20

Its that time of year again.  Spring Tweak time!  I know, I know, its more of a midsummer tweak.  Sorry, Im way behind schedule this year.

This years Spring Tweak is an inexpensive boom tent.

Most of the messabouts that I plan on attending this year require sleeping onboard the boat.  Unlike Sucia Islands abundant camping, many of the other destinations we like to visit have limited camping.  Saddlebag island, for instance, only has 5 campsites.  Hope Island, only 4.  Next week is the "Pocket Yacht Palooza", followed by a 4 day "Crooza" to several destinations which may or may not require sleeping onboard. Its also nice to have the option to tie up at a marina.  And theres always the possibility I could be late getting home and have to anchor who knows where for the night.  Having a boom tent onboard at all times really is a necessity. It doesnt have to be fancy in my opinion.  A quick and cheap one made from a tarp will do just fine.

So heres my version of the classic tarp-type boom tent.

After quick trip to the local Harbor Freight Tools store, I returned with this 11 x 15 foot cammo tarp for a mere $16.49, and a grommet kit for another $4.  $20 for a boom tent.  Cant beat that.

They also carry the classic blue and silver tarps too, of course, but lets be honest.  Theres really only one choice here.  Not only does cammo look good, in a far-less-tacky sort of way, but it also enables one to go Stealth Camping.  Stealth Camping, in case you are unfamiliar with the term, is the practice of arriving late at night, mooring up to someones private dock, boat, or any other no-camping area, and stealing away early in the morning before anyone realizes you were there.  I, of course, would never do such a thing ;-)

To support the tent I needed a ridgepole.  I lashed my boom and gaff together and use them as the ridgepole. My topping lift/jackstay line, and my peak halyard both prevent draping the boom tent over the ridgepole, so they get disconnected.  To support the ridgepole, I disconnect my mizzen halyard and connect it to the aft end of the ridgepole.

I measured the distance between the main mast and the point where the mizzen halyard connects to the ridgepole.  Then I cut two equal length slits in the tarp so that the distance between the slits was equal to that measurement.

That allowed me to drape the tarp over the ridgepole.

The next part is simple, as the famous sculptor Michelangelo allegedly once explained:

After marveling at Michelangelo’s statue of Goliath-vanquishing David, the Pope asked the sculptor, “How do you know what to cut away?”

Michelangelo replied “It’s simple. I just remove everything that doesn’t look like David.”

So I got out my scissors and trimmed away everything that didnt look like a boom tent.
I left some flaps at the front and rear of the boom tent so I could seal both ends off in a rainstorm.

The flaps can be rolled up and secured with a clip to keep them open, or tied down with a bit of rope to keep them closed.  I trimmed the sides even with my lower rubrail.

When I removed the tarp and laid it out flat, it looked like this.  Not an easy shape to define on a  drawing.  You can see why it really needs to be cut in-place.

 

The most difficult part about making a boom tent is coming up with a way to secure the sides.  Several methods have been employed.  Ropes can be strung under the boat from one side to the other.  Clips or snaps can be added to the gunnels to attach the boom tent to.  Ropes can be run fore-and-aft to provide an attachment point, and so on.  But the easiest, most effective, and elegant solution I have seen my friends use are sandbags.  Several small sandbags weighing about 1 lb each are fastened to the boom tent to weigh the sides down and keep them taught. They work very well and dont require a bunch of new holes to be drilled in the boat.

I didnt have enough time to make sandbags before our annual Sucia trip, so I improvised.  I used 500ml plastic water bottles instead of sandbags.  They actually worked quite well.

I drilled a small hole in the water bottle caps, tied them to the boom tent, and store the empty bottles under my front thwart.  When I need them, I simply reach over the side and fill them with seawater and screw them onto the bottle caps. The only thing I dont like about them is they tend to bounce against the hull at night, keeping me awake.  I think sandbags would be quieter so I plan on replacing them with sandbags soon.

My son Tim and I just got back from our annual Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous.  It rained off and on the entire weekend, but we were cozy and warm under this humble boom tent, using our sleeping platform. 

When we awoke in the morning, there were no signs of condensation or leaks anywhere inside the boom tent.  We were very pleased with the results.  Well worth the $20 to be sure.

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Tips on how not to die in a fiery ball of twisted metal on the highway

Anyone know anything about trailer tow hardware like sway bars and weight distributing whohaws and whatnots?

The shantyboat were planning will be trailer-able.  So if Im gonna be towing a heavy-ass boat on a trailer down the road with a 20 foot double axle trailer with electric brakes, I want not to experience the sheer shit-in-your-pants life-flashes-before-your-eyes terror of a swaying trailer that I remember from my years hauling my theme camp out to the Black Rock Playa back in the day.

The weight of the boat, will be maybe 5000 lbs and change (but maybe as high as 7000 lbs). Ill be towing it with a 1970 Ford 3/4 ton F250. My old work truck.  God, I love that thing.  500 bucks ten years ago.  This is the only vehicle Ive shown the commitment of purchasing a stereo for.

Chicken John whos towed big stupid heavy things around for years says:

So that truck probably weighs about 5,000 pounds. If its a 3/4 ton, itll have a heavy duty front end, more springs in the back, bigger drums/calipers, beefier suspension all around and should not sway. If it does, I would look to a repair in the truck or changing the weight of the trailer around... maybe move the boat up or back a foot or two. you want like 400 pounds of tongue weight or so.

Swaying is death on wheels. Back in the day, with my smaller 64 F150, if we kept is slow, like 50 and under, all was okay, but if we went faster than that, terror.

I hear there are nifty things called sway bars and other fancy hardware that can allow my life to feel more secure. What do I need to look at if I want to maybe go 55 without dying?

Some helpful webpage about truck and trailer towing says:

1. Chronal circuitry.  2. Mr. Fusion.  3. Flux capacitor.  4. Geissler tubes.  5. Plutonium-powered nuclear reactor

The Weight Distribution Hitch

The weight distribution hitch allows the Ford 250 to tow double the weight of the simple hitch. This hitch uses the same ball attached to the back of the truck. It adds two bars or tubes, stretching two feet back, under the frame of the trailer. Each tube connects with a chain to the trailer frame above it. When the truck slows down and the trailer wants to dip down, the tubes and chains prevent it from doing so. With this type of hitch, the trailer and the truck stay in the same plane. The trailer cant tilt forward and press the back of the truck down.

Im down with that.  There are all sorts of variations apparently, sway controls, and weight distribution styles.  I read about this until my head spun.

But again from Chicken:

Weight disribution or anti-sway bar... same same. I dont recommend them, but they are useful in over 8,000 pound applications. For you, with your 3/4 ton truck, it would be best to only tow inside your "towing capacity". Which I think you can do. However, if you find that your rig is not right after you hitch up and go on a trial run, you could try something like that. But as I said, if you are towing 5,000 pounds and you start to sway, its probably the truck needing a repair.

So I like to hear those soothing words, like "Youll be okay," and "You can do it," and "You probably will not die on the highway in the wreckage of your shantyboat."  They warm my chilled little heart.

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