The cage holding the line on the drum went missing, but even before it did, the line could jump past it and snarl. The whole process is easily done singlehanded, and better yet, the work takes place in the safety of the cockpit. To reduce sail or put it away, the sheet is eased as the furler line is pulled. As the sail comes out, the furler line is wound up on the drum. To go sailing, the crew simply pulls on the leeward sheet to unroll the jib.

The extrusion comes in sections, and inside each joint thereвЂ™s some sort of fastener that doubles as a bushing to ensure the tube spins freely around the stay. ThereвЂ™s a line drum with a shackle for the foot of the sail at its base up top, thereвЂ™s a swivel to which the head of the sail and halyard are attached. A rigid foil, or extrusion, with one or two slots for a sailвЂ™s luff tape, covers the headstay. While features may vary, the basic hardware and how it functions are similar. Most sailboats these days have a roller furler made by one of a handful of manufacturers that include Facnor, Furlex, Harken, Schaefer Marine and Profurl. In fact, eventually, after a few good dousings on the foredeck while switching to a smaller working sail, we invested in a Schaefer furler, which I installed on the Ericson one spring day, just before launching, with the help of a few friends.

Our previous boat, a vintage Ericson, had come with hank-on headsails, and while they worked well, I had no desire to go back to the days of dropping, flaking and bagging a big genoa every time we used the boat. When we bought our used Sabre 34, В Jackalope, some years ago, I didnвЂ™t pay much attention to the roller furler, except to note that it had one.

Code zero on permanent furler