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CDI furler headsail conversion

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 5:35 pm
by Number1
Back again, I'm getting ready to head up to sequim WA for a couple of weeks and hope to put the 26 in for the first time. I,ve been watching the weather on line and it looks like it will great sailing if it holds. I have question about roller furlers. I recently purchased a used cdi 1 furler on line and have hoisted it on a friends 26 and it fits perfect with no modifications. :) The problem is all my sails are in sequim so I can't modify them for use this trip. I got to thinking if I could find sail slugs that would fit the furler I might get by this trip using the sail on slugs. It was a long shot but surprisingly some one thought of it already and there is a co. called reefrite that sells something called kiwi slides that replaces the hanks. Has anyone ever heard of or used this system ?Check out reefrite-na.com or google Kiwi slides. This sounds like a really great alternative to luff tape and easy to install at home. I've never had a production furler so any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rick
PS, I don't consider myself the number 1 sailor it just happens to be the user name of the original forum member who was kind enough to loan me their membership access.

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:06 am
by Kenr74
The Kiwi-slides look clever, but it looks like they still have to be sewn to the sail. At that point, I would think it would be just as easy to sew the luff tape on. If they just tie on, I suppose it would be reasonable, but I would wonder about the cost if it was just a temporary fix. As far as converting to luff tape, we just converted a wire luff sail to luff tape with one of Sail-Rite's kits. It was very easy, and we are very satisfied with the results.

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 11:43 am
by Number1
Kenr74 ,
Thanks for the insight. I may try the slugs on one sail but have purchased a roller ready sail off ebay, I decided the cost of the slugs may not be worth it if a decent altered sail could be purchased economically.
Rick