NEW Factory Hobie Sail Furling Kit

I installed the kit on my Adventure over the weekend. Definitely an improvement over the DIY pvc furler. The kit consists of a pulley that screws tight to your sail's mast, a double fairlead/rope guide, rope tied in a circle, & a bungie attached to a steel circle. The circular rope goes around the pulley, along the side of the kayak, & the bungie tensions it so the mast stays put until you go to pull on the rope. Pull the inboard rope & it unfurls & the outboard rope to furl. You still have to keep a little tension with your other hand on the mainsheet/rope attached to the sail unless you want the sail to go slack & start flapping around.

When installing the kit I decided to use a longer rope so I could unfurl as much of the sail as possible in one pull. I actually used the rope that came with the sail intended to be used as the mainsheet. It was the perfect length. The furling rope is on the right hand side of the kayak with the mainsheet routed along the left to a cam cleat with fairlead just behind my rear cupholder. I'll try to post some pics in the next few days & also report back when I can get a day off & wind to sail.

Congrats on the upgrade Jim!   

Thanks for the info Jim. I have a couple of questions. Does it turn the sail or the pole? Do you need to drill holes in the kayak? Thanks!

ernest

yes you need to drill holes for the fairlead, the mast retainer, & a padeye. Total of 5 although the fairlead is the only must do. yes the mast rotates & the sail is wound up around it

Thanks again for the info.

I got to sail around for a short time today while fishing Berryessa & the new furling kit works great. Something's I like about it that are better than the DIY pvc furler I had before.
1. set up & take down is faster & easier than the way I had rigged it up before.
2. the furler & sail easily fit in the sail storage bag & the furler stays tight & in position on the mast.
3. it's easier to maintain tension on the sail when furling/unfurling to keep the sail from flapping around.
4. thanks to the design of the kit & it's circular tensioned rope I only have to cleat off the line tied to the mainsheet.
    the old DIY pvc furler rope had to be cleated off & it was a pain having to cleat two different lines.
5. the ropes seem to bind less
I've been sailing with the Sidekick amas in the all the way up position. Next time I'm going to try the middle position & see how that works. 


The short rope going from the furler down into the front of the cockpit is meant to keep the mast from coming out of the hole in case of capsize. The kit came with a button which I haven't yet installed. For this test I just tied a few extra knots in this line to shorten it & then hooked it on the existing hook. I think I'll mount the supplied button as it will be more secure & really won't add any weight. 

more pics

the line thru the cleat is to the mainsheet/sail which I hadn't set up yet in the other pictures. I put it behind the cup holder because I like to rest my elbows on the side rails adjacent to the seat. It actually has worked out to be a great location to keep the mainsheet & cleat accessible but out of the way.