flbkroxie wrote:West Marine is having a sale and I have a coupon so this roller furling head-sail system would be a deal.
Anyone have it, or know about it? I have a 1993 Macgregor 26S and believe it would be an economical solution.
I really like the Schaefer SnapFurl for trailerable sailboats. It's a far more capable furler than the CDI, IMO. It's much easier to adjust sail shape via luff tension, and easier to swtich headsails. It's functionally equivalent to a Harken. I've got only good things to say about it.
I'm a Schaefer dealer. I have talked to the Schaefer engineers personally and they have advised me that the CF500 it's more than adequate for the Mac26's. If you look around, you can get a much better price than West's sale price. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or ask here.
The Schaefer Snap Furl CF500 takes a 5mm luff tape. Or a #5 (USA system) luff tape, which measures 4.7 or 4.8 mm. It will not accept a #6 tape.
As a sailmaker, I don't usally recommend converting an old hank on sail to a roller furler. It's usually not cost effective. Usually, you're spend less money or the same if you sell your old sail (assuming it's in decent condition) and buy a new purpose-built furling headsail with the UV edge sewn on as part of the initial construction. (Unless you do it yourself...)
To convert the old sail, it'll cost you about $4-5/foot to convert the luff. And then you really should have a UV edge cover sewn onto it so yhou can leave it on the furler for storage. And if it's over 110% or so, I recommend a foam luff pad.
IMO, a UV edge cover is a heck of a lot more convenient than a jib sock. For a trailerable sailboat, I usually recommend getting a dacvon UV edge, rather than Sunbrella, because UV dacron is much more abrasion resistant.
Fair winds,
Judy B
ans 
and requires an upgraded 5/32" forestay. Is your jib hanked on? If so, you can have a #5 sewen into your existing jib and use the CF500. 