When we purchased our new Leopard 45 catamaran we selected the OEM Code 0 sail and furler from the Robertson & Caine factory option list. Since then we streamlined and improved the entire system, making it more functional, safer and able to be single-handed.
The value of this simple conversion is that you can pull the sail in under any reasonable conditions you may have it deployed at or could unexpectedly find yourself in, without fear of it being stuck out.
The original furling setup
The original furler was the Profurl NEX continuous furler. To deploy the sail and retrieve it, one person had to be in the helm controlling the port and starboard sheet lines. A second person had to sit at the front of the boat in the waves and weather, and manually furl the sail in and out using their own arm strength then maintain pressure on the continuous furling line while trying to cleat it off at the crossbeam.
In our opinion this is an extremely poor system if you are overcome by unforeseen gusting wind or are stuck in a squall. My limit to bring it in as an athletically fit young female was about 12-13 knots apparent wind. From around 13-15 knots apparent wind Tynan needed to bring it in and the one time it gusted to 16-17 knots apparent wind, it took two of us pulling in unison to get it in.
Having the system is absurd when there's a better option available that uses a cheaper drum.
The new furling system
After some investigation we decided to move to a discontinuous furling system like we had on the genoa.
Facnor discontinuous flying furler system
The furler we chose was the Facnor FXT +4500 drum furler for flying sails. It's made in France by Facnor, who along with Profurl are owned by Wichard. We weren't aware of this until we visited Wichard at the Annapolis Boat Show.
When we ordered the furler this is what it came with.
The anodised aluminium drum
A swivel which was CNC machines from a solid block of anodised aluminium and had a protective neoprene cover.
Snapshackle to attach the bottom of the drum
Shackle to attach the halyard to the top of the swivel
The larger version of the FXT +4500 is the Facnor FXT +7000 drum furler. It's worth considering whether upgrading would be beneficial to you, as the drum diameter of the FXT +4500 is almost at the limit with the width of the Leopard Code 0 sail. If we were doing it again, we'd lean towards getting the +7000 over the +4500.
What we needed to install it
Once we had the furler we determined at what else we'd need to install the system. Here's a list of what we purchased.
FURLING ROPE
38 meters of 8mm high strength polyester for the furling line. After assessing what was available in Gibraltar we purchased Marlow Doublebraid.
FAIRLEADS
Bulls-eye fairleads are needed to guide the rope up the deck. We used 6x 10mm Spinlock Low Profile Control Line Guides (Part: BE10/TF) and spaced them relatively evenly up the deck based on the curve of the hull. We would have liked the Lewmar bull-eyes to match the ones installed by Robertson & Caine for the genoa lines, but they weren't available at the time.
FRICTION RINGS
Two low friction rings to guide the rope onto the furler. We used 10mm Harken Lead Rings (Part: 3270). Both of the rings are spliced onto some rope offcuts we had around the boat that were sized to help guide the rope from the first pulley onto the drum so the rope wound around the drum evenly.
PULLEY
A footblock to angle the line at the front of the port hull so it smoothly transitions from the furler to the fairleads. We purchased a Seldon footblock as there weren't enough of the Lewmar HTX 60 footblocks that match the rest of the boat at the chandlery, and Lewmar were overhauling their computer system at the time so weren't processing orders.
PULLEY
A block to angle the line from the deck up to the roof. We already had a spare Lewmar HTX 72 single block with becket aboard (Part: 29197204) so used that.
PULLEY
Footblocks to stack onto the existing rooftop blocks to guide the line into the helm. On the Leopard 45 there are three footblocks to stack on top of; 2x Lemar HTX 72 footblocks (Part: 29197261) and 1x Lewmar HTX 60 footblock (Part: 29196061).
CLUTCH
A clutch for the furling line to go through in the helm. We purchased a Spinlock XCS Single Clutch (Part: XCS0814) as we've transitioned away from the Lewmar clutches our Leopard 45 came with from factory.
CONSUMABLES
Fixings and sealant to install the additional blocks and bulls-eyes including UV rated sealant to bed the footblocks and stainless steel bolts.
How our Code 0 discontinuous furler is set up
Here's a rough diagram of how we ran the discontinuous Code 0 furler line back to the helm on our 2021 Leopard 45.
The line runs from the drum, through two frictionless rings then through a footblock on the port hull. The position of the dolphin seat and angle from the furler to the footblock were the key factors in determining the installation position.
From the first footblock the line goes up the deck through a series of fairleads, then goes through a pully that angles the rope up to the roof, the same way the Code 0 control line is set up.
From there it goes across the roof on footblocks that are stacked on the Code 0 Port control line blocks.
The line ends at the helm in a Spinlock clutch.
Changing the furler
Once we'd installed the hardware for the lines we needed to figure out how many pre-turns needed to be on the drum to bring the sail in and out smoothly.
We waited until there was 0 knots of wind in the Gibraltar marina then spent time taking the sail in and out, making adjustments to the number of turns until it was right. Once we had it, we made some marks on the rope so we'd know for future reference.
How many pre-turns you need will depend on your sail and line.
Review of the Facnor FXT +4500
We had the discontinuous Code 0 furler system installed before crossing the Atlantic Ocean and it made a huge difference.
We use our Code 0 a lot more now because it doesn't need two people to bring it in and out. This is especially helpful when there is one person on watch as previously we'd avoid using the sail so we didn't have to wake sleeping crew.
Since the sail can now be closed using a winch rather than human strength we have no issues bringing it in when the wind gets stronger. This is safer and makes using the Code 0 a more enjoyable experience.
In high winds there is no chance of the furler drum slipping due to the design of the drum and the furler rope being locked in a clutch. With the continuous furler this can happen if the friction brake is overcome, or something inside the furler breaks.
Something else we did to our Code 0 furling system was add two clutches for the sheet lines. When we purchased the factory Code 0 option it didn't come with any, so we sourced two of the Spinlock XCS clutches and installed them inline between the last footblock and the winch.
Summary
If you're considering making the change from a continuous Code 0 furling system to a discontinuous system we'd recommend doing it. In our opinion it is far superior to the continuous system originally installed on our boat, and if we had our time again we would install a discontinuous flying sail furling system from the start.
The way we have installed ours suits our boat and needs, but as always you need to take the time to think about the best layout for your boat. We're happy with the Facnor furler, Spinlock clutches and blocks, but if we did it again we'd consider upgrading the furler to the larger size and would change the bulls-eye fairleads to the Lewmar version.
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