Wanted Selden Furlex 40S or similar

[Peter Cockerton]

I'm looking to fit a larger furling drum on my BR20, currently I have A Barton 95 mm width which does the job but with the size of string the yard fitted and is fairly kind on the hands when furling in strong conditions only just winds onto the drum with the sail fully out and I can only have two wraps around the drum to start with.
So if you have upgraded your jib drum on your BC23 or perhaps something bigger I would be interested in buying your old one

PM me or email petercsailing at Outlook.com

[Sea Simon]

Peter,

Sorry I can't  help with a used selden 40s.

If you remain unable to find a used one, Solo Sails at Newlyn will usually offer prices close to trade on most Selden stuff.(unlike my local Selden agents, who seem to think it acceptable to offer only full retail prices, but carry nil stock! A bit greedy, imho...)
I've saved £100s with Solo.

Many on this forum seem to have good experiences with the 40S, my BRe included.

[Ray S]

Sorry to be contrary, but three BRes in my neck of the woods, Poole Harbour, have replaced the originally supplied Selden 40s with the Barton and got much better results. Indeed the yard has gone over to Barton furlers in newer BRes and BC21s. As the Selden has an enclosed casing you can't see what's going on with the rope in the drum. All three of us couldn't completely unfurl the jib sometimes. Furthermore the bearings wore out very quickly causing the furler to wobble and jam.  So far the Barton has been trouble free and the jib always fully unfurls and furls up very well.

Ray S
BC21 008 Whimsey
Epropulsion Spirit Plus

[Peter Cockerton]

Interesting to read two different experiences of the Selden 40S.
I would like to be able to quote a model number for my Barton but I can find no markings anywhere on it, it does measure 95mm across the drum and from what I have found on the web the model does come in two sizes the 95 mm being the largest.
I found this video on the Barton site which shows how to correctly attach the furling line, my line was not attached this way initially and the capture knot interfered with the smooth winding of the rope.
If I knot the rope supplied by the yard it will not pass through the outer larger hole to be then trapped by the inner smaller hole in the drum so it looks like a reduction in rope diameter is on the cards.

https://youtu.be/j3jZyHp4WnI

[Graham W]

Having had both Barton and Furlex furlers go wrong on me (Barton twice), I now use something altogether beefier on my self-tacking jib.  It's a Ronstan RF1246 (photos below), which was originally supplied by the yard when I temporarily changed from self-tacking to conventional jib and the normal Barton furler was felt (correctly) to be not up to the job.  Both the Barton and the Furlex furlers suffered from bearing problems which meant that they started graunching before seizing.  No such problems with the Ronstan.  No-one would accuse it of being compact or elegant but at least it keeps on working without issues.  And because it is open (unlike the Furlex), you can see what is happening to the string.

[Peter Cockerton]

Many thanks for the feedback from you experienced guys.
Will probably now go for the Ronstan 1246 with the larger drum. This will allow me to have a hand comfortable furling line diameter and to start with more than a couple of turns around the drum to spare with the sail fully furled. Not sure if it's just me but I have had times when the sail is not tightly furled and I have no turns of furling line left on the drum.
So I will add (not) on the end of my post title and I thank you all for your wise input from your own experiences.
Graham just an observation from your photo but with your sail fully furled using the 1246 you have no turns left on the drum.

Peter C

[Graham W]

Graham just an observation from your photo but with your sail fully furled using the 1246 you have no turns left on the drum.

That's deliberate Peter - so that even when the jib is really tightly furled in high winds, as in the photo below, the outhaul is wrapped several times around the jib.  I started with a furler line that was much too long and then attached and unattached it until I was satisfied that I had enough turns around the drum to furl it the way I wanted.  I then cut off the excess string but only after a couple of sails.  Unlike the Barton and Furlex, the Ronstan drum has plenty of capacity for a larger line (5mm instead of 4mm) and plenty of it.

[Peter Cockerton]

Should have known Graham you would have a reason for it, from the previous image I couldn't see the several wraps of sheets.
The larger drum of the 1246 supports this my drum and current line size would result in the line rubbing against the guides.
In the meantime I have surviced the Barton with new bearings (FOC from Barton).