How I met my Alado

The challenge

It was 2013 and after a year of refitting our newly acquired our 1978 Morgan Out Island 41 Ketch, we were eager to put her to sea trials.

The roller furler was assumed to be working, but upon testing it discovered the unit was seized and would not rotate. 

We called in a local rigger who went aloft and reported that the furling system was an older single piece of roller furling and forestay in one, held up with the jib halyard.

He told me the spindle was seized and if it broke loose, it would be akin to losing the forestay.

Needless to say, the rigger offered to sell me a new Harken Roller Furling system along with a new forestay by saying "since they were up the mast anyway, they can install it". The price was unmentionable.

The Common Sense

After the impact of sticker shock faded away, the essence of what the rigger was saying, did not sit well with me; the fact that myself or anyone has to go up a mast to install or service the roller furling, frankly, seemed to lack common sense.

I paid for a new forestay, found a used "hank on Jib " and for the next two years, I convinced myself that the work and safety risk at my age on deck was all worth it.

That mindset got old quickly after nearly losing my footing in 5 foot Chesapeake waves trying to lower the sail in anticipation of an approaching pop-up storm.