maandag 10 juni 2013

Tinkering - new diy furler

With all the terrible weather in northern europe this season (no sign of global warming here lately...) and hence hardly any sailing till now, I have time to spare to do some tinkering.

When my brother mentioned my diy 20 dollar furler has a distinctive 'Des Jour Meilleurs' look, I just knew I had to make myself a little more expensive looking furler. Actually this is not true, I really admire the way that vessel is built (check out the 'retailed (what???) description' on the site), I was just craving to start a small project to keep me busy.

Anyway, as always when building I try to avoid 'marine' materials, as they tend to be way overpriced just because they are marketed for marine = $$$. Found myself some climbing/arboring swivels, clearly well made out of proper grade anodized aluminium, a big 316 stainless steel rod and sealed axial bearings. Rated breaking load is about 2.500 kg, and being climbing equipment I guess this is a very conservative rating. All swivels are priced in or a little above the 50 dollar range. Although it is probably possible to make a swivel for less money, the ease of just buying, the looks and the certainty the swivel is working within rated strength is in my opinion well worth the price.


The small ones are very light and will be my top swivels, the big one will be the backbone of my new diy endless line furler. Although the big one is made in germany, it's colourful and cheery.

More to come.....







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