j/80 foil replacement

[Chris Debicki]

Looking to replace the foil on our J/80. Our local chandler is telling us that we need to replace both the foil and the furler and suggests we buy a new Harken system. That's pricey and the current Harken furler works fine. Attaching picture - we lost the prefeeder and feeder for the foil so feeding the headsail into the slot is a pain in the ass presently and we risk tearing a sail. Also I can't figure out who made this 2 slot foil (prefer to keep a 2 track foil as we race phrf and alternate between the class sail and a genoa). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

PS - there is a great regatta on Lake of the Woods the first week of August called LOWISA and we challenge any J/80 sailors to come beat us!

 

[longy]

That's a Harken furler. Call them, they are very supportive of thier products.

 

[Chris Debicki]

Thanks - yeah Harken tells me we're SOL with this generation set-up and need a complete replacement. If we could get or fabricate a feeder we would probably be ok for another season or two on this old pvc foil...

 

[Lightningflash]

so the foil itself is PVC and not aluminum? that seems odd. I would try to see if I could find that feeder somewhere used, there is one on ebay, i don't think it is a harken but still might work for you. ultimately, you probably will have to replace the other thing. the new spec is a profurl furler.

 

[longy]

You could try mounting a 'pre-feeder' just below the foil. As long as this gets the tape lined up with the groove, a small gap won't matter

 

[patrese]

It's a Harken, but discontinued. Have the same and the plastic foil was replaced by alu pieces that are even wors to keep intact on a small boat with lot of trailering...

 

[Chris Debicki]

Thanks - I found a helpful tech at Harken who confirmed as much and said he was surprised that we still use it since the pvc turned out to be a chronic problem (hence discontinued...). So we'll replace the foil and furler - the quote i got for a new harken system is about 2k usd. Happy to entertain alternatives...

 

[George Hackett]

Do your class rules allow jib hanks? just asking

 

[JdP]

Sorry for the late response. I replaced the foil and furler on my ‘95 J80 earlier this year with a new Harken MkIV 0 And aluminum foil. The tracks on on the old nylon foil was worn out. There is a metal torsion bar inside the lower part of the foil that caused rust to ”seep” through the foil. Since replacing the foil (expensive), we have had no problems. The new Harken furler is also much smoother then the older versions.

 

[biglebroski]

Replaced mine last year on a '93 80 and no regrets.

when I replaced mine https://us.binnacle.com/Sailboat-Hardware-Furling/c28_132/index.html had the best price on all others by a good margine

 

[Stiffler's Mom]

Check with Vela Sailing supply. He had one of the last 80 furlers in stock a few months back.