HARKEN MKIV Furler

Harken MKIV Furler SALE! See below for details.

By Andrew Spaulding and Jon Paige

Harken MKIV Furler

One of the greatest labor saving inventions to find its way onto a sailboat is the jib furler. The jib furler was invented in Britain over 100 years ago and the original design was upgraded by a rigger from New York in the 1960s. Ever since jib furlers were invented a steady stream of upgrades has increased the reliability so now a properly maintained furler will provide a decade or more of faithful service. Furlers have a long history of innovation:   First they freed cruising boats from needing large crews and now furlers can be found on the latest racing boats furling spinnakers from the top down.

Harken’s MKIV Jib Furler is the iconic brand’s latest edition of a world renown furler. The MKIV is designed to be a performance cruising and racing furler. I prefer it from the cruising furler because it has a double groove headstay with robust construction for racing which means a long, trouble free life in a cruising application. The double groove forestay allows you to fly double headsails down wind which is much easier to do short-handed than flying a spinnaker.

One of the upgrades the MKIV offers over Harken’s cruising furler is the foil joints. The MKIV foil joints are triple-interlocked with shaped connectors, adhesive and screws. When attached together according to Harken’s specifications the foil joints will withstand years of torque loading.

MKIV Foil Section

Another great feature of the Harken MKIV jib furler is its ability to perform well on wire or rod forestays with rod, swage, Norseman, or Sta-lok terminals. It has multiple toggle options to adapt to a variety of turnbuckles and it can be fitted for a fork or a toggle chainplate installation.

Harken’s recommended MKIV maintenance is to flush the unit frequently with fresh water…easy to do here on Lake Michigan! Also, periodically it needs to be cleaned with a mild detergent and water solution…we recommend at least once a year. It is this easy to maintain your furler and protect your investment in easier sail handling.

This December (2012), we are offering the Harken MKIV at 25% off retail, including new forestay.  For example, the Unit 1 furler (typically sized for a 28’ – 36’ LOA) with new forestay is normally $3266, your price $2450 + $570 installation.  That’s a total of $3020, still less than the retail price of the furler.  This offer only applies to installations carried out at our yard.  For further details and a more detailed estimate for your boat, contact Jon Paige at jon@crowleys.com or 773-364-1339.