Make Downwind Sailing Fun Again. Turn Off That Motor and Unfurl Your Kite!

Harken REFLEX furling has proven its value to recreational racers and shorthanded cruisers delivering very reliable, very tight top-to-bottom spinnaker furls. This is great news for sailors itching to get their free-flying sails out of the forepeak and into the air. After all, downwind sailing is supposed to be the best sailing of all. Even if you’re sailing shorthanded, with a Reflex, you can furl up the kite and leave the halyard hoisted until you drop anchor or get back to your slip. So why are so many people motoring?!

Here’s how Reflex works so reliably where other systems can disappoint: the Reflex torsion cable is the secret. Using a unique stainless mesh cage around a rope core, the cable is amazingly ‘twist-rigid’. It transfers rotational torque from the deck where you are pulling the furling line, to top swivel where complete furls must start. Why do complete furls have to start up there? Spinnakers have much more area up top. That’s just the opposite of a jib which has much more area down at the deck.

Complete ‘top-down’ furls require all that area be furled before the foot finishes—just the opposite of what’s required of your more common headsail furler. The Reflex cable acts more reflexively to start the top spinning more than anything we’ve ever tested. The cable executes this while being easy to manage as you move it in and out of the sail bag. You use one cable per kite. Then a single large diameter bottom unit you use for all your kites helps make the furling process itself less of a strain.  Reflex comes boxed with everything—no power tools needed. There’s still time to get Harken Reflex furling sorted and get out there before the season is in full swing. Watch Reflex at work.

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