Practical Sailor finds the Alado Nautica headsail furler to be easy to install and a worthwhile sail-handling tool. One feature that sets the Alado apart from other jib or genoa furlers is its staggered slotting of five-foot foil sections that slide together and interlock over a conventional wire or rod headstay. This design allows the do-it-yourselfer to fit each foil section over an attached headstay, and simply push the formed furler up the wire or rod. Mainstream headsail furlers tend to be assembled on the ground and installed with the mast horizontal. The Alado furler’s design uses integral halyards to place a compression load on the foil,

Photos by Ralph Naranjo

The Alado furler uses integral halyards (far left). The challenge is dealing with them in a manner that will keep them free from flogging or snarling the furling process. We rigged both halyards externally and terminated them on a roller drum fitting. At the other end of the Alado design is the top foil terminal, which comes in two halves with aluminum sheaves for the halyards.

eliminating the need…