The furler is actually a Spectra rope stay. The sail is attached to the stay at the head, while the tack is attached to the roller mechanism by a strop that allows it to fly away from the roller. The sail flies free of the stay and is trimmed by the clew in the normal way.

The whole thing works because the Spectra stay is rigid enough to take the torque applied by the roller system at the tack. This means the whole stay rotates. But, as the tack of the sail is on a strop, it doesn't get rolled up as the stay rotates.

Instead, the head - which is attached to the stay - gets rolled in first. The rest of the sail then follows down the stay until the foot, clew and the tack get rolled in.

The entire assembly can be left in place, or removed for stowing. The stay, while being rigid, can be flexed to allow the system to be put into its stowage bag.

Any type of reacher, genneker, multi-purpose (MPS) or asymmetric spinnaker can be used, and Bamar says the whole system can be quickly attached or stowed at will.

The sail doesn't need any modification and, once set, its performance and operation are completely unaffected by the RollGen.

On smaller yachts Bamar recommends fitting a manually operated version with a drum and endless line system which is operated from the cockpit.

Hydraulic or electric motorised versions should be specified for larger craft.

Bamar UK T: 01590 642777. F: 01590 642778 E: uk@bamar.co.uk W: bamar.co.uk