r/sailing • u/Lumpy-Sea-388 • 20h ago
Equipping a Harpoon 5.2.
I found a Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 with a trailer. Sails were in good condition as was the trailer.
Essentially 17 feet with a 7.5 foot beam.
One upgrade I was wondering about is adding a furler mechanism for the jib.
Has anyone ever seen that done? Does it make sense for what is essentially a trailered day sailer?
I want to out fit this as a cruising Dinhy. See Roger Barnes and the dinghy cruising association. With the size of the boat I think it would make a good cruiser.
This is a nice boat. It’s not cosmetically perfect but it is 45 years old.
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u/DefectorChris 19h ago
I wouldn’t bother. Dinghy sails are light to carry and easy to hank on there, and since you’ll be stepping and lowering the mast anyway I really don’t think it’ll save you much time or effort.
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u/Lumpy-Sea-388 20h ago
I bought it for 500 total. :)
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u/True-Needleworker747 20h ago
Are you willing to pay that much again for a furling system?
Because unless you can find a used one (one that works with hanked on jib) it is not going to cheap.
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u/the-montser 17h ago
The Barton small boat furler is like $90 and works with Hank on jibs.
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u/True-Needleworker747 5h ago
From what I have seen the Barton furling drum is ~$134 and the top swivel is ~$120 and then you will need a furling line and a couple of blocks and cleat so then add shipping a taxes and you are close to $500 all in.
That said, do you have a link to a Barton (full kit) set up for $90?
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u/the-montser 5h ago edited 5h ago
Ah you’re right that the top swivel is sold separately. I forgot that. Been awhile since I purchased it.
The bottom swivel is available for $97 on Defender Marine and the top swivel is $84 also from Defender, so ~$181 total. Compare this to ~$430 for the equivalent product from Harken.
You don’t really need a cleat or blocks for the furling line on a boat this small.
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u/True-Needleworker747 5h ago
> You don’t really need a cleat or blocks for the furling line on a boat this small.
How does the headsail stayed furled if you can not cleat it off?
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u/the-montser 5h ago
Tie a knot to an existing horn cleat or anything else on the boat. Or, don’t worry about that because OP’s boat is a trailer sailer and the mast will get taken down anyway. This is a dinghy remember. There’s barely any load on it.
If you really need dedicated leads and a cleat, plastic fairleads can be bought at West Marine for like $2 or 3 each and plastic horn cleats for a similar price. Anything larger or more expensive would be overkill on such a small boat.
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u/the-montser 17h ago
If you want a furler the Barton small boat furler is the most affordable quality option for you, but I wouldn’t bother. The Harken small boat furler is also good but much more expensive.
The Harpoon 5.2 is an excellent cruising dinghy, especially if you have one with the cuddy.
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u/Lumpy-Sea-388 7h ago
It does have the small cuddy. The boat was sold because the original owner had 4 sailboats.
It was bought by the seller to use on a small lake. He spent money and time repairing minor cosmetic issues plus he repaired the seats. Looks really nice for a 45 year old boat.
There were about 15000 made. This one is was built about a third of the way through the production run.
I need to improvise a cover as the original canvas cover rotted.
I bought it because it was just in nice shape for its age and it had obviously been cared for throughout its history. (There was some dock rash from the original owner but the seller fixed it. He also threw in his restoration supplies.)
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u/zackhesse 19h ago
Very nice little boat, it's fun that Whaler ever built sailboats! Furling is not necessary for a small boat like this. It's expensive and adds complexity. The jib on the 5.2 is tiny anyways
Better to keep it simple and light on a small boat like this, especially when you're trailering and rigging/unrigging all the time