Category Archives: Fiji

The Final Rigging Repair Part III

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Our rigging work is almost complete. The last part of our rigging work is the replacement of our furler and foils. 

Our furler is 24+ years old and has been limping along for awhile.  We’ve known we would need to replace it but we were hoping to do so in New Zealand (in 2 months).

We assumed we would have more resources available to us in NZ as opposed to Fiji.  But, we’ve been pleasantly surprised.

What does a Furler do?

A furler is a mechanical system on a sailboat that rolls a sail around a stay or into a hollow mast or boom. Furlers allow us to safely and easily deploy, release, and stow the genoa from the cockpit.  This eliminates the need to go onto the deck.

Sugar Shack has a forestay rod that has a multi purpose.  Part of the furler package is 18m of foils which will go on the solid rod we use as a forestay.  The leach of the genoa sail (front end) is threaded through the foils to attach it to the forestay.  The foils turn which allows the sail to be deployed or furled. 

The shaft on the furler has worn down over the years causing the bearing to not sit properly. 

So, the furler still had a little “give” or “wobble” even though we replaced the bearing.  

Ordering the Furler

Matt wanted the C430 x 18m Profurl Furler: included link plates 55mm + SS locks C430 and a threaded pin DIA 25mm (63/64).  

We placed the order with Wichard Pacific in Australia on Friday morning. Both parcels arrived and cleared customs on Tuesday afternoon. Pretty darn impressive!

Removing the Old Forestay, Foils, and Furler

Sammy from Westside Rigging first loosened both of side stays.  This action will release tension on the mast and forestay.

Next, Sammy removed the furler (at the bottom by the bow). 

His assistant held the bottom end of the forestay where the furler is located.

Matt then sent Sammy up to the top of the mast to remove the upper portion of the forestay.

The forestay is very long – about 18 meters long. 

We had 3 people in 2 different dinghies and 2 people on board.  

Sammy slowly lowered the top of the forestay as I guided it past the port bow and down  to the dinghy. 

We slowly get the entire forestay off the boat and stretched between the two dinghies to get it to shore.

It took all of us several hours to remove the old foils (which wrap around the forestay rod). 

Evidently, our NZ rigger used 5200 (heavy-duty glue) to lock in the set pins.  The 5200 prevented us from removing the set pins and forced us to cut 3 of the foils in order to get them off.

We donated 6 of our 9 foils and their connectors to another cruiser.

Installing the New Furler and Foils

We received (9) 2 meters foils (18 meters long), connection brackets and our new furler.

Our forestay (headstay) is 12.7mm stainless rod measuring at 17.5 meters long. It is HUGE. 

We laid the forestay out on the grass and tied off the ends to allow us to pull it straight as we worked.

First the foils go on.  This can be tricky as they have to align just right to get on the rod. And on top of that they fit very snugly over the pin that at the end of the rod.

Sammy installed the connectors which connect the foils to each other.

Loctite is placed on the set pins which are used to secure the foils to the connectors.

The top portion of the furler is inserted and then it is time to work on the furler drum. 

The drum is partially installed and will be completed back on the boat. 

Took a bit of fiddling and maneuvering, but  we installed the headstay and new furler!  Yeah!

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events. 

We replaced our furler toward the end of September 2025 in Vuda Marina, Fiji.

In our last blog, we share the experience of replacing our standing rigging side stays in Fiji.

Rigging Repairs & More Damage: Part II

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We noticed a problem with our standing rigging several weeks ago (see Part I Compromised Rigging).  Unfortunately, we were several days away from the closest marina so we had to “baby” our rig until we could replace it.

Vuda Marina

Westside Rigging works out of Vuda Point Marina. Prior to now, we had never had an opportunity to stay at Vuda – always a first for everything.

Our main goal is to replace the side stays and fix the furler so we get to work right away.

Removing the Side stays

Sammy and Theo from Westside Rigging arrived at 0900 and had both side stays off within 45 minutes.  

We decided to upgrade our side stays after learning that Sammy had stronger wire in stock.  So, instead of replacing the side stays with the same 16mm 1×19 wire we went with 34 meters, 16mm dyform 1×25 stainless wire which is 30% stronger! 

In addition, we decided to replace our old turnbuckles with new Regatta R/S stainless turnbuckles. 

I was cleaning the stainless a few hours before they came and encountered a problem.  I was cleaning the port lower gate, opened it, and it fell off in my hand!  For duck’s sake!  Seriously.  The lifeline sheared off right at the pin with no sign of corrosion, rust, or degradation. 

So, Westside Rigging took the port side lower gate to repair it as well.

New, Shiny Gear

Sammy was able to swage the pin at the top of each side stay and swage the stud at the bottom earlier that morning.  He returned to the boat the next day at 10am and had the side stays and the gate installed by 11am.  Super efficient

Not sure if you can tell the difference between the old and new side stays.  The new dyform has wire that is a little flatter where as the old wire is round. 

The image in the lower left corner shows the difference between the two wires as well.

The Furler ‘s Dead

Our ProFurl (NC43LCE) is original to the boat, 2001.  It has lasted a long time!  We thought we could replace the bearings and continue using it for a few more years.  

However, after the near bearings were installed the furler still had wiggle room.  It works, but the bearings will just wear out again with the extra wiggle room.

So, what does that mean?  We have to buy a new furler and while we are at it we will purchase new foils to go on the forestay rod.  Bleeding money here.

Westside rigging did not have this in stock so he connected us with Wichard Pacific in Australia.  We decided to order a Profurl C430 x 18mm furler along with link plates (55mm+ SS Locks C430) and Threaded pin DIA 25mm (63/64). 

The parcels arrived from Australia in less than 1 week.

Stay tuned for Part II: Replacing the Furler

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  We were in Vuda replacing the side stays at the end of August 2025.

Don’t miss out on our blog post “Vatulele: Curiously delightful“

Vatulele Island: Curiously Delightful

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There is a small island called Vatulele Island between Viti Levu (Fiji’s big island) and Kadavu that we’ve always wanted to visit.  Unfortunately, the pass and the narrow strip of waterway to the anchorage are very, very shallow.  Entry into the pass and anchorage requires calm, settled weather, with light winds and little swell.

We left Kadavu at dawn with the hope of arriving the pass during high tide which is a bit tricky as we had a 60 mile trip from Kadavu.  But, lady luck was with us as we arrived at exactly high tide.  

Matt expertly maneuvered Sugar Shack through the pass (shallowest depth we saw was 4.2m) and to our anchorage (shallowest depth we saw was 3.7m).  During low tide we saw 3.2m at the anchorage – just a little bit of the pucker factor.  The bottom is covered in grass so the water is green making it difficult to see what is below you.

The stress was worth it as this is a gorgeous spot!

Vatulele Island Resort

This exclusive resort opened in 1990 and received many accolades including Small Luxury Hotel of the year in 2000 and Fiji’s Best Luxury Hotel in 2005.

In 2012 it closed for refurbishments and supposedly received a U.S. $30 million budget.  However, the owners never started the work and the resort never reopened.

There are ongoing investigations and lawsuits between previous and current owners (Fiji Times article Aug. 2025).

The resort is in total disrepair after 14 years of neglect. 

The large white building is actually a bure that you could rent.  It was a two-story structure with two separate private pools.  Here are photos then and now:

The Vatulele Island Resort website is still active (visit here) as is their Facebook Page (here).

We found the old reception building which still had (3) eMac computers.  The eMac computer came out in 2002 and were discontinued in 2006.  I am sure some Apple enthusiasts would love to get their hands on these relics!

The old restaurant is a complete mess but still had sinks and serving tables.  We also found the one dedicated golf cart (bottom left photo) assigned to the largest bure (above).

Mother Nature has covered the once magnificent bures with vines, trees, and growth. Beach bungalows are almost invisible now.

Anything worth value has been removed from the entire resort including, windows, wiring, fans, and switches.

We had to use a machete to reach most of the bures and got access to 13 of the 19 bungalows. 

The pools which used to have wealthy guests are now filled with tadpoles and frogs.

There is a beautiful little gazebo on the edge of the cliff near the large 2-story white bure. 

We decided it would be the perfect place to enjoy a bottle of Rose during sunset.

Small World

We posted an Instagram reel with some images from Vatulele.  We got a huge surprise when one of our friend’s daughter posted that she had honeymooned here over 20 years ago.  She shared her photos, thank you Keri Basset!

Discovered Treasures

We took a nice long walk along the beach during low tide.  

We continued to the end of the beach and found a little path to the left. 

This path takes you through a little jungle and along the immense rock face of the mountain. 

After 10 minutes we ended up in a cavern between two rock faces and kept going.  We shimmied over the rocks and found a beautiful, turquoise pool.

One rock formation looked a lot like a skull so Matt had to give him a hat to wear.

Interesting links:

Our blog posts run 8-9 weeks behind actual live events. We visited Vatulele around mid-August 2025.

Be sure to read about the beautiful Kadavu waterfalls in our last blog post.