Saturday, October 11, 2014

YouTube

The last couple of months I've started doing YouTube videos instead of blogging. Head over to YouTube and check them out :)

https://www.youtube.com/user/madsdahlke/videos

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Alado furling system review (after 30 days of use)

Alado headsail reefing and furling system

Earlier this year I installed the A2 version of the Alado on my Ballad (30 ft sailboat). For the past 30 days I've been out cruising. It has so far seen wind speeds up to 30 knots. Short version: I'm a huge fan! 

1) The installation was dead simple. It took under 2 hours to install the Alado. 
2) Both durability and performance of the Alado seems to be rock solid. I had no issues furling the headsail in 30 knots of wind.
3) The price seems more than reasonable. At under half the price of a Harken or Furlex unit here in Denmark it's very reasonably priced.

In one of my YouTube videos I mention the Alado (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlIUgG9k4HI&list=UU5xDht2blPNWdVtl9PkDmgA#t=130). My plan is to do another video and blog post after having had the Alado installed for one year and again after two years. Stay tuned.

I have made one minor modification to my Alado. I rounded of the sharp edges of the foil where the sail is feed in between the two foils. See below image (number four).

More information regarding the Alado can be found here: http://www.alado.com/

Alado A2

Working end of my Dyneema halyard.

The drum

Modified foil ends