Hey Tom,

Their gear is awesome, I think the electric Reckmann furlers I've used are likely the only buttons I've ever pushed that never failed to do their job... But they are the gear of choice on many super yachts, that seems to be their target market, so I don't see them offering a line of 'Economy' automatic furlers for the rest of us, and I think such pushbutton convenience will remain the province of the more well-heeled among us for awhile, yet...

How large was that boat, Tom? To my eye, it looks to be of fairly modest size (given that there seems to be no provision for anchoring), those things might be a bit of overkill, perhaps? And, if "sleek" is what you're after, it's tough to beat a more conventional furler with the drum placed below deck level, giving a very clean look without the clunky, Rube-Goldberg look of all those hoses and fittings...

Is there an anchor on that boat? One of those clever but needlessly complex cantilevered affairs that rises up and flops forward from beneath the deck at the push of a button? Pete Linwick from Florida Rigging and Hydraulics, who many here should recall from the Old Days of the CWBB, likes to say about push buttons on yachts: "They're what keeps us in business..."

best regards,

Jon