I've never even heard of a furling line chafing through. I'd suspect something a bit odder than just moving one of the blocks - more like how the line enters the drum, perhaps binding against some flashing at a certain point. That boat's owner should certainly examine the furler and operation in great detail.
Anyway, continuous line: The ones I've experience with work a bit like a self-tailing winch with the line passing around what amounts to a circular jam cleat. It always takes more force to utilize and means two lines along the deck, albeit no need to coil anything when the jib's rolled up. The ones I've used were less satisfactory to me than conventional roll-up spool drums.
But it's just personal and anecdotal with me. There may be objective info out there. Perhaps the fact that there are more drum types and drums are used by the more reliable brands is a hint.
G'luck
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