Furlex tight to furl

[YARGESOL]

I have the Furlex 400 on my cat. During the recent voyage we've experienced problem to furl the headsail...even were forced to drop the sail. Arrived to Bermuda we inspected,cleaned and greased the bearing. Top inspection did not show any obstruction either. But even rotating by hands without sail...feeling that someyhing blocks inside. Local mecanic dose not bringing the fresh ideas,but :"change the bearing for $3k". The manual shows only outer casing removal,not the bearing inside.
Any advise greatly appreciated

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by YARGESOL

But even rotating by hands without sail...feeling that someyhing blocks inside.

Firstly, were it me, I'd seriously skip the $3k bearing job offer. Given that you can get a new furler for that kind of coin.

That said, based on the quote from what you wrote, it kind of makes me wonder what's going on with the stay itself, inside of the foil. For example, might there be broken (wire) strands on your headstay. Or perhaps something come adrift inside of the foil which is binding on the stay.

If you haven't looked through the unit's manual, it'd be wise to do so. And or, download & read a copy if you don't have one. Paying attention to any diagnostics section in it.

A couple of other very viable options, are to call Furlex/Selden's tech support line. And also to disconnect your headstay, with the furler in place, & lower it down onto the dock. So that things are in a place where it's a lot easier to inspect, diagnose, & work on it.

And prior to wrenching on anything (or applying any tools to the unit), make sure that you have a full schematic of the unit on hand, so that you don't wind up accidentally setting all of the ball bearings free, or worse.

With that in hand, if it doesn't look too daunting, you might either separate a few sections of the foil so that you can get a partial look at the headstay. Or pull the headstay out of it, if the reinstallation of same isn't a complex process. But again, consult the user & installation manual first.

Also, prior to taking things apart, look things over with a close eye, & make sure that there aren't any parts missing. That, & try having someone rotate the stay by hand, to see if you can detect by sound, where any possible binding might be coming from, inside of the foil.

[barnakiel]

Remove the sail. Remove the line.

Now try by hand.

Does the top unit turn as soon as you twitch the drum?

Try listening to the foil, the sound may travel along it giving maybe some indication of there the friction comes from.

Grab the drum and try forcing it a bit up and down. Any free play? Any small items falling out of the unit?

Usual suspects:
- bearings on lower unit (drum),
- dirt or detached/warped section or an insert gone lose,

I have replaced lower bearings on our furler (different make though). We did it in situ, we had to detach the lower fitting from the bow fitting then we removed the lower portion of the drum, replaced the bearings, greased, sealed. The unit is fine 2 years down the way and some 5k Nm miles on.

Cost of new bearings depends on what you buy. Quality Japanese bearings will last and may cost you less than USD 100. We bought EU made bearings 15 EUR each.

If you go for the job, get all drawings first: look, think, plan. You will be fine.

Let us know what the culprit was.

b.

[YARGESOL]

Thanks barnakiel,...cost of new bearings-you mean separate balls,not assembly? They are available?

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by YARGESOL

Thanks barnakiel,...cost of new bearings-you mean separate balls,not assembly? They are available?

In our furler there are two sets of bearings, one each side of the drum. They looked similar to these:

http://img.directindustry.com/images...84-4332229.jpg

I replaced them as whole kits, not as single balls.

Both bearings and single balls or cylinders are available in various metals and plastics. You can get also separate balls from any blocks manufacturer, e.g. Lewmar or Harken. I used these to fix up blocks. They came in white and brownish-green, I think the difference was their hardness.

If you have a blow up drawing of your unit, it will show how the balls are held together in yours.

b.

[barnakiel]

Very important because possibly overlooked: ours is not a Furlex furler.

Possibly I caused some mess up. If so, apologies.

Furlex may indeed be single balls rather than bearings set in their own casings.

b.

[Cap Erict3]

http://www.selden.fi/pdf/furlex50.pdf

http://sailing.mit.edu/wikiupload/0/...00S_Furler.pdf

The most common issue with a binding furler is halyard wrap. This is caused by poor installation or lack of halyard tension.

The links are to documentation with diagrams, installation instructions and maintenance.

Furlers are fairly simple to install once you start looking at them.




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Looking for another pretty place to work on the boat.

[Sailor Doug]

If halyard was loose or parallel to foil if can bend damage foil extrusion. Start inspection with good binoculars or better go up the stick and examine top of furl.


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[Rhwins]

When I had this problem, it was that the halyard wrapped around the forestay. This occurs when they run parallel with one another. Proper set-up is to have the halyard come in from below the forestay at around 5 degrees to the forestay. I had to add a block to the front of the mast and the problem never reoccurred. Cost less than $100.

[Old Swampy]

If you do release the lower end of the furler, and don't have any other stays forward of the mast, be sure to use your halyards. Attach them to substantial hardware on the bow, and supply tension with your halyard winch(s).

[sepeteus]

Have you made sure that when the jib is out and furling line is coiled to the drum, it needs to be nicely coiled up there and not overlapping. We had that problem and it was very difficult to furl back.

[barnakiel]

Bad news halyard wraps may lead to wire (forestay) damage. If you had a bad wrap, you must go up and check out the upper portion of the wire where it enters the upper swage (or the upper terminal).

b.

[Sailor Doug]

Originally Posted by sepeteus

Have you made sure that when the jib is out and furling line is coiled to the drum, it needs to be nicely coiled up there and not overlapping. We had that problem and it was very difficult to furl back.

Had this problem, I sprayed line with McLube really helps.


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[cabo_sailor]

I'll throw one other idea out although prior posts are pretty thorough. I had a similar problem on a Harken furler, it needed one of the winches to furl it. In my case the forestay was way too loose. After tightening it the problem went away. It's a long shot and you will probably end up following the advice of the others. On the other hand it only takes a moment to grab the furled sail and see how much play there is.

One other question. Does the headsail deploy normally or does it hang up or seem slow?

Rich

[monte]

We have a facnor lx 200 that seems stiffer than it should be. Just a year old and halyard isn't bar tight. I'd rather it a bit tighter but I think it will make furling more difficult. It's actually quite difficult to unfurl. Just adding this post so I can follow up on some of the recommendations.


"I think multihulls require less IQ to sail than a monohull" - Duckwheat