Harken Furler/ Headstay Question

[ukrsindicat]

Hey, guys, I got a headstay/furler related question.
Boat: 1968 Newport 30'
I have bought used Harken MKII and it is an adventure to figure out how will I put this together with a new headstay.
I used a caliper and discovered the following measures on this Harken:
1. Clevis hole opening is 0.38"(so I assume it is 3/8"). I hope this Harken is not metric.
2. I took Drum Assembly aparts and discover a piece of the old wire that was secured to drum by the swageless fitting. This old wire was measured at 0.225(so I guess it is 7/32)
3. Foil connectors. I measured the wire holes inside the connectors to have a clearance of 0.26".
I couldn't find any manuals on the MKII. I was only able to find the Parts list. I looked around the Harken website and downloaded a manual for MKIII-0 which is somewhat similar(looking at the setup).

I am also planning on replacing my headstay. My current headstay is 7/32, however it it old and couple strands are busted.

So I have some questions:
1. Will I be able to fit 7/32 wire into above mentioned foil connectors?
2. I want to take this furler aparts to clean and lube it as it collected some salt and . What do I use to clean it and lube it?
3. I prefer to use swageless terminal to secure the top of my headstay to the mast head. What would be a better fitting to use?
4. Considering how my mast head is setup(see a picture), will I need to install halyard restrainer? Such as this Harken Halyard Restrainer http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CIoBEPMCMAI
Thank you for any opinions

[GordMay]

See ➥ Harken: Identifying Harken Furlers

[engele]

What is the nicopressed wire on your head stay? My masthead has a similar angle and we needed a halyard restrainer. I would do it when it's easy, before you have a problem.

The best way to answer your question is to take one of the plastic two piece bushings and see if it fits around your wire when snapped together. If it fits snugly, but still moves fine, my guess is that it would be fine (if not correct). The best thing to do is to just replace your head stay with wire that matches the stuff in the foil. Especially if you have some wires broken out.

Buy a new head stay in the gauge the furler wants and have the top fitting swaged on and use a mechanical fitting at the bottom for when you cut to length. Also buy yourself an extra toggle or two in case you measure and come up a bit short. You probably won't need it, but you will be glad you have it if you do.

[Pblais]

I would agree with engele.

Also about the restrainer. I've wrapped a halyard before. You don't want that to happen. It will unlay the forestay! It may not go boing! It will be very weak at the very best. The restrainer just makes a nice angle to the forestay. They cost about $60 for the large and they seem to only have the large in stock. The Harken is about the only one I could find. Lots of boats should have them and there is nothing wrong if you add one. There could be no downside. You only need one when you do and it only may be one time but you'll never know when. The time I wrapped it the boat was already quite old and it never wrapped before. If you are up there fitting a forestay you just need to tap some screws in the mast for the restrainer.

Profurl's may not need one as they have something built into the furler but Harkens don't.

For cleaning they don't require grease, just fresh water. The marlon bearings should flush with rain. A hose to the lower unit will be a good thing each time you come in from salt water.

[GordMay]

Harken's otherwise excellent furler/Reefer are well known for suffering halyard wrap; for which the aforementioned restrainer is the answer.