Installing new furler while on the water - advice please !

[macbeth]

Due to circumstances beyond my control, and measurements I don't trust, the only option I see is to assemble and erect/install a new Hood 235 furler (which has little tolerance for error in construction) with the mast up (not yet done, but must be soon, due to marina requirements) and the boat on the water, at the slip (which it already is). All I could do prior to stepping the mast is to fit a new approximate length plus forestay to the top shackle. The rest of it will have to be just tied off at the deck level of the keel-stepped mast. I'm not worried about not having a forestay when stepping the mast as it's keel-stepped and I can temporarily use the main halyard as a forestay. (I think i will be needing the genoa halyard to haul up the furler some how.)

Some of my concerns:

1) Sliding 6' long extrusions up the forestay a) How to hold them up while work is in progress, b) How to avoid them going overboard due to slippery fingers !

2) Transitioning from getting/having one extrusion in place to the next.

3) How to haul the furler extrusions up the forestay.

The upper end of the forestay is a swaged eye. The bottom end will be a Sta Lok.

Any general constructive advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Jim Cate]

Most folks assemble the furler on the dock and then hoist the complete assembly up and attach it at the top, then the bottom, then tension it.

And that is how I have done it a couple of times...

Cheers,

Jim

[macbeth]

How do you avoid terribly bending the chain of extrusions ?

If I could do that, I might, but did you see my point of not having reliable measurements ?

[conachair]

Originally Posted by macbeth

Due to circumstances beyond my control, and measurements I don't trust, the only option I see is to assemble and erect/install a new Hood 235 furler (which has little tolerance for error in construction) with the mast up (not yet done, but must be soon, due to marina requirements) and the boat on the water, at the slip (which it already is). All I could do prior to stepping the mast is to fit a new approximate length plus forestay to the top shackle. The rest of it will have to be just tied off at the deck level of the keel-stepped mast. I'm not worried about not having a forestay when stepping the mast as it's keel-stepped and I can temporarily use the main halyard as a forestay. (I think i will be needing the genoa halyard to haul up the furler some how.)

Some of my concerns:

1) Sliding 6' long extrusions up the forestay a) How to hold them up while work is in progress, b) How to avoid them going overboard due to slippery fingers !

2) Transitioning from getting/having one extrusion in place to the next.

3) How to haul the furler extrusions up the forestay.

The upper end of the forestay is a swaged eye. The bottom end will be a Sta Lok.

Any general constructive advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Was a while ago but I rigged mine solo, 33' boat. Didn't like the possibility of bending it by assembling it on the deck then lifting so did it one piece at a time. From memory, rigged a line from the mast head to probably one of the anchor roller cheek plates to support the furler on the way up. Attached the forestay at the mast head. Mast steps help an awful lot
Then attached the forestay halyard to the top of the first section plus a short piece of line between that and the temporary supporting line. Then just added one piece at a time. Can't remember if there were more attachments between the furler and the supporting line, maybe it was stiff enough with just the one at the top. But it worked OK, small set of steps might be handy to do the attachments between each section 6' off the deck.
Hope that makes some sort of sense, good luck.

[Kettlewell]

Here is what I would do. Use any old wire stay around to put your mast up as it should be, but with just a wire stay, and to keep things safe and secure. You might use the existing stay, or some old piece of wire lieing around a boatyard. Tune rig, make measurements, take down stay keeping mast up with auxiliary haliards, etc. Double check measurements of stay on ground before cutting new stay and roller furling system. Erect new system. Measure twice (or more), cut once! When something is critical like that I often measure a couple of times, then take a break while doing something else, and come back and measure a couple of more times. If they all match, you are good to go. If something is wrong, start over.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by macbeth

How do you avoid terribly bending the chain of extrusions ?

If I could do that, I might, but did you see my point of not having reliable measurements ?

Well, the foil sections are pretty strong and with some care it isn't a problem. This is how all the riggers that I know do it, sometimes with a couple of chaps helping support it during the more horizontal moments.

KEttelwells description of the measuring technique is correct, BTW... lots of measuring, little cutting!

And FWIW, we have even done this (remove broken forestay and furler, take ashore by floating on a dinghy and several borrowed resort kayaks, build and install new stay, take back out and re install on boat) while hanging on an exposed mooring near Santo, Vanuatu. Doing it at a dock is easy!

Good luck

Jim

[zumsel]

There is a nice video on vimeo about a guy installing a HARKEN furler with the mast stepped while the boat is at the slip.

(HD) Harken Cruising Furler: Pt 2 - Rigging on Vimeo

[Meandercp]

The Alado furler is installed the way you are describing. They recommend tying a spare halyard to the bottom section using a rolling hitch and lift it just enough to be able to install the next section - just reach up and slide it down before it gets out of reach. To make sure the lifted sections don't fall while getting the next sections ready, clamp channel locks onto the stay beneath the lifted sections and allow them to rest on it.

When you get to the last section, make sure you have the installed sections up to where you want it. You can then cut the last section to the exact length needed, install it, the drum and then the Sta Lock fitting. The Alado instructions say to get a rough measurement of the length before starting to make sure you are not cutting the last section to a length of less than a couple of feet. If it turns out that you might have to, cut a foot or two off the top piece before raising it.

Good luck.

[roverhi]

When I replaced my headstay with a ProFurl Furler on it, brought down the furler and stay together. Used my Mast Climber to go to the mast head, tied the jib halyard around the stay, pulled the pin and went back to the deck. Got a friend to walk the deck end furler out along the dock while I supported the stay as I slowly lowered it via the halyard. It worked with two people but a third would have been nice to help support the stay as it came down.

Once of the dock, cut the stay and disassembled the furler sections. Made up a new stay with new 316 1x19 wire and Norseman terminals. Once it was all back together with the furler foils, hauled the stay with curler back up to the mast head with the help of a friend once again using the jib halyard. Then I climbed back to the mast head and inserted the pin. Went back down to the deck and installed the lower end of the furler/stay and tightened up the turn buckle.

Should have mentioned, slacked off the back stay to give me plenty of length to work with the headstay. Made it easy to pull the pins on the headstay without messing with the furler turnbuckle.

[Jim Cate]

Another FWIW:

When we had to replace a broken forestay in Vanuatu I was able to do so without disassembling the furler. Removed the drum and bottom Sta-Lok which exposed about a foot of the stay. Unlaid the old wire back about 8 inches and cut off the center core of the 1x19 wire. On the new wire I did the reverse --unlaid a similar length but cut off the outer strands, leaving only the core sticking our. Brought the two wires together and re-laid the outer strands of the old wire around the core of the new. Made a very tight seizing around the "splice" area, and tested to see if I could pull them apart. Seemed to hold up to maybe 10 lbs pull, which I reckoned was enough to pull the new wire up through the foil... and it did so! Put on the appropriate Sta-Loks, reassembled the drum and we were done.

All this was done on the front lawn at the Aorie Island resort, to the amusement of a bunch of sunburned tourists.

Cheers,

Jim