Rebuilding a roller furler?

[TreblePlink]

Having overshot my Rhoades 28 restoration budget already, I have to economize in a couple areas. So I now have a drum, and foils from an older roller furler. Picture below. If you are familiar with this model, I'm all ears.


1. Is there supposed to be a swivel installed at the top of the jibstay, or is the drum and foil supposed to rotate around the steel cable?


2. What kind of bearings are used in the better furlers?


Thanks.

[roverhi]

You need a swivel at the top or the halyard will wrap around the stay when the sail is rolled in. Would cause all sorts of problems and require regular trips to the masthead if you could get the sail rolled in.

Most lower drums use some form of plastic ball bearings. Should be able to order replacements from any of the mfg's if they are the same size as your's. ProFurl uses steel ball bearings in sealed races. They claim they are better for reefing under pressure but leaking seals can cause problems. My boat came with a ProFurl furler that wasn't new when I bought the boat in '06 and it still works as advertised

[TreblePlink]

Emailed the guy at Cruising Design International, and parts are not available for what he thinks is the model R8. This thing has an integral halyard and the whole thing rotates around the stay (except for the bottom piece) - fits over the turnbuckle.


If anyone know where I might find parts for this, I'm all ears.

[TreblePlink]

I think I can fabricate the missing and broken parts - I hope those of you with roller furler experience might add some guidance... The manufacturer supplied a user manual, but few other mechanical details.



The drum is cast aluminum in two halves. At the base, it's clamped to the bottom of the stay turnbuckle. The stationary part is Delrin, about 4 inches diameter and runs inside a groove in the aluminum drum to form the bearing. Apparently this is unlubricated. I am not a bearing expert by any means, but Delrin / aluminum ? seems like a lot of friction to me ... should I install a grease fitting?





The foils are stacked over the 1/4" forestay and coupled together with delrin inserts of unknown design. The whole shebang rotates around the stay and has an integral steel halyard.


If you've used anything similar, I'm all ears.


Chris

[Nicholson58]

Many working marinas have junk parts or bins and piles of rejected old stuff. You might get lucky or even find another model that is complete or serviceable.

The foil spins on the stay and there are plastic bearings in the foil.

The halyard slides outside the stay and also spins with a good bearing so the line doesn’t twist around the foil or stay.

Good exploded views on the Pro Furl site that can at least explain stuff.