Remove, inspect, and reinstall Hood Seafurl 810

[AZ-Oldguy]

I have my Genoa on a Hood Seafurl 810. I took the sail down for repairs, and would like to remove the furler for inspection of it and the stay. the boat is an endurance 35 cutter, so I am not worried about losing my mast but I would appreciate any advice or cautions from members who might have done this job themselves.

Glenn

[AZ-Oldguy]

Just to clarify, I hope to confirm that I can slide the furler and related of foil parts and bearing assemblies down the head stay taking it apart length by lengthas I remove it from the bottom of the head stay. I am hoping I don't need to lower the whole thing down from the top of the mast first, which would involve being up at the top of the mast. If you have any experience in doing this I would love to hear from you

Sent from my SM-G920T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Blue Stocking]

You will have to remove the entire assembly from the boat. The dogbone section joiners have to have the rivets punched thru in order to get each foil section down, and off the headstay. At least, my 900 series that I converted from LD to SL worked this way, iirc.

[AZ-Oldguy]

Hi Blue Stocking, Thanks for replying. I spoke to Marty at Pompanette, and she said I could drill out those rivets with a 3/16 drill and take the sections apart one at a time. The bag of new rivets are about $42. She suggested taking it all apart, and inspecting so I can just order once.
When you took yours all down in one piece, did you need to get to the top of the mast to lower the top down, or were you able to slide the whole thing down the head stay over the bottom turnbuckle, and somewhere off to the side or bow, so you could get it down without bending it? and how did you support the middle of the long foil? It is tempting to save all the drilling and hammering of rivets, plus the cost. But I couldn't take it home in one piece, and have no where to store it at the boat.
Glenn

[boatman61]

Do NOT take it down in one piece.. chances are you'll need to order at least one new section that bent..
Remove all the slides then the drum.. helped someone do this in Sardinia.. a neighbour boat that I'd got to know hired a guy to come and do it.. after watching this idiot attack it with a drill, lump hammer and screwdriver I went over before he caused more damage and showed him how the drum came apart and the way to remove the links without destroying anymore slides..

[AZ-Oldguy]

Hi Boatman, Thanks for your reply.

I'm trying to follow you, but I am not quite sure what you mean by "links" and "slides". The Seafurl installation manual refers to "Plain and "feed" "extrusions".

So by Links are you referring to the splice pieces? and by slides, do you mean the feed extrusions?

The extrusions are joined with "Splice pieces" and there is a "luff bearing at each joint, I think at the bottom of each extrusion. The joint is made with rivets, and I believe there is silicone added at each splice. The rivets would need to be drilled out.


The instructions in the manual to adjust the Head-stay turnbuckle (on page 11 of the 810 SL installation manual) tell me to disconnect the drive unit assembly and slide it up over the Feed extrusion, I see how this is done.

Is it correct that then I can slide each extrusion down through the Drive unit Assembly, taking them apart one at a time, until they are all down and off the head-stay, and then lower the drive unit assembly down last? Do the extrusions all fit over the turnbuckle?

I hope this is what you mean. I apologize for being a bit slow at this, but I am the kind of guy who needs to visualize each step.

Glenn

[AZ-Oldguy]

Successfully removed.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by AZ-Oldguy

Successfully removed.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Have just seen this since my reply earlier. What removal procedure did you use. Having a wooden spar, which I have the facility to remove and repaint every 5 years, I have removed mine from the boat in 1 piece 4 or 5 times. The assembly is flexible enough to come down without damage ! Sorry Boaty !!

[TommmD]

Hi Guys, I know this is an old post, but looking to tap your knowledge. My Seafurl 810 is intermittently binding half way thru a roll. Works fine for days at a time, then becomes a wrestling match. I don't mind working on it, just want to be confident I'm fixing the right problem.

If I follow the thread above, getting the sections down without removing the stick requires drilling out each rivet (3/16" drill bit, thankyou very much). replace the bearings (at each joint?), new rivets as it goes up.

22 year old furler, I've owned the boat now 3 years, I'm sure its all original.

[AZ-Oldguy]

DONT DRILL. the rivets punch out. You will need new ones. Pricey. Call Marty at Pompanette.
+18138846441 to order parts and get advice.

[AZ-Oldguy]

It is impossible to drill out the rivets without buggering the soft aluminum of the foil sections, but a small punch will easily drive out the center ant the rivet comes right out.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Practical way to do this takes 2+ guys. One at the masthead, to slowly lower the stay & furler (together, as 1 integral unit). And one on the dock to walk the drum end of the furler down the dock as the stay & furler are lowered. Which, it helps to have a 3rd guy when you get to about the last 1/3 of the furler/stay being lowered. So that he can work together with guy #2 to carefully move everything onto the dock, & lay it down sans kinks, etc.

[UNCIVILIZED]

EDIT: While you have the unit on the horizontal, replace every part subject to wear that you can (within reason). Unscrew, clean, & reinstall all fasteners using either Blue Loctite, or Durlac. Inspect, under a microscope, all of the end terminals on the wire, especially the upper one. Along with replacing clevis pins, & ring pins, etc. Plus, of course, service all of the bearings, & other bits which can't be accessed without the stay/furler being off of the mast.

And since it sounds as if it's been quite a few years since the rig had any work done to it, consider just replacing the headstay. As with furlers on them, they tend to wear out about 3x as fast as your other shrouds & stays. Which if you're on the fence, seriously inspect the wire where it enters the end terminals, as this is usually where failures occur. The upper one/end in particular.

Also, dye penetrant, super fine wet dry sand paper, & a pocket microscope from www.BrionToss.com are your new best friends. In that they allow you to take a much better look at the condition of your rigging bits.

However, with stays, you also want to check them via tacticle & audible means. By feeling for any flaws in the metal bits by using various parts of your fingernails. And flexing the stay, especially at & near the ends, while listening for the sounds of any broken strands, which tend to make themselves heard when the stay is flexed.

This actually works for the entire stay, & is helpful in that it's common for stays to rot from the inside out. With the inner wires falling prey to crevice corrosion, as salt lodges in between the internal strands of the wire, & does nasty things to it.


PS: Link plates & tangs at the stay's bottom end are also fav's for corrosion or metal fatigue to attack. Ditto the tangs up high, athough they're in a slightly less harsh environment than the ones at the bow which are regularly soaked or submerged.

[KeithBoutte]

If anyone is interested in selling this one part out of the Hood 810 furler drum, it’s the little oval looking part that lets the drum free wheel and I think the continuous line rides on?

[burnhad]

If you are in Florida, I've replaced the Hood Seafurl 810 on my 1990 Catalina 28.5 and have parts available. I was having difficulty furling my jib with the single line system and needed something that worked for me while singlehandling. You can PM me on Facebook at david.burnham60 as I don't always get back to the Forum often. 843-nine 0 six-8637