Plastimo 608-S drum refurb

[DownWest]

We had great 'fun' with one of these... If the bearings are steel, lube them, if plastic, don't. One thing we found, the foil section changed and top swivels for the earlier ones no longer available, so ours is a mix of the original plastic housing and a stainless tube on the foil, very much a one off.

 

[joséjones]

@chris-s here’s a link to the manual I downloaded. I do note that my fuller is the older model that is illustrated earlier in this thread but the manual seem pretty close to what I have. The main difference is that the sections of the older one are riveted together whereas the manual describes foil sections being held with screws.

https://palby.dk/manualer/Plastimo/Rulleforstag 406-608-810 S.pdf

 

[joséjones]

Just for fun, here’s a photo of mine before the clean

 

[Marlingschap]

Hi Folks, I too am about to service my 608-S furler whilst re-rigging my boat. I really want to service this unit so that it continues to perform well for the next 5-10 years but note there is a 609 model now available from Plastimo. Is it worth upgrading for any reason thats not come out of this thread? Cheers
Rick

 

[chris-s]

ultimately I guess it depends on the state of yours and your budget. I did mine a month or so ago, the drum benefitted from a strip and clean (watch all those loose balls!). The swivel was what really needed attention. Previously I had flushed out the bearings with hot soapy water but it would still cause problems so with it off the boat I stripped it completely, removing the bearings and found loads of gunky old grease inside. Replacement bearings were cheap, so after a good clean and reassembly it feels as good as new.

 

[Marlingschap]

Thanks Chris, mines been working fine but I’m re-rigging soon and hope the whole thing seperates easily from the forestay and I can thread the new wire up through the foils ok.

 

[DownWest]

Thanks Chris, mines been working fine but I’m re-rigging soon and hope the whole thing seperates easily from the forestay and I can thread the new wire up through the foils ok.

Just a note, on the early one we rehashed, the forestay was a bit twisted at the top swage, so we replaced it. We had to drill out the rivets and seperate all the foil sections, as there is a nylon piece that acts as a bearing at each join. You cannot just pull the stay out of the foil.

 

[Marlingschap]

Just a note, on the early one we rehashed, the forestay was a bit twisted at the top swage, so we replaced it. We had to drill out the rivets and seperate all the foil sections, as there is a nylon piece that acts as a bearing at each join. You cannot just pull the stay out of the foil.

Thank you for this, I believe my forestay is similarly twisted too. I’m expecting to do the same as you and regard this as a positive bit of maintenance for the furler.

 

[Steve@Capella]

My bearings are made up from alternating Delrin and steel balls with no lubrication or grease which is exactly as I understand it is supposed to be.

Hi Chris, I've attached a picture of my furler, and I presume this is the same as you describe with the loose Delrin and stainless balls. Unfortunately, the lower plastic bearing had seized on the forestay and I had to strip the drum in situ and watch while all those little balls ran out of the scuppers and over the hard. I've got replacements ready, but you mention that they alternate, do you mean one bearing is all stainless and the other Delrin, or is it stainless - Delrin - stainless around each bearing race?

 

[Steve@Capella]

The missing image...

 

[chris-s]

Fortunately mine just fell onto the garage floor, much easier to find them all!

Yes, they alternate in each race as stainless, delrin, stainless, delrin etc. I can’t recall for sure but there might not be an even number so you might end up with two stainless or delrin ones together and they don’t fill the entire race, there remains a little gap. At least that was my experience.

Chris

 

[Steve@Capella]

Fortunately mine just fell onto the garage floor, much easier to find them all!

Yes, they alternate in each race as stainless, delrin, stainless, delrin etc. I can’t recall for sure but there might not be an even number so you might end up with two stainless or delrin ones together and they don’t fill the entire race, there remains a little gap. At least that was my experience.

Chris

Thanks for clearing that up for me Chris.

 

[Seoras]

@AndrewL , I know this is a really old thread but I'm interested to know what lube you ended up selecting for you furler bearings?

I have been restoring my Plastimo 608-S and when I opened it up, the previous owner had packed it full of axle grease and it was pretty foul. I have cleaned it all off and the bearings spin like a dream but I have had conflicting reports about what to lubricate it with. Several people have said that they are Torlon bearings and should not be lubricated at all, whereas others have suggested winch grease or lithium grease. The bearings may be synthetic but the race they run in seems to be steel so I would imagine that some form of lubricant would be required although the heavy grease that I cleaned off just seems to solidify in salt water.

Finally, I have found an assembly and service manual on the web if anybody is still looking for one.

Cheers,

joe

Hi can you send me a link o the service manual please

 

[chrishscorp]

ultimately I guess it depends on the state of yours and your budget. I did mine a month or so ago, the drum benefitted from a strip and clean (watch all those loose balls!). The swivel was what really needed attention. Previously I had flushed out the bearings with hot soapy water but it would still cause problems so with it off the boat I stripped it completely, removing the bearings and found loads of gunky old grease inside. Replacement bearings were cheap, so after a good clean and reassembly it feels as good as new.

Took our boat out for its first sail in basically 9 months, the furler is a major issue, sail furls in but has to be unwound by hand, i am assuming its all cruded up inside the base ? the slight issue is we are going on a fortnights cruise on the 2nd July so any pointers you can give would be Very helpfull.