Repair and removal of Furlex swivel

AkselJensen

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I will attach the 'exploded' parts diagram. Might be useful before the actual item 'explodes' over the deck.

Excuse me for resurrecting an old thread. I wanted to thank Ruffles for the diagram. I haven't found anything else about the Furlex B mk1 on the web. I also wanted to ask a question:

The thing is, two different size balls came out of my mk1, and I didn't notice. I have only 13 large balls, so the little ones are definitely for B10 and B16 which seem to take 39 balls each. Left are 15 little ones. The 13 large balls fit B20 and B20 will take 16 little ones. I may have dropped a few balls, but my best guess is that the large balls are for B20 and the little balls are for B4. I can't access B4 because B8 won't come off due to B19 which I hesitate to remove because I will most likely ruin my stay. I hope I can put the balls back into the grease hole at the top of B8. That's where they came out before I noticed the different sizes.

I will probably be able to figure out the correct sizes as i fit B20, but I'd like to know in advance which balls go where, and how many balls I need.

I regret taking this thing apart. It's only really possible when changing the stay. I should have cleaned it in situ.
 

chewbacca

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B20 13 balls at 6mm B4 15balls at 5mm B16 39balls at 5mm and B10 39 balls at 5mm. B8 is effectively the shaft that the furler rotates around and is held in place by the spiral clip B32.I have the same furler but with large o rings in place of B16 and B10 but all the rest remains the same. If you want to refurbish the unit id suggest removing it from the boat i did it last january. The spiral clip removed itself and the furler basically dismantled .If you remove B1 by removing the 2 screws B7 and lift B1 up with the foil enough you can access B4 and return the ball bearings.Remove the sail to make it lighter. To remove the furler from the forestay it needs to come down.
 

AkselJensen

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B20 13 balls at 6mm B4 15balls at 5mm B16 39balls at 5mm and B10 39 balls at 5mm.
Thank you for confirming the sizes. As you say I can sort of access B4, but I can't see the races B3 and B5 let alone clean them. After removing the two screws B7 I can slide B8 and B1 far enough apart that the two nuts B2 can come out. With B2 nuts removed B4 balls can enter/exit the furler.

Today I reassembled the furler. I think one more B4 ball appeared while I was messing with it. B4 ended up with 16 balls. Could that be true? I had some difficulty sliding B8 and B1 back together after re-inserting B2 nuts. I rotated B1 and B8 against each other and managed. Now I worry that balls may have gone somewhere inside B1/B8 that they were not supposed to. I hope that B5 prevents balls from slipping past even with B8 and B1 slid apart for nut insertion. I also hope that the race B3 did not drop down so that the balls are rolling around on top of it. Fingers crossed. :)

I have a lot of work ahead of me before I can try out the furler. The boat is a project.

Cheers
 

chewbacca

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Definately listed as 15 balls B5 the bottom race should be visible if you can raise B1 high enough chances are the top race B3 is actually lodged in the underside of B1 if the furler is still on the boat the balls cant go anywhere unless B5 is raised high enough to allow them to slip down and they would fall into a void in B8 and do no harm. I think someone has possibly added an extra ball bearing at some point if theres room on the race. Coat B5 with grease attatch the balls then lower B1 probably with the top race B3 attatched. As it sits if B5 hasnt been lifted up the ball bearings cant pass its 35mm long so would have to deliberately lifted out to enable the ball bearings to pass
 

AkselJensen

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Thank you for clearing these things up. I can only barely slide B1 and B8 far enough apart to remove the nuts. My furler may have less clearance than yours. I'm less worried about stray balls now. It's just weird that I had 16 balls all of a sudden. Perhaps I miscounted. I'll figure it out if I ever get to replace the stay and/or furler.

Cheers
 

Deathnuget

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I think the problem was that the bearings had become oval over the years. It was a pain of a job but we managed to do it without removing the forestay
 

Deathnuget

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Thank you for clearing these things up. I can only barely slide B1 and B8 far enough apart to remove the nuts. My furler may have less clearance than yours. I'm less worried about stray balls now. It's just weird that I had 16 balls all of a sudden. Perhaps I miscounted. I'll figure it out if I ever get to replace the stay and/or furler.omegle chat room

Cheers
I think someone has possibly added an extra ball bearing at some point if theres room on the race.
 
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