Anyone had this problem Plastimo 608 ... how did you solve it ?

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Took down furling genny yesterday ... for some reason it was hard to get the foil to rotate ...

Once down it was clear what had happened :

DSCF2109.jpg


The top castellated nut had unscrewed from the main halyard swivel fitting. I was lucky it all came down !!

Looking at it ... I could see a hole in the "nut" that co-incided with a hole in the threaded centre part when fully tightened ...

DSCF2107.jpg


DSCF2106.jpg


But once tightened the hole was half blocked of by the swivel part it held in place ... and if any screw / locking pin inserted would prevent that rotating. So I assume it's a lubricating hole ? There is certainly no mention of this in manual and nothing about it being able to be unscrewed etc.

The only error I can see is that the "cranked" shackle that should be attached to the swivle part is changed by previous owner to a straight shorter shackle .... meaning that halyard hard eye is touching the "nut" ... maybe when hardened up - the halyard is enough to trap in one castelation and unscrew the "nut" ?. I do not have a halyard diverter fitted - the "doughnut" as I have a second line that prevents halyard wrap more effectively ....

halyardssagenny.jpg


So question .. has anyone else had this problem ? Does anyone know where I can get hold of the "cranked shackle" ? to get halyard away from this nut ??
 
I used to have a Snappy that had the same gear. There was a cranked shackle at the top of the swivel. I don't know where to get one but you could ring a good riggers e.g. Fox's 01473 695128 and ask them. Failing that a long shackle might keep the hard eye clear of the collar.
 
The cranked shackle is the answer I think ... as it is designed to hold the halyard clear of the item.

Who knows why previous owner took it off and fitted the short D shackle ? He had a "doughnut" on there - the Halyard diverter - plastic flat round plate - but it was useless as he'd drilled it out and it did nothing. We took it off as everytime you hoisted genny - it jammed as it went up the foil. But obviously it held the halyard out from the "nut" ...

So it's try and find a shackle to bend !! Being in Latvia - that will not be easy ....
 
I had a new gooseneck fitted last week that came with a new shackle so I have a newish long shackle (2" probably) which I could send you (gratis) so PM me if you want it and I'll retrieve it from the boat next weekend.
 
Many thanks for offer ... There is a shop in Riga - which I will contact ... maybe they have an item there ..

Problem is stainless steel is in short supply here now - since Russian suppliers have cut exports to the three states ... otherwise I would get my metal guys to make one for me ...
 
Agreed, the cranked shackle is the answer. I fitted a Plastimo 608 to a previous boat, the swivel became unscrewed the very first time I used it. I had fitted the cranked shackle wrong way round, a point not mentioned in the instructions. Revesing it:- no more problems.
 
By looking at the pictures it looks as though there was once a grub screw or maybe a countersunk screw that held the locking ring to the body. If the fitting is quite old the wear in the threads might be enough to allow the collar to turn past the holes so they don;t line up.
Just a thought!
Rgds
Bob
 
[ QUOTE ]
By looking at the pictures it looks as though there was once a grub screw or maybe a countersunk screw .......

[/ QUOTE ]

If you look closely at the hole in the nut - picture with all complete .. here's a better angle shot :

DSCF2105.jpg


you can just make out INSIDE the swivel part blocking that hole - so any pin / screw into that hole will lock it all up...... preventing its functioning.

I am considetring whether to drill a small hole vertically into the threaded / nut part to insert a small self-tapper and lock it that way ... but care must be to ensure that rotating parts are not caught ...
 
Thanks - thats the confirmation I'm looking for ... so its down to the shackle ...
 
I have the same set-up with the long cranked shackle between the swivel and the halyard. No problems in 7 yrs ownership with the swivel coming undone. Halyard wrapping was a problem at the beginning of the 1st season until I fitted the halyard diverter to the mast and sometimes the furling line would jump out of the drum and wrap it self somehow around the foil until I fitted a shackle to the wall of the drum across the opening as a guide, a tip descibed in this hallowed forum some years ago...

I'd show a couple of pictures but the boat is already out of the water and snuggled up for the winter.

-steve-
 
Had a look at ours, the problem is the small shackle and the eye.
The nut rotates, the centre is stationary, so when you reef the eye is catching in the goove and undoing the nut. There is no hole / grub screw, that looks like a mod by previous owner to get round his other mod.
The bent shackle supplied by Plastimo is to hold it and the connecting shackle from the nut. It should be fitted so the concave face is facing the top fitting.

Does this make sense ?

Brian
 
Cranked shackle etc.

Agree with you .... during this thread - have sat and thought about all long and hard ... sketched all-sorts to see how to get round it .. all comes back to exactly that - the halyard eye catching in the castellations of the nut..... because the shackle doesn't stand the halyard out as the cranked one does.

So now is to source a suitable cranked shackle ... or fitting to do same.
 
Re: Cranked shackle etc.

Since the shackle is listed in the parts of the Plastimo gear you should be able to get one as a replacement part. Seateach have already been mentioned and as agents should be able to get it. That only leaves the problem of the distance between you and Seateach!

I have been reading this thread with interest as an elderly guy who winters his boat (Macwester Rowan) in the yard fitted this gear last year. I'm sure he'll be interested and I'll print the thread out for him I think.

Do you think it would be a good idea to de-grease the threads and use a drop of Loctite when you put it all back together?

Do you think the same would have happened if you had had the halyard diverter fitted above the spar (or the alternative fairlead on the mast)? It's not clear if your second line, to prevent halyard wrap, holds the shackle away from the assembly, or not.
 
SBC
Thought we had been through all this before.
I had the same problem this season, dropped it, cleaned and lubricated it, and dried the threads and a tiny dot of supper glue on the very top thread on inner section tightened it up really quick, "Bingo", No, got gready used gas pliers and a screwdriver through the shackle hole which I managed to snap right off.
Cost me £108 for a new swivel unit from Sea Teach.
If the crancked shackle is fitted the wrong way round it will press against the swivel body and unscrew the top.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
By looking at the pictures it looks as though there was once a grub screw or maybe a countersunk screw .......

[/ QUOTE ]

If you look closely at the hole in the nut - picture with all
complete .. here's a better angle shot :

No they dont come with any hole in the screw cap that hole has been drilled by an owner.
and that shackle and thimble will loosen it

DSCF2105.jpg


you can just make out INSIDE the swivel part blocking that hole - so any pin / screw into that hole will lock it all up...... preventing its functioning.

I am considetring whether to drill a small hole vertically into the threaded / nut part to insert a small self-tapper and lock it that way ... but care must be to ensure that rotating parts are not caught ...

[/ QUOTE ]
 
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