Boom roller reefing.

[Rabbie]

My Snapdragon has what I assume is a standard boom roller reefing (no makers name etc). It has suddenly jammed solid and refuses to move despite lots of lubricant. before I attempt a dismantling, is there anything specifically difficult in doing so?. Thanx.

 

[Guest]

Most Snappies had a Barton roller mechanism .... the oine with cranked handle inserted into side of bronze gear block.

This block should be a simple 90 degree worm and gear drive.

Usually there is a small hole in the top for oil ... to keep it lub'd. You could try forcing a WD40 tube into that hole and giving it a good blast out ... or with easing oil. Leave it for a while ... then try again. If it frees with that - then you must oil it with proper 3 in 1 ... as WD40 / Easing oils are drying agents - regardless of what it says on the tin !!

 

[Poignard]

Pity this didn't happen sooner; I gave away one of these mechanisms plus two handles!

If the previous man's suggestion doesn't do the trick you could take the boom off and immerse the mechanism in a bucket of paraffin. Let it soak for a while to get cleaner. Then you will be able to see how it is put together and what is wrong with it. Expect wear, corrosion, damage due to previous repairers etc.

ps. I replaced roller reefing with traditional reefing [slab reefing they call it now], much simpler and the sail sets better when reefed.

 

[Rabbie]

As I said in my post, I have done all that but she is solid. It was the mechanics of dismantling and any likely problems in doing so that I was enquiring about. Thanks.

 

[Avocet]

Avocet had one but although the worm gear was brass (bronze?) the big driven gear (that was attached to the boom and made it revolve) was made of "Tufnol" or some similar reinforced plasticky stuff and it had stripped. They're very simple to take apart but I decided to bin the assembly and convert to slab reefing. HONESTLY, it was the best mod I ever made to the boat! I never realised just how much difference the shape of the main could make when reefed. It felt like a different boat!

I'll never go back to roller main reefing as long as I live!

 

[Lakesailor]

I've hd roller reefing on the current boat and the last boat. In 4 years I've used it once. To be honest it made the ride easier, but I can't be arsed. I'd rather play the mainsheet dinghy-style.

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
convert to slab reefing

[/ QUOTE ] I'll second that, but some boats/systems do seem to be Ok with roller reefing. The Berwick I crew has a through mast system which works reasonably well. The mains'l is cut fairly flat so the sail shape is Ok when reefed too.

With slab reefing you can retain a decent kicker fitting, rather than using clawrings or improvisations, and good tension along the foot and you do not suffer from boom droop