Facnor SD100 furler & Rigging screw or Eye terminals

[aidancoughlan]

Hi all,
I've got a new Facnor SD100 to install. (And I am waiting on a rigger to make up a new forestay for the boat).

I need to tell him whether to fit
(a) eye-to-eye type connections on the forestay (ie. no bottlescrew, or 'turnbuckle' as I think it is called)
or (b) a rigging screw on the bottom of the forestay (so it can be adjusted)

I find the Facnor SD100 instructions a little confusing (lack of pictures, and I am not familiar with the rigging terminology), but it seems to suggest that the drum can connect to either type of fitting. In the case of an adjustable rigging screw, this seems to require 'Link plates' - paralell metal plates which attach to the drum and extend down to the deck stemhead fitting to raise the drum above the rigging screw.

My rigger claims ignorance of the Facnor, but suggests that it wont cope with a rigging screw. (he is probably a bit pissed I didnt buy it from him). The non-technical staff at the local Dublin Facnor distributor suggest that it will, and a very helpfull gentleman at Crusader suggests the same.

So my questions for the forum are:
(a) Has anybody got one of these or installed one - I would really appreciate any practical advice on the installation, and its capability to adapt to either an eye fitting or rigging screw.

(b) If it can handle both fittings, which one is preferrable ? Is adjusting the forestay important enough to insist on the rigging screw type? My boat is a 27ft cruising boat.

(c) The Crusader guy mentioned a common installation mistake which can leave the forestay without sufficient 'articulation', I failed to really understand what he meant - anybody aware of what this could be ?

hope I've explained this well enough...

regards,
Aidan.

 

[MacW]

Hi Aidan,over the last few months I`ve looked very carefully at a number of furler systems and the Facnor kit seems pretty good stuff with a clever telescopic section to make fitting for the length of forestay easier. Have a look at their web site www.facnor.com which has full technical details. Answers to your questions:
a) If you have room on the bow, with plenty clearance for pulpit and anchor, and can fully tension your forestay using the backstay, then you can have your drum right down near the deck/bow stay point and hence wear a slightly longer luff sail.
If you have no clearance then the drum needs raised off the deck enough to give you that room, this is where the link plates are used. these come in various lengths from the facnor agent.
b) The facnor tech stuff on their web sitew seems to suggest that the SD100 can cope with your own turnbuckle,given that its not too big to pass through the unit. Their own turnbuckle thing which can fit inside the unit is quite expensive (extra).
c)Articulation of the forestay is very important. The stay must be able to move lateraly and vert/horizontally under load. Usually your turnbuckle will have a toggle at its lower end ,if not one should be fitted. also there should be a toggle at the top of the stay. Many rigs have failed due to this omission, your rigger is quite right. the length of each toggle will need to be deducted from the existing point to point forestay length in your foil calculations. Sounds like your rigger may be able to keep you right on this.
Hope all this helps.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Hi!
I have Facnor furling gear on my Centaur. Offhand I cannot remember which model though. I fitted it myself, retaining the original forestay, complete with bottlescrew. This sits (stands?) between two strips of stainless steel that are bolted to the boss of the drum. They have perforations throughout their length, roughly every 30 mm or so.
The lower ends of these strips are held to the stem fitting with a clevis that also passes through the lower fork of the bottlescrew. Thus, starting from the starboard side, the pin goes through (1) Facnor strip, (2) Rigging screw fork, (3) Stem fitting, (4) other side of fork, (5) other Facnor strip. Then comes a washer and a split pin.
It probably took me less time to fit than to type this lot.
In my case the rigging screw length matches the length of the strips; if these are too long you can easily cut off a bit so that you can use the next hole up. If you need to do this, try to use an angle grinder with a metal cutting disc.
I am very happy with my Facnor, also because of the twin luff grooves.
When fitting the lengths together use stainless M5 screws with a dab of paste (Dulco something-or-other). Make sure that the top swivel can pass easily over the screw heads.
I like the fact that the drum is not way down on the deck as otherwise the pulpit would interfere with the genoa. I do not race.
I can send a photo if you think it might help.
Fair winds!

 

[bob26]

Re: Facnor SD100 furler & Rigging screw or Eye terminals

I fitted Facnor last year - excellent stuff.

Our set up same at Wally Vella describes except that a rigging toggle is fitted to stemhead and the bottlescrew and plates attach to that to provide the articulation in all directions mentioned above.

 

[aidancoughlan]

Hi all,

many thanks for the detailed responses. It's starting to make sense. I'm just back from the boat yard, and walked around the marine looking at a few of the Facnor setups. Many of them do have a turnbuckle going up through the drum, so it's definitely possible. I think I will ask for this type of fitting, as the riggers measurements were taken on the ground with the old foil still over the old forestay which was not under tension, so may be slighty out - adjustment may turn out to be usefull, and I'd prefer if the backstay wasnt the only form of adjustment. I am not too pushed about having the drum down low, so this isnt an issue.
[ QUOTE ]
The stay must be able to move lateraly and vert/horizontally under load. Usually your turnbuckle will have a toggle at its lower end ,if not one should be fitted. also there should be a toggle at the top of the stay. Many rigs have failed due to this omission, your rigger is quite right. the length of each toggle will need to be deducted from the existing point to point forestay length in your foil calculations..

[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks for this tip - I just did a search on rigging & toggle and I'm going to ask him to fit something like http://www.s3i.co.uk/turnbuckleClosedToggleSwage.php. The top of the forestay on my mast has a T-BAR type connection, so I dont think a toggle can be used there. The Facnor foil has an adjustable bottom length, so this shouldnt be a problem. I am also waiting on a roller sail being made, and the sailmaker has asked for the final measurements of the Facnor luff length - it seems like it might be safer to fit the facnor, step the mast, and then measure for the genoa length.

Also, thanks for the tip on the anti-corrosion paste -I will pop some of this on when setting up the foil. I think the screws come in the kit.

best regards,
Aidan.

I *will* get in the water before my first season is over !!

 

[simonfraser]

i have just had one fittedby sailspar, excelent service, no bottle screw at the front, as in my humble opinion the mast was set up fine with the old bottlescrew setting.

so i had the whole thing made the same lenght as the old one. i have four bottle screws at the rear of the mast to tighten the whole lot up. less to go wrong and less to buy, am i wrong ?

 

[aidancoughlan]

Wally,Bob,Simon.. thanks for the comments. since you all have Facnor rollers thought I'd pass this tip on... got it from a guy with a SD180 in the marina while I was snooping around looking for Facnors yesterday.
He had problems if unfurling the sail quickly - the line on his furler was slipping down between the lower plate on the drum, and the stainless steel bars that provide the 'cage' around the drum. He fixed it by wrapping stiff single-core electrical cable around the stainless steel bar tightly to increase it's diameter, and block the gap between the bar the lower drum plate.
It looked as if his furling line might have been a little undersized, so maybe its not a problem in general, but the 'fix' seems to have worked for him.

 

[fireball]

Just to add to the general discussion. we have a facnor SD100 on our 30'er.
We just have the chainplate arrangement to the deck fitting - no articulation and no adjustment. I have the problem that I cannot adjust the forestay length easily and hence cannot tighten it as much as I would like. I have tried dropping it down to the next hole on the plate but this is too short for the backstay to reach!!

In short : Go for the turnbuckle arrangment ...