furlex 200s (or 300) running stiff

[stu9000]

second post about boat gear of the day.
Can you tell I went on board yesterday and have a long To Do list!

My roller jib seems stiff.
It is reluctant to reel back into the furled position and I have had to go forward to help it along a couple of times.

It looks like a good bit of kit but I guess it needs a bit of TLC.

I found this video which I think will help me to disassemble it.
But I am not that clear about how to grease the bearings.
And what should I use? Silicone Spray or grease?

Any other suggestions?

I want to grease the bottom bearing only as I suspect this one gets more gunge in it than the one at the top of the fore stay.
I will take the sail off and give it a full service of the winter.

 

[rotrax]

I have had personal experience of the S/S balls on Furlex roller reefing gear becoming badly worn and undersize and subsequently falling out of their tracks, going downwards and jamming against the lower Talurit fitting, stopping the unit revolving.

I assisted a guy in Ardglass last year who winched his Genoa in, causing the forestay to become detatched-the Talurit fitting came apart.

He might have lost his mast..............................

 

[stu9000]

I have had personal experience of the S/S balls on Furlex roller reefing gear becoming badly worn and undersize and subsequently falling out of their tracks, going downwards and jamming against the lower Talurit fitting, stopping the unit revolving.

I assisted a guy in Ardglass last year who winched his Genoa in, causing the forestay to become detatched-the Talurit fitting came apart.

He might have lost his mast..............................

Hmm. Scary stuff but I think the boat has been very well looked after for many years.
The original engine is running sweet. The manuals for everything are on file.

Were there any early symptoms, apart from the rotation being a little stiff?
Im not getting any grumbling or jerkyness.

When I take the unit to bits I assume the bearings will be captured and I wont have them bouncing all over the fore deck and into the river???

 

[duncan99210]

Are you sure that the furling line is running free on the drum? When you let the sail out if you don't keep a bit of tension on the line it will not coil neatly onto the drum and will snag itself as you put tension on the line to furl the sail. This feels like the furler is sticking; you then go forward to assist by turning the drum: what you are doing is turning the furler without tension on the line on the drum, which frees the line allowing it to turn easily.

 

[Seashoreman]

I am fairly sure that you should not put anything on the bearings of a furler. My handbook recommends fresh water only. It takes a few goes to get mine tuned and running smoothly at the start of the season, mostly to do with the position and tension of line.

 

[stu9000]

I am fairly sure that you should not put anything on the bearings of a furler. My handbook recommends fresh water only. It takes a few goes to get mine tuned and running smoothly at the start of the season, mostly to do with the position and tension of line.

ok. ill see if i can download a manual. Silicone might be a good non sticky option, but Ill see what I can find out before going in all guns blazing.

 

[stu9000]

Are you sure that the furling line is running free on the drum? When you let the sail out if you don't keep a bit of tension on the line it will not coil neatly onto the drum and will snag itself as you put tension on the line to furl the sail. This feels like the furler is sticking; you then go forward to assist by turning the drum: what you are doing is turning the furler without tension on the line on the drum, which frees the line allowing it to turn easily.

I don't think it is a line snagging in the drum, but I have not used it a great deal so I will check.
Thanks

 

[Tranona]

I am fairly sure that you should not put anything on the bearings of a furler. My handbook recommends fresh water only. It takes a few goes to get mine tuned and running smoothly at the start of the season, mostly to do with the position and tension of line.

The manual shows clearly where to grease the bearings and what grease to use.

 

[Seashoreman]

The manual shows clearly where to grease the bearings and what grease to use.

Oh well, there you go. Mine is Plastimo (not the best) and its water only. At least someone has read the manual :encouragement:

 

[Ripster]

Make sure the furling line itself isn't snagging on route. Ours was very hard to pull (even as a new boat) until I re-routed the line and took a sharp angle out.

 

[eddystone]

You might check the line guard (which doesn't rotate) isn't fouling the drum (which does). I filed down the bottom face on my line guard which solved the problem.

 

[rotrax]

Hmm. Scary stuff but I think the boat has been very well looked after for many years.
The original engine is running sweet. The manuals for everything are on file.

Were there any early symptoms, apart from the rotation being a little stiff?
Im not getting any grumbling or jerkyness.

When I take the unit to bits I assume the bearings will be captured and I wont have them bouncing all over the fore deck and into the river???

The boat I assisted was a REALLY nice Nicholson-about 33-34 feet. It was well maintained generally, but when I got the Furler in bits the S/S balls had broken the track side out of the lower bearing-which acts as a thrust bearing against haliard tension-and fallen out. The only way they could go was downwards, where they jammed against the talurit screw together fitting. The action of winching caused this fitting to unscrew, so disconnecting it from the forestay.

The owner was lucky to have been in moderate winds traveling downwind-the backstay kept it all together!

These units are not easy to work on, but it is possible. Because they use S/S balls, lubrication is required. The cause of this ones problems was solidified grease in the unit not allowing the lube to get to the bearings. If you remove the whole Forestay, foil and unit and lay it down on a large sheet of cloth, remove the spiralox circlip at the bottom and you will find it comes apart-might need a clout with a soft hammer and/or a bit of heat- but all the balls are now free-hence the cloth!

When the unit was in bits I found the balls misshapen, worn undersize and there were not enough of them-many had fallen out when in use due to the broken track.

I faked it up as a "get you home" repair by using some high quality heavy duty American tinned wire that had almost the same OD as a new S/S balls in the two upper bearing tracks. I did this by making two circles of the wire. The balls were left out of the lower bearing but the diameter was built up using good quality plastic tape and plenty of grease. The metal to metal in the lower acted to take the thrust-that was what was happening anyway before failure as the balls were seriously undersize.

We slackened off the backstay, tensioned the spinnaker and jib halyards to pull the mast forward so we could reconnect the forestay. The rig was then retensioned.

The guy and his crew treated First Mate and I to drinks and Fish and Chips in the excellent sit-down Ardglass chippy, and the following day when I went to see dear old Freddie to pay our dues he did not charge me as " You would have been gone yesterday but you helped that broken boat"

Thats why we liked our Irish trip.........................

 

[Behome]

The manual shows clearly where to grease the bearings and what grease to use.
Read more at http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...0s-(or-300)-running-stiff#hrAUuDY7We0Iwhia.99

I've just ordered a tube of Furlex grease as my last one went deep six as I was pulling a rope from the locker where it was kept.
You need to rinse with fresh water and then grease as per the manual. I do this every season and the furler works very sweetly. Only problems encountered have been with inexperienced crew not keeping tension on the fuller line.

 

[stu9000]

The manual shows clearly where to grease the bearings and what grease to use.
Read more at http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...0s-(or-300)-running-stiff#hrAUuDY7We0Iwhia.99

...im getting de ja vu

 

[stu9000]

manual

Page 43...
http://www.seldenmast.com/files/1426855959/595-104-E.pdf

Always helps to read the instructions!

The Furlex grease I found on sale here... ...for £17 inc del.
http://www.getrigged.co.uk/furlex-grease-312-501-3333-p.asp
Interesting thread about whether non branded marine grease is as good.
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?312952-Selden-Grease-Is-it-special
This white grease looked ok at £6.99 but is it too light for the job?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BUNT3NG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A40TWAGYOCQGL
Thanks

S

 

[wklein]

Ok, first most likely is halyard wrap, watch top of the mast as you furl and Unfurl. if the halyard goes more than 1/4 turn around that's your problem. Sometimes the section screws come out ( or get taken out) and not put back right. Take one out and there should be a hole there. If there is just foil then the sections are sitting on the bearings. (these screws are at the top of the drum around the plastic collar.)