Furlex

[peterdrodgers]

Our Furlex 200 will not unfurl from a fully furled position without crew going up to the drum and turning it by hand until the sail is partly out. But there's no problem reefing or furling the sail completely, once it's fully out. Has anybody else had this issue?
Most of what I've read is about difficulties furling rather than the other way round

 

[Concerto]

Have you checked the bearings? If not properly cleaned and regreased the old grease can become hard and stop the bearings from rotating.

 

[fredrussell]

Have you experimented with pre-furl halyard tension?

 

[Boathook]

Are the sheets at a suitable angle to pull the sail out ?

 

[neilf39]

If the bearing surfaces at the joins oratthe top which have worn a bit square then the forestay sits in the depression and it needs force to get things started. We had that on our rotostay furler so had to reprofile the surfaces.

 

[Bobc]

Much about with halyard tension, and give the top and bottom bearings a squirt with silicon spray. See if that improves things.

 

[Refueler]

My Furling has similar problem .... we tried everything ... changing halyard tension ... forestay .. did all the usual things recc'd.

Then myself with binoculars .. Alex working the furler ..... we worked out the reason ...

The head of the sail was a little short and that meant the halyard angle to mast sheeve was not quite enough ... the halyard would start to wrap - but not quite ... but enough to cause serious friction and stop furling by line. By hand on the drum - yes it worked.

To test this - I added a strop to the bottom of the sail so setting it higher on the foil ... BINGO. Furled / unfurled a treat.

When boat is back in water after winter - that strop will be transferred to the head of the sail with a slide to lock it to the foil.

 

[Bobc]

My Furling has similar problem .... we tried everything ... changing halyard tension ... forestay .. did all the usual things recc'd.

Then myself with binoculars .. Alex working the furler ..... we worked out the reason ...

The head of the sail was a little short and that meant the halyard angle to mast sheeve was not quite enough ... the halyard would start to wrap - but not quite ... but enough to cause serious friction and stop furling by line. By hand on the drum - yes it worked.

To test this - I added a strop to the bottom of the sail so setting it higher on the foil ... BINGO. Furled / unfurled a treat.

When boat is back in water after winter - that strop will be transferred to the head of the sail with a slide to lock it to the foil.

Yes, it's important to have a decent angle for the halyard to come off the slider. You can damage the foil if you don't.

 

[Cariadco]

Something to try, If you have an adjustable Backstay, have a play with the tension, to see if that has an influence on the 'Sticking' Furler.

 

[Pye_End]

Is there too much line on the drum, or bunching to one side?

 

[Boathook]

Is there too much line on the drum, or bunching to one side?

In theory there will be very little line on the drum if the sail is furled.

 

[Binnacle]

Have the drums and bearing been left unused for a length of time ?


There's an engineering phenomenon called brinelling where ball bearings, when left unrotated in a race that is subject to vibration, can dig tiny dents in themselves or the race, and become v difficult to turn. Usually happens on 'slack' bearings. Once the bearings turn the flat spots become less significant if used regularly.

 

[peterdrodgers]

Thanks everyone for very useful comments. We have played around with forestay/backstay/halyard tension in the past, and also angle to mast sheeve, all to ease stiffness of furling. It still furls OK as long as halyard not bar tight. It's starting to unfurl from fully furled that's the new problem. From above likeliest seem to be hardened old grease or worn or tunnelled bearings or other worn internal parts. Time to start taking it apart.

 

[johnalison]

The Furlex has a separate mechanism for the first turn or so and it is necessary to removed the drum to access the grease point, which they recommend doing every couple of years. It is not hard, but a bit of a fiddle. None of the parts float, so I always do it while ashore, and with the instructions to hand.

 

[peterdrodgers]

Thanks, we're ashore - sounds like that should be the next job.