halyard clutches

[AliM]

Our main halyard clutch is worn and beginning to slip. It is the middle of a bank of three on the coachroof near the cockpit, with a similar bank of three the other side of the companionway. I had a brainwave - just swap over the two triple clutches, so the worn one is used for less essential tasks.

I tried to remove one at the weekend. Six hefty bolts came out easily. The clutch is still held on by a thin layer of some sort of glue or sealant and I can't budge it. Any advice on how to remove it?

 

[Poignard]

What I would do is to have a poke at the goo and see if it's soft. If it is, you could use a long knife with a thin blade or a wire cheese cutter. Maybe a bit of carefully applied heat might help. If it can't be removed without damage make sure it's the clutch that gets damaged, not the deck. You could also attach the topping lift to the clutch and carefully tension it. You might come back next day and find it swinging in the breeze! [Probably not if it's Sikaflex]

If that didn't work I'd ask Boatman.

 

[Norman_E]

Have you investigated whether you can simply swap the innards, or buy a replacement cam rather than put the worn out cam on the other side?
That way you avoid having to re-seal the clutches to prevent water ingress, as well as getting a better overall result.

 

[AliM]

Yes, and no I couldn't find any way to remove innards. I'll have another go before doing anything more drastic, though. I couldn't even find out who the maker is, so I can't ask them.

The goo is not gooey - it's very hard, and i fear it may be sikaflex.

Thanks, keep the suggestions coming!

 

[flaming]

Could you not just swap the ropes around? Say putting the main halyard on the right of that bunch?

 

[Evadne]

Having just looked at the PBO article on clutches, prior to fitting some this winter, they make the point that some, even quite expensive clutches, are of rivetted construction and not easily user-servicable (sic). Others come apart eventually, but can be mighty fiddly. If you can't see any bolts or rivets on the sides or under the levers then they are probably accessed from the underside anyway. The article also has pictures which might help in identification, as do most online chandleries.

 

[kengill]

The problem with trying to lever it off is doing damage to the deck.

Get a bit of offcut steel plate to pivot the screwdriver against and you can use a lot of power . alternatively bend the screwdriver shank a bit and use the breadboard to act as the pivot

 

[Seal_surfer]

Before you go too far - could the jammers simply be a bit jammed up, need TLC/spot of oil!
I had a similar arrangement & symptoms on 20 YO old Lewmars. Some were getting progressively more slippey, eventually failing to take any load. Only modest wear on teeth.

Investigation revealed a intricate parallel motion linkage internally was sticking on pivots. Note, this did not need removal or dismantling. Just aimed an aerosol lubricant with one of those little tubes attached, worked the internal mech with small screwdriver for several mins, until all freed up. Good as new.

 

[William_H]

I sail occasionally ona Farr 40 with large main. Apparently they had the same problem way back and fitted another single clutch in series. In this case closer to the mast. This reduces slip to nil.
My own main halyard clutch seems to slip so I take the tail around a horn cleat after exitting the clutch. Perhaps clutches are not as foolproof as we hope. olewill

 

[AliM]

OK, thanks everyone. Some good ideas - I'll report back.

 

[Stemar]

In camping shops you can get a flexible wire saw - a cheese wire with teeth. As long as the goop is thick enough, one of these would go through it easily enough with little risk of damage to ether the clutches or the deck.