Plastimo 406 headsail furling problem...

pauldelaf

pauldelaf

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I'm having a spot of bother with my headsail furling. When I try to unfurl my genoa, the genoa halyard wraps around the foil. It seems that the top part that attaches to the halyard is not turning independently of the bottom part which attaches to the head of the sail. Anybody else experienced this?

Thanks in advance.
 
Yep ... on my 609 - same. The Doughnut that gives halyard an angle to foil to stop it is useless as well.

Often the top swivel gets crud in it ... it's supposed to be a self-lubricating job ... but a dose of fresh-water and wash out is a good idea .. you may just have it stiff from salt etc.

Previous owner of my boat added a neat alteration that solves this problem totally .....

There are two halyards effectively. One the normal genny halyard to hoist sail up the foil .... with head swivel. Attached to front of mast just above max height of swivel is a small block with the second lighter line ... coming down. So you attach second line to top of swivel along with the genny halyard ... hoist sail using BOTH lines .... once sail is fully hoisted tighten sail halyard ... make of. Then tighten swivel halyard enough to just show the top of foil move towards mast ... (indcates enough tension on this additional line).

So this additionla swivel halyard prevents the swivel top from halyard wrapping !!

Here is a simple drawing of set-up :

halyardssagenny.jpg
 
Had a similar problem earlier in the season with the result that the top and bottom halves of the halyard swivel parted company! In my case, one of the two bearing races in the swivel had seized up - replacing the swivel sorted the problem
 
The halyard need, as far as I can recall an angle, of at least 22 degrees to the forestay, to stop halyard wrap. Don't ignore halyarrd wrap, the forces involved can cause severe damage to the forestay.

sbc's solution, or his boat's previous owners solution, works, except it involves an extra line. I was there when it caused problems, i'e the block came off the mast . Oh how we /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif, in a F6/7 NOT

The usual solution, if the 'plastimo doughnut' doesn't work or isn't there, is to feed the halyard through a bullseye, riveted to the mast, to provide the correct angle.
 
Works though doesn't it Malc !!

I swore at it when block came away - but same could happen to halyard diverter ... it had been up there a good number of years !!
At least with my twin line system - halyard has a straight pull on sail and then wrap prevented by the second line ...

Now that foil has been re-riveted etc. - I find both lines easy to handle as one ...

The Doughnut ... fine until a bit of friction comes along ... or some twit drills it out like mine was !!
 
If you are looking for a quick solution without having to go up the mast. I simply dropped the genoa and attached a 6mm line to shackle on end of halyard. Then I raised the sail and tied other end of line to the spinnaker pole fitting at front of mast. To tighten this I normally tied it with the saill a few inches from top and the final winching tightens line and the sail luff. This setup has enough angle and aft tension to prevent upper half of swivel + halyard turning as you furl.
My 'quick fix' has worked well for me for 3 years now. Some day I'll fit a deflector.

Mike
 
I had this problem with a new genoa. I got a 150mm strop made and attached it to the lower fitting of the foil thereby rasing the head of the sail by 150mm and increasing the angle betmeen fstay and halyard - a length of old halyard or any line really would also work and allow you to experiment with different lengths to acheive a result. I would sugest the bottom fitting because if it fails in a blow you can replace it easily without having to faf on at the mast head.

no more probs.
 
Yachtjoy said:
Had a similar problem earlier in the season with the result that the top and bottom halves of the halyard swivel parted company! In my case, one of the two bearing races in the swivel had seized up - replacing the swivel sorted the problem
Click to expand...

Where did you get your replacement racer bearings from?
 
markastro said:
Where did you get your replacement racer bearings from?
Click to expand...

This is a very old thread you have resurrected It would have been better to have started a new one of your own, But welcome any way

Seateach in Emsworth are agents for Plastimo gear. They can be very helpful provided you speak to the right guy ( or more precisely dont speak to the wrong guy. One is a bit of a GOG although I have not heard any complaints recently)
 
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