Plastimo 608-S Furler

A

All_at_Sea

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Hello
I have one of these on a boat l have just bought and the halyard swivel is very still which prevents furling, so having looked at the instructions it seems they come of quite easily (assuming l can get the screws out!). Are the swivels fixable? I see you can get a replacement one for about £70, but if l can fix the old one even better. Anyone taken one apart? Or are they sealed units?
 

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I have just taken apart the swivel off a previous generation Plastimo furler, which looks very similar to you picture. Mine has two captive ball races top and bottom. I put the knurled fixing in the jaws of a vice and it was then easy enough to unscrew from the swivel. That gave access to the two races which I removed (one needed some persuasion via boiling water), cleaned with kerosene, slathered in waterproof grease and reassembled. Took about an hour.
Theres o rings top and bottom, bit of care needed to reseat them.
No idea if yours is the same internally: I understand that Plastimo may have gone over to delrin bearings at some point.
 
I replaced the bearings in ours a couple of months back. Previously I’ve flushed it out whilst in situ but it still ‘dragged. When I had the mast down and was able to remove it and strip it down altogether I found loads of gunged up grease and muck inside that wasn’t helping. If you decide to split the furling drum, watch out for all the loose bearing balls, a mixture of stainless and delrin balls. They were fun to get back in!
 
chris-s said:
I replaced the bearings in ours a couple of months back. Previously I’ve flushed it out whilst in situ but it still ‘dragged. When I had the mast down and was able to remove it and strip it down altogether I found loads of gunged up grease and muck inside that wasn’t helping. If you decide to split the furling drum, watch out for all the loose bearing balls, a mixture of stainless and delrin balls. They were fun to get back in!
Click to expand...
Can l remove the drum without splitting it - that seems to work just fine? I will have to do this job with the mast up so l have to take the drum off, then take the feeder off and then slide the swivel down.
 
I had one of these from new on my previous boat; they are very reliable and in my opinion better than the very expensive furler I have on my current boat. They have delrin bearing that dont need attention as the rain water gets rid of the salt. Are you sure the problem is at the bottom of the furler, have you looked at the top of the mast swivel in case it got stuck; mine did.
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
I had one of these from new on my previous boat; they are very reliable and in my opinion better than the very expensive furler I have on my current boat. They have delrin bearing that dont need attention as the rain water gets rid of the salt. Are you sure the problem is at the bottom of the furler, have you looked at the top of the mast swivel in case it got stuck; mine did.
Click to expand...
Mast swivel is the problem if that's the one that takes the sail up, it's the one l mean.
 
You are a star! That's great, thanks.
All at Sea, I agree completely.

I love seeing boat parts on the kitchen counter top or the dinning table.
Way to go!!
Keep up the good work.

Duncan.
Do plan to remove and replace the bearings or just flush out with turps and repack?
gary
 
As I said in an earlier post, I put the retaining ring in vice and then unscrewed it. Came apart fairly easily.
The bearings have been washed in diesel, greased and reassembled. It’s all sitting waiting to be fitted to the boat at the end of the month, so it was easy to take apart and photograph. The Admiral was busy on. Zoom call, so I wasn’t asked to explain greasy kit on the work top...
 
Hello all

I managed to get the swivel off. Boiled it and soaked it in oil and it spins a treat now! However just spent a few hours putting it back on only to find l get a halyard wrap at the top - grrrr

Can't seem to find a way of stopping it. I do have a big round deflector at the top and l wonder if that is jamming the whole thing? I have put a strop on top and then bottom but nothing stops the wrap - and no furling!

Any ideas anyone. I think it has to be something at the top causing the issue.
 

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Did the sail previously sit quite high up the forestay? That would have reduced the length of halyard exposed to wrapping and increased whatever diverter angle existed. I note that you say you’ve played with the strops, so forgive me if you’ve already considered this. I only mention as I had similar issues on a new-to-me boat and, for the remainder of the first season, set the Genoa high until I could sort a diverter. Not ideal for a number of reasons.
 
Thank you for the photos, they are helpful. I can't see the bearings clearly enough to see whether they are captive bearings or loose balls. I'm trying to decide if I can take it apart enough to meaningfully clean mine with it still in place on the forestay, or will I just get a cascade of ball-bearings disappearing overboard. From what you have seen is it worth trying to undo and clean in place? I have very limited time between getting access to the boat and having to vacate the marina for a swinging mooring, so a minimalist job may have to do for now.
 
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