Plastimo headsail R/R

tugboat

tugboat

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 May 2004
Messages
1,474
Location
Devon
Visit site
A friends boat has a Plastimo 608S furler up front and the top swivel is getting very stiff. Can anyone describe the correct way to take it apart/ lubricate it or direct me to a downloadable manual? Done a Google to no avail. Thanks.
 
Supposed to be sealed for life, but knurled top unscrews to reveal bearings.
Image021-1.jpg

Oil & grease may not be good in marine environment but a good clean & maybe a little WD40 or similar may help.
 
I asked a rigger about maintenance on a Furlex recently and he said to rinse it by pouring a kettle of boiling water through it and then grease it very lightly. I suspect that the Plastimo will be the same.
 
I have the Plastimo 406 system, and we just undo the knurled top with an oil filter wrench and give the bearing a good rinse through with hot water and then give it spray with teflon lubricant. Seems to do the job. Just tend to redo it every 6 montsh or so.
Keiron
 
After having had my top nut unscrew itself ... now sorted thank you ! I have becomne acquainted with the internals ...

As Searush / another says - you can unscrew the top castellated nut ... but word of warning - take care that no ball bearings etc. fall out ... Usually they are "stuck" in with the grease packed in there.

But having checked all Plastimo literature - they do not discuss undoing that nut at all ... in fact there is no mention of it. What they do say is that all bearings / fittings should have fresh-water rinsed through them to clear salt etc.

Anyway - since mine came undone ... I gave mine a dose of Duck Oil (very thin type of 3 in 1 ... in a spray can ....) I would not use WD40 - as this is a product with solvents in and could dry out the bearings ... second it is not a lubrcant .....

I would steer away from any lubricant that becomes sticky ... as some Teflon ones do ... that would increase salt staying in the fittings.

IMHO of course - as Plastimo do say ssealed for life !!

You may even find that just slacking the nut and moving the swivel part will free it up enough ?
 
Don't use WD40 unless the sail is packed away, and not to be put back on for months. I ruined my old sail as the WD40 dripped out of the bottom of the bearing race and big brown stains and drips all down the sail.

Even when you think it has dripped its last drip, it will still drop more oil on the sail.

For that reason, I would definitely not advice liquid lubrication, especially spray lubes.
 
Thank you all for advice, pic, manual. I had spotted the knurly nut on top, but didn't like to disturb without checking first. I'm one of those who had to buy my winch springs in bulk until reading here about the cardboard box method!
So....... If the nut can be loosened by hand what is to stop it coming undone while aloft? Threadlock advised? I think maybe I'll try the hot water method first and take it from there. Cheers, m'dears.
 
Quote/ So....... If the nut can be loosened by hand what is to stop it coming undone while aloft? /Quote

Very little. SBC's came undone due to halyard rubbing against it. Mind you, PO had removed the cranked shackle which normally ensures that halyard does not touch knurled nut. In general, get it good & tight & there is unlikely to be a problem. Loctite wouldn't do any harm tho'.
 
It's quite likely to be good and tight at the moment. I needed a strap wrench (improvised one from a bit of webbing and mole grips in fact) to get mine off. My swivel was stiff from dried grease in the bearings and I rinsed it through with a little petrol before lightly re-greasing. I tightened the cap back on by hand and it has stayed put.
 
Searush is correct - previous owner had removed the bent shackle that keeps the halyard away from the nut - so what happend - was as I furled / unfurled - the hard eye on the halyard was cathing in the grooves of the nut ... over time it worked it loose.


See here ..... >

DSCF2106.jpg


DSCF2105.jpg


Here is the nut removed .. shwoing the bearing race and sticky for life grease ... >

DSCF2109.jpg


DSCF2108.jpg



As to Loctite - DON'T ....... is my strong advice. Plastic threads like this when tightened hard tend to distort and they literally "self-lock" .. in effect they bind - needing a strap wrench to undo. If you Loctite - you could end up with a situation where you break the assembly trying to undo later ... incurring a large cost for replacement ... ask Clyde Wanderer about replacing when he broke the shackle eye of ...

I found even doing it hard up by hand - I couldn't undo by hand ... had to get a wrench !
 
Thanks, Nigel, all understood. Great pics and very useful. You appear to have a facility to insert a locking screw into the top nut. Haven't looked too closely at friend's swivel yet and hadn't noticed that, so is it an original or someone's DIY? I'm now wondering if, having removed the top nut, the upper part (connected to halyard) can be slid upwards to expose the ball bearings to clean and relube? I'm assuming they are ball races cos stainless balls running on plastic wouldn't be good.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thanks, Nigel, all understood. Great pics and very useful. You appear to have a facility to insert a locking screw into the top nut. Haven't looked too closely at friend's swivel yet and hadn't noticed that, so is it an original or someone's DIY? I'm now wondering if, having removed the top nut, the upper part (connected to halyard) can be slid upwards to expose the ball bearings to clean and relube? I'm assuming they are ball races cos stainless balls running on plastic wouldn't be good.

[/ QUOTE ]

DON'T COPY the hole put into the top nut as the fool did before me ... the swivel part has a raised lip sits up into the groove of the nut ... so that hole conflicts with that lip - if you tried to lock it with a screw etc. - you would prevent the swivel from being able to turn. If you look acrefully at the photos with the hole shown .. you can just make out the lip inside covering about half the hole. I think he made the hole to allow him to "oil" the internals ... otherwise you are forced to open it up - not a good idea as balls can be lost .. or inject at foil entry - not a good idea as well .....

Note that thin oil is not a good idea as it will stain the foil and subsequently the sail that is used on it .. the original has sticky grease to overcome these problems ...

As to dismantling the assembly ... I would be extremely careful and have a "shroud / catch-all" to catch anything that falls out !! Plastimo do not show any exploded diagrams of this part ... in keeping with their statement that it's sealed for life ...
 
Apparent discrepancy ...

I posted before that I gave it duck oil ... a thin oil like 3 in 1. This is beacuse my furling gear is de-rigged for winter and by time it all goes back up again in about 5 months time - will not be a problem. Otherwise I would not use it ...
 
Re: Apparent discrepancy ...

Update on furler status........ Got the top nut off with a strap wrench, to find that the grease inside (brown stuff) has dried and gone almost hard. Swivel is just as hard to turn with the top nut removed.
So.......... do I make a plywood puller thingy and try and get the thing apart to get good access to clean the bearings?
Or.......... do I wrap loads of rags round the foil underneath and try and flush the dross out with paraffin or some such? Would boiling water have any effect on anything? Been wondering if motorcycle chainlube (aerosol) might be a suitable lubricant if I can't get the gubbins apart.
Would appreciate any thoughts, pro or con, on the above ideas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

G
Plastimo 608s furler halyard swivel advice
Replies
11
Views
352
garymalmgren
garymalmgren

Share this page

Top