Rotostay furling gear

[johnnycomelately]

Hi all,
This has probably be covered before but I would appreciate any help available.
We are having the standing rigging replaced on our Westerly Longbow and have approached two different companies for quotes for the complete replacement of the riggng. Both of these companies have said that I will probably have a problem with the removal of the furling gear.
The boat is fitted with a Rotostay FS furling system, I have struggled to find much information on the internet and have only got the original advertisement paperwork for the rotostay system.
So my question is how difficult is it to remove the system? Will I need any special tools and maybe more importantly will I need any special skills?
I presume these companies don't want to remove the furling gear because there is a chance of damaging it on removal??
Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give.
Cheers
Ian

 

[stubate]

spoke to my local rigger about the same thing, basically he said that by the time he has fannied around taking the corroded bits apart without breaking them that it is cheaper to put a new plastimo one on, he recommends them as value for money. having said that i then went back to my boat and gently eased all the foil screws that hold the sections together and put some of that yellow anti corrosion paste on them.
stu

 

[Poignard]

[ QUOTE ]
Both of these companies have said that I will probably have a problem with the removal of the furling gear.


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see what's difficult about removing it. Take off the sail, disconnect the halyard and the furling line, remove two Clevis pins from the top and bottom toggles and it's off. Perhaps, they mean it will be difficult to dismantle it? It could be, if it has been in place for a long time. When I bought my boat 10 years ago the Rotostay foil was seized in place and I couldn't remove the forestay inside it until I had sawn off a short piece of the foil [which Rotostay Ltd later replaced with a new section]. Since then I slide the foil up and down the forestay a few times a year to keep it free.

Presumably they will want to sell you a new furling system rather than overhaul the old one. It might cost more to overhaul the old one than to buy a new one. Also don't forget to cost the time you might spend chasing around trying to find someone competent to overhaul the old one.

 

[Talulah]

You will find it difficult to replace just the forestay wire. In my experience it is extremely difficult to remove the wire from the drum unit without destructive cutting. (Angle grinder). The norseman type terminal will be seized solid and you won't get it off. We replaced with profurl.

 

[ruff_n_tumble]

You could have a word with the manufacturers of Rotostay, who are XW Rigging aka Rotomarine Limited, Gosport, tel 02392 583633, although of course any practical help may be limited given the distance between you.

 

[samwise]

It can be very tough to part the relevant bits on the furling unit in order to replace the forestay. The guys who did the rig replacement work on my Westerly Storm said that eight out of 10 jobs of this kind ended up in the destruction of the unit and consequent purchase of a new one. I was lucky, mine came apart, but only after some fairly brutal work with a club hammer that had me wincing. Plastimo would not have done the gig for me and I was facing paying £1800 for a new Furlex if the effort had not been successful. Have a word with the Westerly Owners Association ( worth becoming a member anyway).

 

[gandy]

If you could post a picture, or a link to a picture, it would help people see what sort you have. There are differences, for example the document on the Westerly web site describes a system totally different to our Rotostay. FWIW their doc is here, and it may match your system

http://www.westerly-owners.co.uk/html/rotostay_bearing.html