Selden boom

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youen

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I had to dismantle my Selden end boom to change one reefing line and found I have lost severals wheels of the moving parts fitted inside the boom,is that quite usual and what can be done to avoid this problem.Thanks
 
In that situation - if I'm reading you right - I have found sticking in a pencil as a temporary spindle helps.

You could ask Selden but good luck with that ! I wanted to buy a whole mast and rig from them and have never met a more obstructive, uninterested response, they wanted me to design it including specific loads on each wire; there's always the hope the people involved may have been shot by now...
 
The wheels lost are those fitted at each corner of the sliding cars used for the single line reef system inside the boom
 
In amongst the invoices which came with our current boat is one which mentions replacing the wheels on the balance blocks, so I presume they must be available. Sorry, can't be more specific as it's not something I've looked into personally.
 
Just look up your nearest Selden dealer on their website. In my experience they are very helpful and most parts seem to be available. Perhaps in Brittany you will have to resort to mail order - I've used Fox's Ipswich most of all.
 
I was once involved with a club boat with that system. A bad idea for a anyone without an intimate knowledge of how it's supposed to work - (e.g.charterers!). Those wheeled plates and their controlling lines need to be kept under positive tension or they come off their rails and lose their little wheels. The wheels are probably still inside the boom somewhere - all you have to do is take the boom off, hold it vertical and shake it. Or send in a well trained hamster.
 
That would result in no more than an annoying rattle in most booms; one needs to drill the rivets off one end to remove it and get the bits out and do it properly, not difficult.

For the OP's problem, I'd think nowadays the only in-boom sheave & line might be the clew outhaul, the rest like reefing lines are best external, ideally using ball bearing cheek blocks as friction is a major snag when leading lines through several 90 degree turns.
 
Seajet said:
For the OP's problem, I'd think nowadays the only in-boom sheave & line might be the clew outhaul, the rest like reefing lines are best external, ideally using ball bearing cheek blocks as friction is a major snag when leading lines through several 90 degree turns.
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How is that little pearl going to help the OP who wants to know how to repair his Selden boom, which incidentally is the same as thousands of others?
 
youen said:
I had to dismantle my Selden end boom to change one reefing line and found I have lost severals wheels of the moving parts fitted inside the boom,is that quite usual and what can be done to avoid this problem.Thanks
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I have just spoken to a lovely lady from Martin Leaning in Port Solent

http://www.masts-and-rigging.co.uk/Contact-Us.aspx

She was on a train coming back from the boat show :)

They have the wheels in stock and I can either collect them for you and post them or she has said she will post direct to you ... just not sure how you pay.

Perhaps either call or email them on Monday or pm me.
 
Seajet said:
one needs to drill the rivets off one end to remove it and get the bits out and do it properly, not difficult.
.
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Not sure what your comment relates to. On my boat I just undid four torx bolts so that I could lubricate the system.
 
Thank you all for the replies,my problem is that after undoing the aft end of the boom I found only one wheel on the sliding car of the first reef,then I put the boom vertical and 3 wheels where missing.I ordre the missing wheels to repair,how can I avoid this problem in the future?
 
Bav34 said:
I have just spoken to a lovely lady from Martin Leaning in Port Solent

http://www.masts-and-rigging.co.uk/Contact-Us.aspx

She was on a train coming back from the boat show :)

They have the wheels in stock and I can either collect them for you and post them or she has said she will post direct to you ... just not sure how you pay.

Perhaps either call or email them on Monday or pm me.
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Big recomendation for Martin Leaning. He sorted my Selden mizzen out earlier this year, great bloke.
 
Sorry Youen, can't think of an answer. Your Rassy boom is presumably different to my Bav boom.

The sliding cars sit in tracks either side of the boom and it is impossible for the wheels to fall out. They are almost an interference fit.

Keeping the lines under tension surely means that you are in effect starting the reefing process which means the leech of the sail would be under tension... we have ours loose.

Good luck.
 
Bav34 said:
Sorry Youen, can't think of an answer. Your Rassy boom is presumably different to my Bav boom.

The sliding cars sit in tracks either side of the boom and it is impossible for the wheels to fall out. They are almost an interference fit.

Keeping the lines under tension surely means that you are in effect starting the reefing process which means the leech of the sail would be under tension... we have ours loose.

Good luck.
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With my previous boat I had the same problem. I had to replace these wheels several times.
I'm not really impressed with the setup Selden made. Although the small wheels are supposed to be captive held, this does not prove to be true when the system is used in anger. Typically you need reefing when things tend to be a bit rough and your sail is flapping. This puts dynamic loads on the system that can have the aforementioned result of loosing these small rollers.

All in all I'm quite happy with most stuff that Selden comes up with, but this was not designed on one of there better days.

I find the whole system quite "frictional' and when you want to shake out a reef it's downright annoying. My current boat uses the classic setup with reefing at the mast, much better. It still a Selden boom by the way but at the mast you get much better control of the reefing process.

As said , you can order these rollers separately, I would order more then required for your own stock.

Cheers,

Arno
 
aluijten said:
I'm not really impressed with the setup Selden made.
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The story is that the simple system, as shown on my website and below, here http://www.zsparsuk.com/slrboom.htm, was patented by Z-Spars some years ago, although having gone through the patenting process myself I'm not sure how they can have done this. Selden were then forced to come up with an alternative (or pay up), which is distinctly second-best. Page 80 on http://www.seldenmast.com/flipbook/default.cfm?pubID=97226AAE-DCFD-0EDE-3FED987AD9A0261E
 
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