Sparcraft in mast furling screw maintenance

[cmedsailor]

I have a sparcraft furling mast as shown in the attached photograph. What sort of maintenace the furling screw and the ball bearings at the bottom of the screw need besides flashing with fresh water and lubricating the ball bearings? Am I suppose to ever remove the furling screw? If yes, how is this done?

Thanks

 

[Tex]

Interested in replies to this so bumped

 

[ip485]

I do the following. I check the swivel on the masthead every so often and make sure it rotates freely. I always give the swivel a good wash in warm water and apply some light lubricant. As for the screw, I give this a regular wash with water and an occasional spray again with a light lubricant - Sparcraft dont in fact suggest using any lubrication but I figure it cant do any harm and helps resist the build up of salt and any corrosion. Keep a close eye on the hex screws supporting the collar. I had two of these fail; if in any doubt they are worth replacing as it is an easy job.

From experience whatever else you do, make sure the system runs smoothly. A poor or old sail will for example introduce a lot of friction which loads the furler and will cause serious damage. When I replaced the mainsail with a sail constructed out of a smoother material the difference was incredible. Full length round batterns also greatly benefited the ease with which the sail furled and unfulred.

 

[cmedsailor]

I do the following. I check the swivel on the masthead every so often and make sure it rotates freely. I always give the swivel a good wash in warm water and apply some light lubricant. As for the screw, I give this a regular wash with water and an occasional spray again with a light lubricant - Sparcraft dont in fact suggest using any lubrication but I figure it cant do any harm and helps resist the build up of salt and any corrosion. .

Yes this is what I do. Wash and lubricate the roller bearings with Mclube one drop.