Tab Mainsail Reefing

[catalac08]

Any advice/experience of lubricating/refurbishing or total replacement of the top or bottom foil bearings - trying to avoid disassembling and ball bearings flying everywhere - I'm sure there will be a right and wrong way to do this!

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[Talbot]

Dont know about the tab ones, but if they are non-metallic bearings like those fitted on my system, then the best way to get them working is to use fairy liquid and a bit of water and then swivel them, finally rinse out with fresh water.

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[moodycruiser]

Hi, I'm in the same unfortunate position, having got a TAB mainsail system and of course they are no longer in business. I have to replace the furling line this winter and have tried to get info on how to do it to no avail. Have chased some of the people whoo used to work for them on the phone from one workplace to the next and still drawn a blank. I have the installation instructions but they are based on fitting the whole furling assembly and then monol rivetting the cheek plates on afterwards, not how to dissassemble it. I am in the end going to undo the five screws that appear to hold the bottom of the furling drum in place and see if it will drop down enough with losing allsorts of bearings on the deck. However, I'm still trying to find someone who has done it in the meantime before I make the final commitment. If you find anythin I would be v.grateful if you would pm me, as I will pm you if I find anything out.

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[BigLes]

I too have a TAB system and made the mistake of opening it up to renew the furling line!

1) To renew the furling line you DO NOT need to undo the 5 screws and dismantle the system. If you pull the line out as far as you can and then carefully turn the drum until an Allen screw can be viewed through the slot, you only have to undo the screw and the line can be pulled out of a hole. Obviously the new line will push into the hole, the Allen screw can be re-tightened and the line furled around the drum again.

2) If you want to sevice the bearings I would suggest an aerosol grease with the drum in situ. I undid the five screws and dropped the drum, which was followed by loose ball bearings dropping out, bouncing on the deck and into the water! The bearings are stainless steel and bear against the alloy drum. There is no ball race or cage to hold the bearings. In the end I removed the drum, cleaned it and re-installed it along with new ball bearings. However getting the new bearings in was a nightmare as you have to try and get the bearings in one at a time and hopefully they will hold in place with the grease (which they don't always). Some even push up the shaft cavity instead of sitting in the recess where they revolve!. Needless to say I did the job whilst the mast was on the boat so could only service the lower drum.

I wouldn't want to attempt this again whilst the system is fitted to the mast, maybe if the mast was off the boat and on a trestle.

Hope this helps.

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[misterg]

Me too (Sorry!)

Have also got one, the only information I've seen online is in reply to Moodycruiser's prev. question on replacing the furling line<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ybw.com/cgi-bin/forums/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=pbo&Number=527342&page=&view=&sb=&part=1&vc=1&o=> here </A> which I found useful.

Moodycruiser - could you be induced to copy the instructions you have? I haven't got anything. Would of course be pleased to pay for copying, etc.

Am currently writing to previous owners on the off-chance that one of them still has something.

Would appreciate a pm if possible, should anything turn up.

Andy

[Sorry - BigLes's post seems to have arrived while I was typing this...]
<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by misterg on 14/11/2004 22:14 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Geordie]

I too have a TAB system and needed to replace the furling line. I had a problem finding the allen screw because the stainless steel gooseneck bracket had been installed too low. I had to carefully file a radius out of the bottom before I could see the allen screw and get a wrench in. Also, getting the new furling line inserted was very difficult.

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