Tight Roller Furling Problem

[demonboy]

Further to my previous post previous post about forestay tension, I am wondering why turning the foil is really tight. I have slackened off the rigging, thinking it had got too tight, but that isn't the problem. When I release the drum (Seafurl 3250) from the forestay, the drum moves freely, suggesting it isn't a problem with the drum. I am wondering if it is something at the top of the mast. There are no caught halyards (we've dropped the sail too), so what else could be causing the tension? This problem occurred recently after getting hammered in four days of squalls and after furling the foresail away using the winch (ie the sail was very tightly wrapped around the forestay). I normally furl by hand but it's got so tight doing this is now near impossible.

[Edit] Just spotted Doug's similar thread (http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?360555-Furler-problem) but unsure if it's the same problem.

 

[Salty John]

It can be caused by too much halyard tension. The top bearing race has asymmetric tension because the halyard is offset, this can cause the race to pinch at one side of the race and be loose at the other. When you release the halyard tension the problem goes away and the bearing appears to function normally, so difficult to trace the fault.
Could also be a damaged top bearing.

 

[demonboy]

If it is caused by too much halyard tension, and we drop the sail (as we have done) the problem does not go away, so not sure how the halyard could be the problem. I suspect something is going on at the top of the foil, perhaps a damaged bearing as you suggest, or even just a dirty bearing that needs flushing.

 

[puddock]

Further to my previous post previous post about forestay tension, I am wondering why turning the foil is really tight. I have slackened off the rigging, thinking it had got too tight, but that isn't the problem. When I release the drum (Seafurl 3250) from the forestay, the drum moves freely, suggesting it isn't a problem with the drum. I am wondering if it is something at the top of the mast. There are no caught halyards (we've dropped the sail too), so what else could be causing the tension? This problem occurred recently after getting hammered in four days of squalls and after furling the foresail away using the winch (ie the sail was very tightly wrapped around the forestay). I normally furl by hand but it's got so tight doing this is now near impossible.

[Edit] Just spotted Doug's similar thread (http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?360555-Furler-problem) but unsure if it's the same problem.

I only know the selden system but have you checked the bearings in the top swivel (I presume you have one)

 

[maxi]

A possibility is; that if the top rotor has Torlon ball bearings, these deteriorate in UV light & peel rather like an onion. If this occurs then the ball race has chunks of Torlon where they should not be & consequently the bearing binds, making furling difficult< impossible.

Cure, buy & fit new balls.

 

[demonboy]

have you checked the bearings in the top swivel (I presume you have one)

Not yet. We're sitting in the south west monsoon at anchor so I'm waiting for a clear couple of hours to go and check.

A possibility is; that if the top rotor has Torlon ball bearings, these deteriorate in UV light & peel rather like an onion. If this occurs then the ball race has chunks of Torlon where they should not be & consequently the bearing binds, making furling difficult< impossible.

Cure, buy & fit new balls.

I think the top bearing could be the culprit. I have also doused the bottom drum base (i.e. lifted up the sheath that sits on top of the drum) with washing up liquid and flushed with hot water. This seems to have freed it up just a little. I suppose it is possible that the cavity between the foil and the stay is encrusted with salt and dirt too, but a trip up the mast is the next step.

 

[MoodySabre]

The balls on my top swivel had disintegrated and new balls helped a lot. Halyard tension is still crucial.

Lets hope it is not the forestay having broken strands that are binding the top of the foil.

 

[alahol2]

If it is caused by too much halyard tension, and we drop the sail (as we have done) the problem does not go away, so not sure how the halyard could be the problem. I suspect something is going on at the top of the foil, perhaps a damaged bearing as you suggest, or even just a dirty bearing that needs flushing.

If I am reading the manual correctly there is no top swivel as such, the foil just rests on the forestay and swivels around it. Also from the manual there is a 'top clamp' which is a collar clamped around the shank of the swage, this will obviously not rotate with the foil. My guess would be that the top clamp is fouling the foil. Two possibilities come to mind, either the clamp has slipped down the swage or, possibly, the forestay tension has been reduced, reducing the forestay stretch and pushing the foil onto the clamp.

 

[Tam Lin]

When I first got my boat I hoisted the foresail and attached the foot to the furler drum. Found it very hard / impossible to furl. Used the old trick of using binoculars to look at the top of the mast and saw that there was a gap of about 9 inches above the furling swivel and the halyard was wrapping itself round the forestay. Hauled the sail up as far as it would go then secured it to the furler drum with rope. Worked fine then. Don't know if this helps at all!