What causes a furling genoa to jam?

[alan_d]

On my Furlex (200-S) the most common cause of a hard jam is the extruded aluminium luff foil which slips down inside the drum. It's held with a star-socket (instead of Allen) grub-screw either side, but these can loosen unless done up with Loctite - which isn't mentioned in the manual of course. If the foil has slipped (it only takes 1") it stops it turning in either direction, and is quite independent of halyard or line wraps.

+1.( I think they are called Torx screws.)

Mine worked fine the first season after it was installed, but the following year I carried out the recommended maintenance, which involved undoing the aforementioned screws to get access to grease the bearing, and clearly didn't do them up tightly enough. OK to start with, but after a couple of days the whole thing jammed solid as the foils had worked their way down. One of my troubleshooting principles is to consider "What was the last thing I did to this device/system/program?" and try reversing it.

I haven't given up lubricating the lower swivel, but now I mark the foil with a pencil line so I can be sure it has not slipped, do the screws up bloody hard and use a thread sealant.

 

[lpdsn]

And yes, halyard wrap seems to be the main problem, it's catching on the topmost plastic swivel thing. If I hold the halyard out to the side as someone hauls on the sheets, it unfurls ok.

Lubricate the top swivel with a dry lubricant, as it's probably a bit stiff.

You're probably going to have to repeat on a regular basis.

PS by the way, what do you mean about the halyard catching on the top swivel?

 

[eddystone]

An occasional cause of jamming on the Furlex is the self feeder dropping down and getting tangled with the furling line in which case it will jam tight; solution is to tie it back.

 

[mjcoon]

PS by the way, what do you mean about the halyard catching on the top swivel?

Since he refers to holding it "out to the side", I assume he is means the part of the halyard between block at the top and hand at the bottom. Not the part of the halyard that everyone has been concerned about, between block and head of foresail. Further deduction: the halyard is not led down inside the mast!

Mike.

 

[steve yates]

Correct mike, I'll post a pic of it next time I'm down.
What's a dry lubricant?

 

[PeteCooper]

On the Plastimo there is a bent shackle holding the halyard to the sail - is that fitted the correct way round?

 

[mjcoon]

What's a dry lubricant?

Example: "Tableau Dry Lube" (http://www.tableauproducts.com/categories/dry-lube/4) which I bought (£3.60) at a local hardware store. I don't have a boat but it worked wonders on a sticky curtain track. Under the heading "Boats" on the can it says: "Perfect for blocks, cleats and sail tracks". I imagine they have cam cleats in mind...

Mike.

 

[vyv_cox]

What's a dry lubricant?

Dry lubricants include PTFE, waxes and silicones in spray cans with a solvent that evaporates off. I mostly use PTFE for sail tracks. They are generally white in these forms, so do not stain. Widely available, most chandlers stock them.