Removing furler foils without replacing the forestay?

[paulheth]

I'm at the beginning of assessing what is needed to fix a dent in the upper foil of the new to me Benteau 40. The previous owner touched a nearby bridge enough to put a small dent in the foil, but not hard enough to damage the rig in a meaningful way (i was there, he was operating the boat and it was painful to watch). The dent is sufficient to halt the progress of raising the foresail so needs attention.

I have quote from a local rigger of $6000 which seems excessive to me so am investigating the option of a DYI. I have several helpers and we have a mast tower at our disposal if that helps.

First questions: Is it safe to assume the furler and foils that will need to be removed come off the end of the forestay without having to disassemble the construction of the forestay itself? Meaning it won't have to be cut and recrimped (which would basically mean replaced).

Does this sound about right for basic steps:
- untension the rig
- use 1 or even better 2 halliards to take the forestay's job
- unsecure the forestay from the boat
- slide off the furler device and successive foils to access the dented one
- replace the foil with a new one.
- re-assemble
- get a rigger to tune the rig (apparently about $300 in our area)

What am I missing? What gotcha's might be expected? Is more information needed to asses? Is model of furler important? It's 2008 vintage.

Looking forward to feedback from those who have done this or something like this themselves.

Much appreciated.

 

[dlochner]

The furler model is essential information, some furlers cannot be easily removed from the forestay, others can. The forestay and the connections should be evaluated for damage from the bridge strike.

Tuning a rig is not all that difficult, it is a good skill to have. It is not all that difficult, just a bit time consuming and tedious. There are good tuning guides out there. If you do hire a rigger to do the job, get him to teach you as he tunes it.

 

[paulheth]

The furler model is essential information, some furlers cannot be easily removed from the forestay, others can. The forestay and the connections should be evaluated for damage from the bridge strike.

Tuning a rig is not all that difficult, it is a good skill to have. It is not all that difficult, just a bit time consuming and tedious. There are good tuning guides out there. If you do hire a rigger to do the job, get him to teach you as he tunes it.

Profurl C350

https://www.profurl.com/sites/profurl/files/products/profurl_support_technique/1-Enrouleurs%20manuels/C290-C320-C350-C420-C430-R250-R350-R420-R430-Manuel-de-montage-installation-manual-IndiceH-2024.pdf

 

[garymalmgren]

Hi Paul.
With a tower this should be doable.
As Dave has mentioned, the make and model of the furler would help.
RE: (A)- slide off the furler device and successive foils to access the dented one
(B)- replace the foil with a new one.

(A) Some foils will slide off and some have the end fitting pressed onto the forestay after the foil is slided (?) onto the stay.
If the latter the you will have to cut the stay to remove the foil. Not the end of the world as it will allow you to examine the damaged area of the stay.
To refit you can use the old stay and fit a Noresman type fitting. These are of proven strength and safety.
https://www.riggingonly.com/Norsemanmechanicalterminal.htm

(B) Foils can be straightened (saving money and downtime). Damage to the internal track of the foil can be repaired. But if you go down the path of adding a new foil section, order it well in advance and be sure that it fits before committing to the forestay removal.

gary

 

[garymalmgren]

Looks like the Pro-Furls foils are removeable from the stay.
Off you go.

gary

 

[paulheth]

Thanks Gary. Much appreciated. So is my expectation the end to the forstay will fit up through the foil or does it come off and on the forstay wire without a crimping process? I've never had my hands one one of thses before.

And yes a part of me is hoping there will be a way to pull out the dents. But I know I have to be careful as I don't want to risk tearing the sail.

 

[garymalmgren]

Looks like the foils slide up from the bottom.
This will be a bit like a puzzle, but patience will see you through.
As you work through it, remember that $6000 quote.
That will make things bearable.
Gary

 

[paulheth]

Ah perfect. Thanks for finding that pic and relating it to this discussion. So just a process of sliding each foil off the bottom and the replacing or fixing the dented foil. The reconstruct. Seems doable.

Again thanks.

 

[jssailem]

The dent is sufficient to halt the progress of raising the foresail so needs attention.
I have quote from a local rigger of $6000 which seems excessive to me so am investigating the option of a DYI

For a knowledgeable boat owner, this is a task that can be a DIY project. However, you have not explored some concerns.
Hitting a bridge, even bouncing off it with just a "little dent in the furler," may have hidden damage you want to explore before reassembling your new furler extrusion.

Does this sound about right for basic steps:
- untension the rig
Just the Stern Stay and the Fore stay need to be eased.
- use 1 or even better 2 halliards to take the forestay's job
A single halyard, say the jib halyard or the spinnaker halyard on a masthead rig, should be adequate. Ease the backstay a little so you can tension the halyard and relieve the tension on the forestay.
- unsecure the forestay from the boat
This will allow you to remove the extrusion. It will be easier on you if you remove the forestay completely and do the extrusion work in the yard at ground level.
- slide off the furler device and successive foils to access the dented one
- replace the foil with a new one.
You will need to cut out the damaged area and splice in a new extrusion length in that area. It all depends on your access to replacement extrusion pieces. You may have to buy a complete length rather than just a short piece and the appropriate
- re-assemble
Before reassembling the furler, I would inspect the forestay, the fittings on both ends of the furler, and the attachment points on the bow stem and the mast for the forestay for additional damage. More than one boat has "just dinged" a bridge abutment only to discover more extensive damage than the contact point on the furler extrusion.
- get a rigger to tune the rig (apparently about $300 in our area)

What am I missing? What gotcha's might be expected?
Hope the above helps.

I was in the yard with an owner who bought a "new-to-him" Moody Classic 45 sailboat in Seattle. The sales group was moving the boat to their marina, and during transport, the boat handler did a little brush with the train bridge outside the Ballard Locks. No one thought anything of the issue, certainly the young guy charged with the transport.

The new owner had my rigger do a full prep of the mast and rig in preparation for an ocean passage. He found the "little ding" in the furler extrusion. Upon further inspection, the forestay had been damaged (crimped), the fitting at the mast was cracked, and the mast hard point was damaged. All of this (out of sight and not disclosed) missed the survey inspection and disclosure by the sales broker.

 

[paulheth]

Thanks John. Some great advice. Had planned for an inspection in the process but will double up on that based on your anecdote.

Yes from watching a few video's on this doing this on the ground seems to be the sensible approach and that is what I am leaning towards.

 

[jssailem]

Good luck. When I sail north of the 49th parallel this year, maybe I'll see you gliding through the waters of the Georgia Strait. I'm planning on joining the Thetis Catalina Rendezvous in July.

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

I had to replace the swivel head bushing in my NC-32 Profurl roller furler. The mast was down so it was a lot easier and much less time consuming to undo the the upper part of the headstay from the mast and work from that end rather than disassemble every thing. You have access to a tower. Might be easier to bring the mast down and remove the top extrusion (foil) from there. And a whole lot less risky of losing those multiple set screws, aluminum parts and delrin bushing. Good luck

 

[JBP-PA]

One possible glitch in your approach is that the joint between extrusions might be corroded. The forestay swage fitting (or a disassembled Sta-Lok) will fit through the extrusion, but not through the joint unless it is disassembled. The joint (on the Profurls I've seen) is stainless bolts through the aluminum extrusion and internal sleeve which might be corroded enough to make it difficult to disassemble. If it's only the upper foil, only the top half of the first joint would need to be disconnected, plus the top bearing of course.