Hood SeaFurl 810 LD bearings

[George Da Porge]

So I am undertaking maintenance on my Hood SeaFurl 810LD, specifically bearing replacement. I've worked with Marty Barnett at Hood/Pompanette. She's been pretty helpful.

Purchased our Catalina 30T in May 2014. Newbie to big boats, spring was too short and really didn't have a proper sea trial. Oh well... Our Hood furler is difficult to furl in, especially with heavy wind (even pointed in to wind). There is a "hitch" in every rotation. When the breeze is up I have to brace my feet against the cabin bulkhead to be able to pull the dang furling line.

I do use the furler as a reefer also, even though technically it's not designed for that. I find that as long as I have solid tension on both sides of the furling line it holds well.

Anyway, I figured I needed new bearings for the drive assembly. Ordered them off Hood/Pompanette website and consulted with Marty. I ordered a pair of "Part 13" from the owner's manual and Hood website, which is P/N H6120 (the manual has P/N 6181-000).

I took the drive assembly apart yesterday. Ball bearings everywhere!!! 0 But alas, I have 1/4" plastic (delrin?? or torlon??) ball bearings at the top and bottom of the bearing tube. I recovered all of them! However, the P/N H6120 (Part 13) bearing assemblies are not just ball bearings. These have cups/cones (races) and small stainless steel bearings and a little smaller plastic bearings between the SST ones.

My furler is a little screwy, because it has what appears to be half of a halyard swivel assembly affixed just above the drive unit sheaves. This is not shown in the manual. However, the bearing assemblies on this swivel ARE clearly the P/N H6120. I saw another Catalina 30 with the same furler, and it did not have the "half of a halyard swivel" above the sheaves.

See the attached file for pictures and notes.

It would seem to me that I leave off the "halyard swivel" above the sheaves, and replace the 1/4" bearings (I would use torlon).

The conundrum: I am not seeing any wear on the bearing tube races that lead me to believe the bearings were a cause of the rotational hitch I mentioned. The sheave assembly is held firm to the turnbuckle tube with 4 set screws. When I took the sheave assembly off, I found 1 set screw missing, and others loose (annual maintenance note: tighten set screws). I am now wondering if the "hitch" could have been the sheaves wobbling???

I've read the manual even further, and I think I will also have to confirm that the centering collar is located properly, and that the top of the luff sections stop 1-3/4" from the bottom of the headstay wire terminal, and where the halyard swivel is located when the genoa is on.

Any ideas?

 

[jrowan]

I am surprised that you were able to get help from Hood in repairing your furler.
Because when I tried to get replacement upper & lower disks which hold the furling line to the drun, they were of no help. I had to have them custom made from a steel fabrication shop out of stainless plate, & it was a pretty costly affair to do. You are gutsy to take apart that drum by yourself, because the bearings can & will fly right off the deck & into the drink! I kept our Hood, because it is the only furler we've had on our past 3 boats that actually worked properly, although it is old. You are right about the need to cleat off the furling line tight, otherwise it will back off on its own, & then the line can slip off the drum & jamb up big time when you try to furl the jib.
Despite their antiquated design, I do think that the Hood models are tough & robust compared to flexible furlers & Harken, which are a piece of crap that never worked right, despite being a very expensive unit. Here is a pic of how I rebuilt our furler:

 

[George Da Porge]

You are gutsy to take apart that drum by yourself, because the bearings can & will fly right off the deck & into the drink!

Yea - thanks for the complement - that's why I did it in my basement! Had I done it on the boat, many expletives would had spewed forth from my trap!! I actually was surprised when all the bearings fell out. I am used to bearings being in cages or retainers - lesson learned!

Looks like you have a single line furler. Mine is continuous. I was able to purchase replacement sheaves from Hood. The little teeth on the sheaves that "grab" the line were worn a bit. I thought enough that it would be worthwhile to replace, so we can use the furler for reefing.

It's too bad you couldn't get any help from Hood.

 

[walmsleyc]

I realize this thread is old/dead, but if you're there, I though I ask a question and offer a comment on the "half swivel" that you had at the base (I've got a LD 810).

Question(s): Does that "half swivel" actually rotate freely? Would it do so under load? and Was the tack of the genoa only attached to the "half swivel" (and not the sheave drum below)?

If so, then this appears to be an attempt to "enhance" the furler to work better for reefing. A number of other furlers (Harken has some that are like this), have both the tack and head of the genoa swivel independently of the furler tube and drum. This results in the center of the sail furling first, and the tack and head furling after a partial turn or so. This tends to take out some extra draft in the middle of the sail, and if you are reefing, then you should end up with better shape. Sailmakers often add luff foam to accomplish the same thing. I'm not sure how well it would work unless the bottom "half swivel" had bearing and spun freely.

Chris

 

[George Da Porge]

Hey walmsleyc!

That bottom swivel did rotate freely, but since I couldn't figure out why it was there I didn't reinstall it. What you are saying about the middle of the sail wrapping up first makes perfect sense. After the rebuild the drive unit operated smoothly. I found one of the issues with the "hitch" I described was this: the sheave assembly is held to the tube with 4 bolts on the underside of the drum. When I took the whole thing apart, one bolt was missing, and 2 others were loose. That let the drum wobble. Let me know if you have any other questions. For the right price I'll sell you the rebuilt drive assembly - it was only used 1 upper Midwest season!

 

[John Nantz]

I've got the LD 810 also. Started with the continuous line system and then changed it out to the single line when they had a promotion, primarily to get a new Halyard Swivel Assembly. Many skippers complained about the continuous line system but I never had a problem and, frankly, kinda liked it.
Posted a *.pdf copy of the LD Owners Manual under H35 in the "Boat information by model/downloads" here. Hood Seafurl LD Manual 705/810/915

If so, then this appears to be an attempt to "enhance" the furler to work better for reefing. A number of other furlers (Harken has some that are like this), have both the tack and head of the genoa swivel independently of the furler tube and drum. This results in the center of the sail furling first, and the tack and head furling after a partial turn or so. This tends to take out some extra draft in the middle of the sail, and if you are reefing, then you should end up with better shape. Sailmakers often add luff foam to accomplish the same thing.

Chris - Just got through reading your post and .... I just had the sailmaker (North in Seattle) REMOVE the foam luff in our 110% jib. Reason for doing that is it messed up how the telltales flew and I can't say I ever really used the "reefing" solution. I tried a few times but the sail shape just wasn't good enough and there is more than one way to trim without reefing and we've been in some pretty good winds.
The jib is the next heavier fabric than what North recommended for it's size and thanks to that it's shape has held up really, really well, and still has a beautiful "like new" shape. The incremental cost for going with the next heavier cloth wasn't all that much.

 

[walmsleyc]

John,

I opted for not having foam either.. I usually fly full 135% with a double reefed main till about 30kts.

Chris

 

[EdZ]

For anyone with Seafurl 810 LD experience. I've determined that I must replace my bearings and I'll get a set through Marty (who has already been very helpful). However, I cannot release the 4 allen Sheave Set Screws. But, we hope to be able to do so once we’ve removed the unit.

I’ve reviewed a few blogs on the topic and it appears that with at least 2 halyards secured forward and the boom removed (or unweighted), the Seafurl unit can be pulled down off the forestay without removing the extrusions. Then, after reattaching the bottom of the forestay, the unit can be maintained and replaced. It this a valid procedure and will the unit slide down off the forestay once the stop collar is removed?

This is 'George Da Prorge's' forestay but its exactly like mine. Thanks for the photos Jorge!

 

[Hayden Watson]

To remove the drum you can support the extrusion with a Prussic knot. http://www.animatedknots.com/prusik/index.php
Once you lift the extrusion you can remove the allen screw at the top of the torque tube. when that is removed the two halves of the keeper can be removed and then the bottom assembly can be removed over the forestay and stud. You will need to remove the turnbuckle because it will not fit through the torque tube.

 

[EdZ]

Thanks Hayden! We'll put this in play this week and I'll report back.

 

[Hayden Watson]

If you have a spinnaker halyard you can use 2 for the temp forestay and one from the foil but many people do not have 3 forward halyards.

The mast really is not in great danger of falling even without any temporary forestay because the base is socketed into the mast base and the mast is supported by fore and aft lowers at mid height. You can use one jib halyard to the tack as a temp forestay and the 2nd jib halyard used to support the foil while the bottom assembly is removed.

 

[pateco]

For anyone with Seafurl 810 LD experience. I've determined that I must replace my bearings and I'll get a set through Marty (who has already been very helpful). However, I cannot release the 4 allen Sheave Set Screws. But, we hope to be able to do so once we’ve removed the unit.

I’ve reviewed a few blogs on the topic and it appears that with at least 2 halyards secured forward and the boom removed (or unweighted), the Seafurl unit can be pulled down off the forestay without removing the extrusions. Then, after reattaching the bottom of the forestay, the unit can be maintained and replaced. It this a valid procedure and will the unit slide down off the forestay once the stop collar is removed?View attachment 143392 This is 'George Da Prorge's' forestay but its exactly like mine. Thanks for the photos Jorge!

The Stop Collar in the picture was the part on mine that was broken when I got her. Pompanette was able to get me a replacement. I see in the picture this one is lubricated. I did not grease mine as I saw no indication of previous grease. Does this help it in any way?

 

[BCGR]

So I am undertaking maintenance on my Hood SeaFurl 810LD, specifically bearing replacement. I've worked with Marty Barnett at Hood/Pompanette. She's been pretty helpful.

Purchased our Catalina 30T in May 2014. Newbie to big boats, spring was too short and really didn't have a proper sea trial. Oh well... Our Hood furler is difficult to furl in, especially with heavy wind (even pointed in to wind). There is a "hitch" in every rotation. When the breeze is up I have to brace my feet against the cabin bulkhead to be able to pull the dang furling line.

I do use the furler as a reefer also, even though technically it's not designed for that. I find that as long as I have solid tension on both sides of the furling line it holds well.

Anyway, I figured I needed new bearings for the drive assembly. Ordered them off Hood/Pompanette website and consulted with Marty. I ordered a pair of "Part 13" from the owner's manual and Hood website, which is P/N H6120 (the manual has P/N 6181-000).

I took the drive assembly apart yesterday. Ball bearings everywhere!!! 0 But alas, I have 1/4" plastic (delrin?? or torlon??) ball bearings at the top and bottom of the bearing tube. I recovered all of them! However, the P/N H6120 (Part 13) bearing assemblies are not just ball bearings. These have cups/cones (races) and small stainless steel bearings and a little smaller plastic bearings between the SST ones.

My furler is a little screwy, because it has what appears to be half of a halyard swivel assembly affixed just above the drive unit sheaves. This is not shown in the manual. However, the bearing assemblies on this swivel ARE clearly the P/N H6120. I saw another Catalina 30 with the same furler, and it did not have the "half of a halyard swivel" above the sheaves.

See the attached file for pictures and notes.

It would seem to me that I leave off the "halyard swivel" above the sheaves, and replace the 1/4" bearings (I would use torlon).

The conundrum: I am not seeing any wear on the bearing tube races that lead me to believe the bearings were a cause of the rotational hitch I mentioned. The sheave assembly is held firm to the turnbuckle tube with 4 set screws. When I took the sheave assembly off, I found 1 set screw missing, and others loose (annual maintenance note: tighten set screws). I am now wondering if the "hitch" could have been the sheaves wobbling???

I've read the manual even further, and I think I will also have to confirm that the centering collar is located properly, and that the top of the luff sections stop 1-3/4" from the bottom of the headstay wire terminal, and where the halyard swivel is located when the genoa is on.

Any ideas?

George - I took apart my Hood 810 furler to fix the toggle jaw & clevis pin.

Like you, I was surprised to find the ball bearings all over the place. I put half of the ball bearings back in place at the top of the Bearing Tube (Part 16) which was simple as there's a 'race' where the ball bearings easily fit. However, I'm not able to figure out how to get the remainder of the ball bearings into the bearing assembly near the bottom of the Bearing Tube. Am I overlooking something, or is there some 'trick' to getting those ball bearings where they're supposed to go? Any help is most appreciated! Thank you!

Clarke

 

[Hayden Watson]

I was able to fix mine with 100% replacement parts (with Harkin Mk-IV written on the side)

 

[George Da Porge]

Hi Chris,
See the attached pics I took and put together when I replaced the bearings. Hopefully it helps, if you haven't finished already. Those tiny bearings are a PITA, but I applied teflon paste lube that I use on my bicycle to the race. This makes it easy to stick the bearings in the race and they stay put. I didn't put any lube on the Torlon bearings. Hopefully it helps, if you haven't finished already.

George