'92 335 roller furler maintenance

Sep 12, 2019
23
Hunter 335 Seattle
The roller furler on my '92 Hunter 335 gets stuck when unfurling/furling the jib. I've replaced the furler line as I thought that might be the issue to no avail. Anyone have any tips on maintenance or what might cause the jamming? On this boat the furler seems somewhat integral as part of the forestay.

The symptoms are when unfurling about ten feet of sail comes off the furler and then it just stops rotating. I can walk to the bow and manually twist the furler to unroll the remainder. When furling the opposite happens, about ten feet furls in before it completely jams. When this happens I need to use a winch to furl in the remainder.

Any tips would be appreciated,
Thanks
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Well if it were bearings or such it would not be consistent at 10'. When you do it by hand, does the line seem to move free? Is there a noticeable sticking point in the drum and then it clears? If the drum is turning free in your hands then it has to be something to do with the lines. Check all of the fair leads and blocks for both the furling lines and the sheets. If the drum is not turning free then you have a mechanical breakdown inside the drum and should probably pull it apart and check it out. You can use a halyard or two clipped forward to hold the mast up while you disconnect the forestay and remove the drum.

You should probably reach out to @DrJudyB on this one. She is the resident expert on all things roller furled.

And if you really want good advice.... post a lot of pictures from different angles and get some close ups ...
 
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Sep 12, 2019
23
Hunter 335 Seattle
Okay, got out there and did some investigation. I *believe* I have an FF2-ish system. This appears to be the appropriate manual, I was hoping someone with a '92 era Hunter 335 might be able to confirm this? There are some differences, like the "Luff Support Pin" is actually a screw on my system. Attached is an image of the furler.


I'd like to disassemble this somewhat without pulling down the forestay. Is that possible? Without disconnecting the Luff Support Pin I can get to a couple of inches between the furling assembly and the cup. I can't tell if there's a bearing or something it sits on. When I did do this a part fell out, and I can't tell what it might be. @DrJudyB or others - is this part of the assembly? The part:



It does seem to be rotating better now, but still seems to "catch" when the drum is mostly full of line and then release. I'm looking for best tips on how to checkout the drum assembly without dropping the forestay. If I remove the luff support pin do I risk everything sliding apart or can I then lift the assembly high enough to check on the bearing? I was a bit nervous to try this at the yard.

Thanks!
 
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Jun 25, 2004
1,108
Corsair F24 Mk1 003 San Francisco Bay, CA
Hi @_Milkjug_

That’s probably an old FF7 or FF9. A FF2 would be much too short.

Here’s a link to the manual

If you remove the luff support pin, you’ll be able to slide the plastic drum assembly up higher on the extrusion, leaving the stainless cover down. That will allow you to inspect the bearings. There Make sure the bearings turn freely and smoothly. Rinse the bearing with fresh water and dish soap or Simple Green) while it’s open.

Sorry, but I don’t recognize that loose part. There have been a few minor and major changes since 1992. I’d want to know where it came from! Maybe part of the downhaul assembly on the top of the drum?

Could you post more pics of your furler drum and how the furling line leads? The furling line has to lead at 90 degrees to the forestay, to load evenly onto the drum.

The resistance that you describe sounds similar to what happens when the line spools onto the drum unevenly, due to a bad lead angle. That causes the furling line to build up in on spot and to rub on the inside of the stainless steel cover.

The way to diagnose uneven spooling is to stand at the bow while somebody operates the furler from the cockpit. You observe how the line loads onto the drum. If the furling line is perpendicular to the Forestay/drum and you keep a little drag on it while unfurling the genoa, it should load onto the drum evenly without rubbing. Use 1/4” line to ensure that it will fit on the drum. (If you want to use larger line, you will need to decore it for the beginning part.)

Or it might be something else.... there could be broken wire strands rubbing and twisting inside the furler extrusion. When was the last time you replaced the forestay? Inspected the top where the wire enters the swage?

That furler is 28 years old. That's old. Check the bearings for wear. Inspect the forestay for broken strands at the top and bottom. Replace the forestay if it’s older than 10 years old. Inspect everything closely for cracks and UV damage.

Judy
 
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Sep 12, 2019
23
Hunter 335 Seattle
Thanks so much for all the info. I'll get out there, get some more pictures. It's possible that the lead has fallen off over time due to wear or was replaced by PO. It's on a spring mount, which I'll grab a picture of. I'll go through the records to see the last time the rig was checked, it's new-ish to me.
 
Sep 12, 2019
23
Hunter 335 Seattle
Okay, it was pretty gunky. Thanks for all the tips.

First, the cup before cleaning. Including some weird worm thing at the top right. After cleaning it furls better, but still catches basically every turn, kind of like a whomp-whomp-whomp type effect when a point on the drum gets to a certain point. I couldn't get the white disk out, so I just tried cleaning above and below it with soap and water. Anything else I should do for it?


Some views of the furling line:




I believe the second picture shows an additional issue - I think I need to decore my furling line for the first 20 feet or so. I think I'm overfilling the drum which might explain why it gets stuck with a lot of wraps. Does that make sense?

Final question is that the bottom of the luff extrusion is cracked, it seems okay short term, but thoughts? It's fully covered by the drum usually:



I also took some pictures of the shackles, I can't see what I can't see, but it looks like only minor corrosion right now and now cracks:


Anyway, thanks again all for the tips. So far it's spinning somewhat better. I *think* I need to decore some furling line to make space and it might help even more. Also, would dry lubricant help at all?
 
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Jan 22, 2008
68
Hunter 30_88-94 Ipswich, Ma MA
Just a suggestion.....look up and make sure your jib halyard is clear and not wrapped around the top of the fruler.
We’ve done this a few time when raising the jib for the first time in the Spring. Opps!
It‘s easy to do on a fractional rig.
 
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Jan 18, 2018
3
Hunter 33.5 Seattle
The roller furler on my '92 Hunter 335 gets stuck when unfurling/furling the jib. I've replaced the furler line as I thought that might be the issue to no avail. Anyone have any tips on maintenance or what might cause the jamming? On this boat the furler seems somewhat integral as part of the forestay.

The symptoms are when unfurling about ten feet of sail comes off the furler and then it just stops rotating. I can walk to the bow and manually twist the furler to unroll the remainder. When furling the opposite happens, about ten feet furls in before it completely jams. When this happens I need to use a winch to furl in the remainder.

Any tips would be appreciated,
Thanks
I had the exact same problem on my 92 33.5. I replaced the furler line with a 0.25" diameter and haven't had any issues since. I can't remember the diameter that was used previously, but I remember it was considerably larger. From memory, 0.25" was the recommended diameter in the furler documentation that I found.