Anyone ever DIY service an Isofurl Furler?

[Evan656]

Does anyone have any experience replacing the bearings on an Isofurl furler? This furler was original equipment on 1988/89 O'Day 302s. I think a version of this furler was also used on some Beneteau's of that era and these were recalled for failing and risk of demastings.
The bearings on mine were rusted and jammed. I bought a bearing replacement kit from Rig Rite but there are no instructions with the kit and RR doesn't seem to know how the assembly works - they can only refer me to their web pages which do not in fact explain the assembly or series in which the bearings are placed. You might suggest that I replace the bearings in the same order that they come out but a couple of parts that fell out during dissassembly tell me that the furler was serviced previously and may not have been put back together properly. You might also tell me to replace the furler but the system is simple enough and with new bearings and regular inspection it should continue to serve for years.

 

[Bluemoon27]

Get another job furler . On my 92 Pierson Oday 322. The furler is the ONLY thing that supports the mast. This model does not have a forestay and the jib attaches to the furler instead of the mast.

The bearing housing is two concentric cups that screw together and are very poorly "locked" by set screws. If you persist in turning a furler with a bad bearing, the housing will unscrew and drop the mast into the cockpit!

The Isomat company that made this dangerous POS went bankrupt because of dismastings...

 

[Mackaroni]

Hi Evan! I hope that you are having a decent holiday season. My boat has been on the hard all year this year and I have decided to turn it into a major refit year, and that includes the furler. My Isomat furler worked fine when I brought the mast down last year for service, but I noticed there was a lot of "play" in it. Whereas all the rigging lines elsewhere were fairly taught, I could push the furler a decent distance and I just didn't feel good about it. Without the sail on it, it flops in the wind. There was no way to tension it to take the slack out of it, so I decided to replace it with a real stay and a new furler.

The jury is still out on the furler as I am torn between the Harken and the Schafler. My checkbook is not torn between either, so I will most likely go with the Harken MKIV. Sometimes in life I just need to realize that I don't need the best of the best.

I contacted Rudy at D&R marine and talked to him for a while. He gave me the number to Dennis who used to work rigging the O'Day boats and had a good working knowledge of the boats. He now works for BSE Engineering/Bay Sailing. He was very helpful, took the time to answer a ton of questions, so perhaps you can give him a call and talk to him about your furler and how to service it. He was also not a big fan of these furlers. His number is: 508/678-4419.

I am currently in the middle of measuring all of mine (and trying to figure out the original spec sheet) so I can replace them. I pulled the furler and laid it on the ground to measure it about a week ago, but that is far as I have gotten. Dennis recommended a stay of 36' 9.5 inches, but my measurement is coming up with something almost an inch different. So, I need to reconcile that; could be an error in my measurement as I was doing it alone. His measurement is quite close to the 36' 10" that is listed in the spec sheet.

I am also leaning towards putting mechanical Hi-mod ends on my wire instead of the swaged ends. It will cost a bit, but will make service in the future a bit easier. Plus, it looks like a job that I can handle on my own, after becoming a YouTube expert in rigging. The last owner had my boat for 10 years and didn't change the rigging out, nor did he remember when it was done before him. So, I think it is time. Although I haven't inspected all of my rigging with a magnifying glass, I did find some chaffing on one of the stays where it exits the hole in the mast.

Anyway.....hope this might be somewhat helpful.

Mack

 

[Evan656]

Thanks Mack. I did rebuild the furler last Spring with a new bearing kit. Set up and tested out and the furler works like new. Glad I did because one set of bearings was rusted and clearly seized up. Having taken the furler apart and after putting it back together again, I am confident that I can monitor it and avoid the chance of it jaming, unscrewing and dropping the mast. I even have an idea in mind for locking the bearing cups so that there is no chance of the system coming undone. But I will keep Denis' number handy.
That said, it is an older furler. I also noticed the flex in the foil that you mention about yours and wondered how that might affect performance. The foil is the front stay so I tried to stiffen it by tightening and tuning the side and backstays. I will try that again this Spring when the boat goes back in the water. As far as the length of the forestay goes, I have the same spec sheet from the O'Day manual that you do and can't offer anything new.
My standing rigging seems to be in good shape so it is not currently on my list of re-fits. Your comment about needing the best of the best and every sailboat owners lament about how much $ goes into maintanance, upkeep and just plain better gear is all too familiar. I just updated all of my running rigging and I have a new headsail on order to replace my threadbare genoa. My surveyor recommended I replace my fuel fill and vent hoses and my Yanmar mechanic noted that my fuel lines are not to standard. And I note cracks in various rubber hoses and a number of minor leaks to do with above the waterline through hull fittings. And given the slight aroma of head, I think my sanitation hoses are done. All this to say this Spring I am planning to replace all of my hoses and install a new head. And my hot water tank has rusted out and I need to replace that as well... So the furler can wait for now.
BTW: measure your running rigging before you buy new. O'Day specs left a couple of my lines coming up a bit short. Cheers!

 

[Mackaroni]

Evan,

I have taken all my standing rigging off the boat and its currently in my trunk so I can go home and measure it. I figured that is something that I can actually do without having to go to the boat.

I have a separate thread going, but I just replaced my exhaust hose (not fun) and have almost 30 feet of sanitation hose sitting in my living room right now that I will probably install this weekend, or at least some of it. Peggy wrote an amazing "how to" on my thread and her book is good too. I went with the Triton hose. I hope to take care of that during this month while its still relatively cold out.

Many of my hoses look bad too, so everything is going. I also noticed some crud (metal) in the water lock a couple of days ago that I need to investigate. I hope it is just fragments from the elbow above it. I'll have to do some more reading on that.

Thanks for the info on the rigging. Was it the running rigging that fell short of the spec?

 

[Evan656]

I am looking forward to reading your thread on hose as I am about to buy exhaust hose and replace as well.
Boom vang comes to mind as one line that came up short in the O'Day specs. Halyards were all good but the main sheet seems overly long.
Unless there is any further discussion about Isofurl furlers, I think this thread is done. I am now off to plumbing to read about your exhaust house replacement.

 

[the_alpine]

I've also been looking at the sag in my isofurl. Anybody try to tighten it up? It looks as though in order to tighten it one would need to:
-release/loosen the backstay
-disconnect the toggle attaching the furler to the forward chainplate
-backout the set screw
-screw in the adjustment screw some amount (or shorten it if your is threaded all the way in already like mine)
-tighten set screw
-reconnect attachments
-retension backstay

 

[Evan656]

Hi the_alpine,
From what I have read, a sag in the foil isn't necessarily a problem. In fact, some sag seems to be beneficial to sail performance in lighter winds.
Your proposal to take sag out of the foil should also keep in mind overall tuning of the stays and then tightening up the foil if needed. The mast should have some rake or lean toward the stern as a start (I measured 6" of lean from the top of mast and at the gooseneck) and the side stays should be measured to make sure the mast is in the middle of the boat and not leaning to one side or the others. The stays at the spreaders are then tightened up and balanced so as not to pull the mast out of alignment. I believe the O'Day manual says all stays should be hand tightened. Fine tuning takes place after a shakedown sail and to build in or take out weather helm depending on how she steers.
So I have done all that and hope to go out soon to see how she performs.