Building and installing new roller furling

[Ken Palmer]

Last year my old Hood roller furling on my Hunter 33.5 bit the dust, taking with it the forestay. I ended up buying a new Hood Seafurl 5 253 at the end of the season and a new forestay. A good looking unit with instructions that might be easy to follow for a professional rigger, but daunting for a non-mechanical person like me.

There are:
2 pages "Installation Guide",
2 pages "Installation instructions/slide show",
1 page "Cut Length Dimensions",
1 page "Parts List",
1 page "325 Assembly (Drawing of drum and parts balloons",
1 page "Cutting the upper luff extrusion",
3 pages "Seafurl 5 253 Cut Sheet"
1 page "New Sea Furl 5 SST - Split Splice Technology"
1 page "253 Sea Furl Luff Assembly drawing with parts balloons"
1 CD with 125 photographed images of different stages of assembly.

None of the numbered images match any reference numbers on the Installation/Slide Show sheets.

Am I confused? You bet. I suppose that I could hire a professional rigger, if you can find one here, and let the pro do the job. However, I need to finish this job before Memorial Day weekend. The boat is launched and the mast is on saw horses on the lawn of the yacht club waiting for me to work on it. I'm still working for a living, so the only time to try this out is late afternoon after working a 10 hour shift.

That's my story. Any words of encouragement would be welcome.

 

[woodster]

wish i was closer to you ...would be glad to help you install it.....you may want to take the system home ,fuler parts that is, and do a dry install or assymbley as it were untill you get the confidence you need to proceed ....that way you will not have the peanut gallry looking over your sholder ...... just remember pratice makes perfict......good luck

regards

woody

 

[Ken Palmer]

Good idea Woody. As luck would have it, all the furler parts are here at home. I could even take the forestay off the mast and bring it home, allowing me to do all except the joining of the sections of the luff assembly.

I had replaced the forestay in the fall and put the mast back up without a roller furling, so I know the length is correct.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Hermit Scott]

I would consider myself a mechanical person and I still did a dry fit in my shop of the furler I installed a few months back. It was my first one. Look at the exploded diagram and see how all the parts go together. Start playing with them, it's not that bad you can do it. Remember to use loctite when you are installing it for real.

 

[Ken Palmer]

I dove into it today. I think I have a clear picture in my mind now. Next problem is that Lower Adapter must have a "Threaded Marine Eye with removable toggles" for the turnbuckle. They are available through the manufacturer, so it looks like a phone call tomorrow. It I can get overnight delivery, maybe I can get it together by Wednesday or Thursday. Our local marina store and West Marine did not have the part. Oh well, I feel better about it now.

Will keep you posted on the outcome with a couple photos if I remember to take my camera.... Thanks.

 

[Ken Palmer]

Final update. My best mechanical friend and I met at the club last week to get this job done before the Fleet Review Memorial Day Sunday (yes, the day before the Monday holiday).

To make a long story short, we followed the images provided which I had copied from the CD supplied. I have Paint Shop Pro and printed them on 8 per page wallet size. Worked out great just following pictures. Built the roller furling and then stepped the mast. Always a huge job stepping that big mast.

All went well. Took a short trial sail and the only adjustment I needed to make (so far) was taking some wraps off the drum. My dock neighbor said to leave 5 turns on the drum with the sail furled. Now I think it will work much easier.

BTW, the kit was supplied with the de-cored line needed already installed on the drum, so I didn't have to fool with that.