CDI Flexible Furler Friction

[Mario Kuttnig]

I just checked some stock images, and you are right guys: The cup is too far up, respectively my drum goes too far down.
Now my problem is reduced to getting the assembly come apart, to be able to place a washer.
Not sure how I can loosen the turnbuckle, it seems to be locked - probably with cotter pins.
Is the drum supposed to slide up the extrusion?

Thanks guys!

 

[Mario Kuttnig]

I think he is saying the white plastic piece (thrust washer) seems to be good? ...

I couldn't get a good look, since I wasn't able yet to disassemble the drum assembly... Will try again later tonight.

 

[JohnVTX]

Yes it is supposed to slide up.

 

[justsomeguy]

Not sure how I can loosen the turnbuckle, it seems to be locked - probably with cotter pins.

Yep, they're either cottered or ringed. Make sure to replace them when reassembling.

 

[agprice22]

Is the furler still on the boat?
The pin stops the luff extrusion from sliding down further into the drum. BE CAREFUL when sliding the drum up out of the cup. The edge of the cup is thin and will cut your fingers if you let the weight of the luff extrusion catch your fingers in the cup, under the drum! You will be sliding the drum and extrusion up the forestay to expose the bottom of the cup... Keep your fingers free.
Also, lack of a toggle at the top of your forestay is dangerous and will make the furler harder to operate, but not much. Make sure you have a proper toggle at the top of your forestay where it connects to the masthead. If you do not, you will twist and torque your forestay til... it breaks, dropping your mast on your head.

 

[Mario Kuttnig]

Good Morning guys, I have news!
I wasn't able to slide the drum upwards on the extrusion. Why? I think i found out. has anyone ever seen this screw (photo). I think it holds the drum down, respectively the white plastic piece in, so the drum doesn't move up.

This pic is taken with the cup slid down about 1 inch.
The screw pointed out here is not easy to undo, since there is no matching hole in the cup, but i will try with a small screwdriver to somehow get it out.
How does the white piece look to you?
Thank you!

 

[Mario Kuttnig]

Is the furler still on the boat?
...
you will twist and torque your forestay til... it breaks, dropping your mast on your head.

Mast is down right now. Thanks for heads-up, I'll keep that in mind. Don't want the mast to come down when underway...

 

[Mario Kuttnig]

You will be sliding the drum and extrusion up the forestay to expose the bottom of the cup...

There lies my problem, I have only about an inch of forestay at the top to slide the extrusion up. Whoever mounted this must have done a bad job, by using too much of the extrusion, and creating that lug to mount it to the mast after assembling the drum assembly.
I was hoping that the drum itself can slide up the extrusion as it looks in the manual (Step 11 in the assembly instructions).
So, I'll try to remove that screw and then see what's going on.
Worst case, I'll have to cut the extrusion with a Dremel or so, but I'd rather not; don't want to take the risk of damaging my forestay.

 

[flynhi4u]

Mario,
I think your best course of action since you already have the mast down is to completely Un install the furler and follow the instructions closely to reinstall it. I don't remember that screw on the underside of the drum. The washer Dave and I are referring to is at the top if the white derlin piece that the cup attaches to. Until you either slide the drum up or remove the cup and the white derlin part you won't know for sure the 1/8" thick stainless washer is installed.
I don't see the fact that you have an inch of uncovered forstay as a problem. The instructions tell you to make a spacer to go above the furler top cap if you have much more than that exposed to keep the foil from sliding up when reefed.
You should be able to pull the pin out of the drum that goes through it a 90 degree angle to the foil then slide the drum up the foil. If the sail is off the drum will slide all the way up the foil till it hits the internal halyard. Once the drum is slid up you will be able to see the forstay turnbuckle. Just measure how much the studs are threaded into the turn buckle so you can reinstall them back to the same position.
The CDI furler is very simple. This should not take you much more than 30 mins since you already have the mast down.

Sam

 

[flynhi4u]

Hopefully you marked which holes the screws were in on the bottom of the cup. They are what determine the orientation of the opening in the cup. You will know if it is not where it should be when you reinstall it if the line exits the cup in the wrong postion.

Sam

 

[Mario Kuttnig]

Thanks guys!
Well, the holes pretty much marked themselves by rusting :-D
As for sliding the drum up, it doesn't go up, because of that screw I mentioned above. Once that screw comes undone, I'm hoping it will slide up, and expose the tuenbuckle. Thus, I can look for the washer and hopefully reassemble everything.
I'll keep you posted how it went...

 

[twalker H260]

Not sure that the screw in your last pic is actually an original part of the CDI furler. (At least not in that location) Can you post some additional shots of the drum?

 

[flynhi4u]

Not sure that the screw in your last pic is actually an original part of the CDI furler. (At least not in that location) Can you post some additional shots of the drum?

That is what I was thinking.

Sam

 

[Mario Kuttnig]

Hi all! I would like to thank you all once more for your ideas. I finally was able to get this think apart. That screw really looks like something not originally being added by CDI. I can see its function in preventing the spindle to move upwards, but that is supposed to be taken care of by the bolt through the upper part of the spindle as well as the extrusion.
Long story short: I was able to remove it, and then everything came apart like a charm. I disassembled the turnbuckle, added a washer and put the thing back together. Rolls like I was hoping it would.
One difference to the original configuration remains: It seems, there should be a washer ON TOP of the white plastic, but it has to be larger than 1 1/2 in diameter and smaller than 1 3/4. I measured the boring with a caliper , and it is some 1.7 in, so just short of 1 3/4. A 1 3/4 washer wouldn't fit in, and a 1 1/2 would slide all the way in, not giving the plastic part any support. What I ended up doing was putting a smaller washer BELOW the plastic piece, i.e. between the cup and the white piece. It does the job increasing the distance from the cup's bottom to the spindle.
No idea how that custom screw got there, but I put it back in, since my washer is now below the assembly anyway.

I'm hoping to have the mast up next weekend, and then I'll let you know how this fix works in "real life"
Thank you all!
Mario