Finally adding a furler

[Nereussailor]

So I bought this furler many years ago and it's still sitting in the box. Between redoing the headsail and the thought of the actual installation, I just keep putting it off. It's a hood 915SL I have the installation instructions and all of the parts. When I purchased it, I had a rigger go over it to see if it was in good shape. He said it was almost new and that for $400 I got a great deal. He said it wasn't the latest and greatest furler, but it was a good furler.
There's a couple of questions that I need answered. It says that there needs to be a toggle at the top of the forestay. I know what they are talking about but can't visualize how it attaches to the mast. There might be one up there already, but I don't remember and my eyes aren't the greatest so I can't see up there with binoculars. A picture or drawing would help. If there is one up there, can a furler be assembled piece by piece and slid up the forestay using a halyard as a temporary forestay?
If the forstay is removed and the furler is put together, How do you get it to the top of the mast. Do you just hook it to another haylard and hoist it up? I really don't want to pull the mast to do this project if I don't have to. If anyone has installed a furler before on a boat with a 40' mast. I put a furler on my Mac 26S but I could drop that mast myself. This is a whole new level. I'd appreciate any coments.

 

[caguy]

I installed my old hood furler while the mast was up. I took it down last year to check the forestay and then reassembled it with the mast up.

 

[FastOlson]

Having watched others do a furler install with the mast up, I see a basic method...
(There are likely other permutations, but I just have not seem 'em...)

Get a good comfortable bosun's chair, and have someone on hand to winch you up n down.

First, "replace" the forestay part of your rig by running a jib or spinn halyard to the front of the boat and taking a decent strain on it.

Then you can go up in a chair and disconnect the stay, tie a light line to it, and lower it gently down to a helper on deck. Inspect all the rigging points while you are there; expect to find some additional overdue maint. after so many decades.

Using the old stay as a length guide, laid out on the dock, fab up a new stay. Most furlers have some sort of fabricated lower "swage" that is inside the lower unit or just under it. Either a StaLok or their version of that idea.

Always use new wire, since the chance of anyone inspecting it again in the next couple decades is virtually zero.

In this 'net-oriented age, there are likely even video's on line with more help on the brand you have.

Take your time, and if you get stuck, contact the maker of the furler. They want you to be successful and have a safe outcome. It's good advertising for them, after all.

best,
Loren

 

[Joe]

Adding the toggle will change the pin direction 90 deg, it will also prevent the stainless steel head stay fitting from becoming "frozen" to the aluminum masthead crane through corrosion of dissimilar metals. If you have never removed your current head stay, there's a good chance the pin connecting the stay and masthead will be very difficult to remove because of this phenomenon. If you drop the mast then it's much easier to work on this issue... there are a few techniques... but on my boat, HEAT was the solution.

Anyhow, before you make a bunch of plans... go up the mast to see if you can remove the head stay pin..... if it's easy to pull, no problem. If not.... enquire for the best removal technique and make your plans accordingly.

When you reassemble, installing a toggle will give you a ss to ss connection on the head stay.

There are many types of toggles..... a simple jaw toggle will work best up top. http://www.mauriprosailing.com/Sta-Lok/images/pi/STANBT14_T.jpg

On some systems, such as ProFurl, a double jaw toggle is also used for the lower connection... http://www.mauriprosailing.com/Schaefer/images/pi/SCH9385_T.jpg

P.S. Sorry about the links.. html is turned off, there are no edit icons on my display....

 

[Nereussailor]

Thanks for the advice guys. FastOlson, I replaced the forstay 4 years ago when I had the boat moved from Wisconsin. The forestay got bent in the yard somehow....no one new how it happened. It was fine when it came off the truck, but got bent just above the turnbuckle a few days later. so I replaced it. Joe, It's been apart recently, so I'm not expecting any problems. Although, with salt water boats, you never know. I try to take the mast down and check it every couple of years, but it's been a little longer this time.
I did get out the furler and check it out. I'm missing one part. The disk that centers and holds the furler up on the forestay when there isn't any tension on the halyard. It looks pretty simple to make if I can't find it, but for some reason I think it's on the boat somewhere. If it quits raining, I'll head over and look for it.

 

[rardiH36]

Just saw this thread. Having just recently removed my old furler and installed a new furler ... and doing both vertically by removing/assembling down/up the forestay with the mast up... I can recount a few experiences that might help with your project.

- As you have already been contemplating, the forestay is attached to the masthead and free at the bottom.
- I did the assembly with the forestay temporarily moved aft just forward of my forward lower shroud. This has the advantage of reducing the angle off vertical which helps as the pieces are assembled and moved up the forestay. Also one can work from dock level which really helps an probably is necessary.
- I removed my bow pulpit to get it out of the way when I moved the completed furler/headstay assembly back up to the bow.
- To prevent anything dropped from sinking, I removed the fenders and pulled the boat hard up against the dock at the point I was working. And I tied a large tarp along my toe rail and then to my neighbor's side dock cleats. (This step did save one dropped part!)
- Next to the forestay assembly point, I rigged and tensioned in a parallel manner a halyard. But before tensioning, I tied a two lines with a small loops around the halyard in a manner that the loops are tied to the halyard so that they can't slip up or down the halyard. The upper loop, maybe about 12 feet above the deck, the lower loop maybe about head height above the deck. Then tension the the halyard. (I secured my halyard to the toe rail.) The reason for this: As the first extrusions are added make sure they go through the loops. Then as more extrusions are added, the assembly doesn't want to fall off vertical on its way to the top. Remember that the forestay is free at the bottom and slack. So if you use only the slack headstay, the whole assembly will tend to flop around.
- When each new extrusion is added and pushed up, then wrap a couple of elastic shock cords around the extrusion and the guide halyard. This provides is enough friction to keep everything from sliding back down while you get the next piece in position. With the right shock cord tension, you can also shove the assembly up to get ready for the next piece.
- You will need to shove up each assembled extrusion piece high enough that you can get the next piece also high enough so that the bottom of the forestay is showing on the bottom so you can assemble the bearing fittings around the forestay.
- Also to keep pieces from sliding down while installing, I used vice grips to clamp around the forestay wire. First I wrapped the vice grips jaw part with several layers of duct tape so that the vice grips wouldn't damage the wire strands. The vice grips were adjusted to have a firm grip, but not enough to crush/distort the wire. The vice grip clamping was particularly useful after all the extrusions have been shoved up to the top and during the drum and bottom fitting assembly.

Here's a link to a thread I started in July with further information from myself and other forum members:

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=1045960&highlight=Profurl

Have fun with the project.

 

[Nereussailor]

Thanks for the help rardiH36. The tarp idea is a must, I'll be working above the water most of the time, and since the parts are almost non existent to get replacements, I really don't want to go diving to get them. I think I'm getting the loops tied the halyard vision. Any chance you have pictures? Here's what i envision. Tight halyard with two small loops big enough to slide the furler extrusions through. One about 6-7 ft above the deck, and one 12-14 ft or so above the deck. This will help keep the furler extrusions moving in the right direction as it gets put together. I'm assuming that the shock cords get removed each time you add another extrusion.
If everything goes as planned while doing this project, (It usually doesn't) I plan on taking pictures to document this installation since the instructions are pretty sketchy. Maybe someone else can use the information.

 

[rardiH36]

Sorry, but I didn't take pictures of my vertical furler installation. I needed to concentrate too much on actually doing the job!

The exact height of the loops isn't critical. You will need to see for yourself what works. Both the shock cords don't need to be removed each time. Just the lower one. And the upper one needs to be slid up. This also is where the vice grips at the bottom help. No risk of things sliding back down unexpectedly when the shock cord tension is released. Again, you will need to see what works for you. (i.e. putting the details of this back on you is my way of acknowledging that I don't remember exactly every move!)

All-in-all, my installation went very smoothly ... particularly since this was a first time ever furler install effort for me. I don't think that assembling on the dock would have saved much time. For that also I would have needed an extra person or two to help guide/hoist the finished assembly to the masthead while I was up there to connect it. In comparison, attaching the headstay to the masthead without the added weight of the furler assembly on it was quite doable for one person (me). The main issue I encountered was measuring the total needed extrusion length so that it made it up to the top just right while allowing my intended height of the drum above the deck at the bottom. Although I followed my Profurl instructions to the "T", things did turn out about 3-4" off. But I corrected successfully without too much fuss.