Furler Q’s

[fred1diver]

Hello everyone
A few quick questions, I just received my new forestay, I still have to install the furler back on and assemble.
First question, what type of lubricant do I use for the furler? Furlex type B mark 11
Second question, I know I need a forestay to hold the mast, but can I mast the boat without one by temporarily using a halyard, maybe 2 ( foresail and spin)
Obviously I would not go out until furler/forestay is installed.
I am asking because we finally splashed yesterday and our club has a two week limit for the boat not to have the mast up, so I might be able to mast Sunday, but with all the rain lately I don’t know if I will be able to setup the furler

thank you in advance

 

[BarryL]

Hello,

Over the years I have had a number of new furling units installed on a number of boats. The rigger always used a halyard as a temporary forestay. This never was a problem, but the halyard was used for only a few hours and in relatively calm conditions.

Good luck,
Barry

 

[kappykaplan]

The rigger always used a halyard as a temporary forestay.

 

[fred1diver]

Ok, I will plan accordingly, thank you

 

[jssailem]

Fred.
During the process of replacing my furler, my rigger used halyards to secure the mast. It took about 48 hours to remove the old unit, build the new furler and replace it. The 12mm diameter stayset double braid line held the mast in place without incident. In my case I had the jib halyard and the spinnaker halyards secured to strong backed cleats on the bow.

 

[dLj]

I've pulled my forestay and held the mast up for several weeks using a halyard and spinker halyard - essentially two halyards - without concerns. I like using the two lines as I run one to port and one to starboard giving me good access to the forestay region for doing the work needed.

dj

 

[shemandr]

There is a warning out there that if someone uses modern cordage for the headsail halyard that they can make the halyard the de facto forestay. Yes your halyard can keep the mast up.
I still wouldn't climb the mast with it. There is no line, halyard or anything else that I would use to climb a mast. I haven't had both feet off the deck in a decade. And the forecast for the future isn't any better.

 

[fred1diver]

I would not have to climb up the mast, we have a masting “crane” at our club which has steps to get on top, so my question is really can I SAFELY use 1-2 halyards to support the mast so I can bring the boat back to its slip for a few days?

 

[kappykaplan]

so my question is really can I SAFELY use 1-2 halyards to support the mast so I can bring the boat back to its slip for a few days?

Yes

 

[sailme88]

Can it be inferred that you are deck and not keel stepped? In either case the halyard(s) is the best option. Most forestays inside the foil have a turnbuckle.within. This will need to be balanced against the backstay..

IS this just a new headstay inside the old foil?

 

[fred1diver]

Yes it is indeed deck stepped, I am sorry I forgot to mention that detail, yes the stay is in the foil, but there is no turnbuckle on the forestay, the backstay has the adjustment (wheel type adjuster)
Yes I just picked up the new stay on Wednesday.
I need to assemble the furler before I can install the stay.
I will try to do this before masting, but I just want to be certain to have a backup plan in case I don’t have time to assemble it before hand

 

[dLj]

@fred1diver as I said before, I had my mast, also deck stepped, without the forestay attached for several weeks. It was actually more like a month to 6 weeks because when I dropped my forestay I discovered I had to rebuild my bow sprit. The boat sat like that as I worked on it and actually went through several storms while sitting in the water.

I'll give you another piece of anectodotal information - a boat I had years ago, also a deck stepped mast, got wacked in a pretty serious hurricane. It was rolled 3 times during the duration of the storm and when the storm passed it was discovered that the forestay had broken a connection at the bow. It was flapping free. That mast had an intermediate forestay or that would have been catastrophic. But the mast held just with the intermediate forestay for a length of time that is unknown. Did the forestay break on the first role? Second roll? Third roll? Unknown.

In summary - you are way over -thinking this.

dj

 

[jssailem]

Yes. I used the halyards to hold the mast in place while I removed the forestay with the furler (forestay ran through the center of the furler extrusion).

First, ease the backstay tension mast should go vertical or lean slightly towards the bow. Forestay should become slack.
Next, tighten the halyard or halyards to the bow to hold the mast in place. The tension on the forestay should be eased enough to release the forestay from attachment to the bow.

From here, the rest depends on your furler, the shrouds, your lift, and the number of folks helping. You will need to release the forestay at the top of the mast and bring the furler and forestay to the ground. This will require additional rope (usually a halyard). This usually requires a person at the masthead, a person on the rope to lower the top end of the forestay, and a person or two on the bottom of the forestay/furler to keep the furler straight and to lay it down onto the ground without inducing a bend as it is lowered.

It will be a fun-packed morning. Once stretched out on the ground, you can do the removal and rebuild.

Reinstalling (HOISTING) follows the same path in reverse. Oh Boy.

 

[sailme88]

Yes it is indeed deck stepped, I am sorry I forgot to mention that detail, yes the stay is in the foil, but there is no turnbuckle on the forestay, the backstay has the adjustment (wheel type adjuster)
Yes I just picked up the new stay on Wednesday.
I need to assemble the furler before I can install the stay.
I will try to do this before masting, but I just want to be certain to have a backup plan in case I don’t have time to assemble it before hand

In that case, you should make every effort to get it in place before stepping, else you increase the problem quotient by a factor of 100... Plus going up a mast that is dependent on halyards and not a stay is exceedingly unsafe.

 

[Terry Cox]

First question, what type of lubricant do I use for the furler? Furlex type B mark 11

Hi Fred. Our Hood furler, likely your Furlex as well, requires no lubrication, but only a freshwater rinse. Lubrication of the Hood unsealed bearings would tend to collect debris that over time would interfere with its' operation.

 

[fred1diver]

Ok, making headway with the furler
Managed to reinstall the stay and assemble the fittings, all except the cone for the Sta-lock, for the life of me, I simply cannot figure out that part
How many strands are supposed to go through the cone? If it is the whole core then my chandlery had the wrong cone in the right baggies
As soon as I figure that one out I can proceed to successfully masting.

 

[jssailem]

What type of wire rope are you using? I have 1x19 wire rope.

The core has 7 strands which fit in the center of the cone snd 12 that slip over the outside.

 

[fred1diver]

That is the wire I have, so do I put one or 7 strands in the cone?

 

[jssailem]

StaLoc says all 7; this is the core of the wirerope. The other 12 wrap around the outside of the cone evenly.

 

[jssailem]

Here is the video link.

And the site instructions.

Sta-Lok Self-Fit Terminals — 5 Easy Steps to Instant Rigging

The Sta-Lok self-fit terminals are a simple mechanical method of terminating 1x19, 7x7, 7x19 and compacted strand wire ropes.

www.stalok.com