Furling headsail extrusions have twisted

[John1558]

I have a Ultrafurl headsail furling system on my 31'sailboat. Last summer a halyard wrap at the top prevented the headsail from furling .. so a helping hand put the furling line on a winch and gave it a hard crank. As a result, I now have almost a 360 degree twist from the top to the bottom of my aluminum extrusions. The mast is off the boat for the winter .. and the advice I have received is to put big pipe wrenches at each end of the extrusions and twist them in the opposite direction. Any idea if I am likely to be successful with this method ? or any other ideas /thoughts?

 

[jmcclain]

Twisted Extrusion

Sailor John,Sorry to hear about the damage to your furler. I don't think a couple of crescent wrenches alone is a very good idea. If you are not careful you will end up with the world's largest corkscrew. When originally bent it was restrained by the stay and the tension of the halyard. The extrusion is not radially balanced as is aluminum pipe is and will try to twist and form a spiral as you attempt to torque it. Before attempting to twist it back, drop the extrusion into several 10' lengths steel electrical conduit slightly larger in diameter. Clamp to tubing down if you can, and then gradually torgue end to end. With each attempt, hold torque pressure for a moment, then release and repeat until the twist is gone.Jon McClain