Has anyone on the list replaced the bearings in a Hyde roller furler? The Hyde unit appears to be orginal to the boat. Now that the head sail is off and the boat on the hard, I've found that furler unit does not rotate around the headstay smoothly. It acts like it's "cogging" when turning the drum and foil around by hand. The lower bearing unit does not seem to be at fault. The resistance seems to be occurring at the top of the foil track. The foil itself doesn't look like it has a bend in it that could be rubbing when turning. It would appear that the headstay needs to come down to do any bearing replacement work. Has anyone done this with the mast up?
Hyde Roller Furler
- Thread starter Baysailor2
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Hyde maintenance.
If like mine your furler is a solid rod, there is no forestay. The first thing is to tune your rig, preferably with a Loos gauge. It could be something like the backstay being too tight. But probably not.
You can take the furler down by first securing the mast with a couple of halyards. I would use two to the toerail pretty close to the bow. Then relax the backstay and the shrouds before trying to disconnect. I cannot tell you how to get up there. I did mine with the mast on the deck. My 1979 Hyde still works well. And I suppose you know that parts are still available from Rig=Rite.
If like mine your furler is a solid rod, there is no forestay. The first thing is to tune your rig, preferably with a Loos gauge. It could be something like the backstay being too tight. But probably not.
You can take the furler down by first securing the mast with a couple of halyards. I would use two to the toerail pretty close to the bow. Then relax the backstay and the shrouds before trying to disconnect. I cannot tell you how to get up there. I did mine with the mast on the deck. My 1979 Hyde still works well. And I suppose you know that parts are still available from Rig=Rite.
Repairs
Ed, thanks for the reply. The mast had been down and retuned 1 1/2 years before I bought the boat. Have a Loos for my smaller boat's rigging but will try to borrow largest one for the larger H34's sizes. Hadn't thought of the rig tuning binding the furler. The head swivel feels good when turning and slides freely so will look at the drum end first. Thought the foil rode over the forestay--will take a much closer look on Saturday. Have printed a set of Hyde parts drawings off the net so have parts numbers to order from. Looks like the drum's bearing can be accessed by lifting off the basket. Will have to try that too to rule it out as the cause.
Ed, thanks for the reply. The mast had been down and retuned 1 1/2 years before I bought the boat. Have a Loos for my smaller boat's rigging but will try to borrow largest one for the larger H34's sizes. Hadn't thought of the rig tuning binding the furler. The head swivel feels good when turning and slides freely so will look at the drum end first. Thought the foil rode over the forestay--will take a much closer look on Saturday. Have printed a set of Hyde parts drawings off the net so have parts numbers to order from. Looks like the drum's bearing can be accessed by lifting off the basket. Will have to try that too to rule it out as the cause.
replaced mine
I replaced the bearings on both ends. Rig-rite has them, but I went to the local bearing supplier, (Motion Industries). They matched the bearing size and suggested sealed bearings. The cost was about $30.00 dollars. That was about 2 years ago. The part that attaches to the jib needed a little grease in the bearings and now works fine, so I did not change those bearings.
I replaced the bearings on both ends. Rig-rite has them, but I went to the local bearing supplier, (Motion Industries). They matched the bearing size and suggested sealed bearings. The cost was about $30.00 dollars. That was about 2 years ago. The part that attaches to the jib needed a little grease in the bearings and now works fine, so I did not change those bearings.
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