Some time ago, I posted a question to this forum about the in-mast roller furling on my C36. It was very tight rolling it out or in. I was asking for suggestions as to the cause of the problem. There were a lot of different suggestions. I changed the car on the boom and this helped, but only a little bit. So I made it a winter project to take out the furler and send it in to USSpars for servicing. I thought that some might be interested in these photos as well as my experience.
Luckily, I didn't just barge ahead (as I often do) and just go by what seemed right; I called US Spars first. One thing they warned me about was to make sure that the foil above the furler doesn't drop down to the bottom of the mast. If it did, then I'd be well and truly sc____ed. As you can see, what I did was tie a line to the shackle on this piece and tie the line off. Then I struggled to remove the furler drum.
The lower screw, the one below the shackle, had to be removed, but this can only be done when the furler is partly down. And to do this, you have to pry it out some. This puts some strain on everything, but it's possible.
With the screw out and the furler removed, I discovered the cause of the problem: The inhaul line had swelled, I think because of its having absorbed a lot of salt, and it was rubbing against the casing on the side and back of the mechanism. So I replaced this line. I thoroughtly rinsed out the furler with soapy and then fresh water and after allowing it to dry I put some anti-corrosive oil in it that the rigger recommended to me.
While it was drying, I force down the mast a little ways a piece of foam whose sides I'd coated with caulking. Then I more or less cut to fit a piece of plastic to put on top of it and caulked around it. This was because there is no seal under the furler and water really runs down the mast into the bilge (I have a keel-stepped mast) when it rains or if there's a lot of sea spray on deck. (See third photo - it looks ugly, but I think it will work.) I installed all this at a slight angle and drilled a little weep hole at the lowest point.
While doing all of this, I had blocked the foil up with a bar through the inspection plates (2nd photo). Then it was simply a matter of putting everything back together. One word of warning for anybody who wants to do the same thing: The hardest part was putting that lower screw back in and putting on the nut. If my fingers weren't pretty small, I wouldn't have been able to do it because it can't be done until the furler is back all the way up, so you have to do it through the inspection plate holes. So if you have large hands, get a lady or a man with smaller hands to help with this part. (Actually, what I had to do was start the screw when the furler drum was half way installed and then get it all the way through and put on the nut when it was all the way in.)
I had found that the furler drum turns very freely, so I didn't bother sending it in for servicing. The whole thing took me and my two "helpers" about four hours, including time to go get a new line. Everything seems to be running smoothly now, but the wear and tear on me and my helpers is obvious from the last photo, which is of the three of us recovering from this strenuous ordeal.
Luckily, I didn't just barge ahead (as I often do) and just go by what seemed right; I called US Spars first. One thing they warned me about was to make sure that the foil above the furler doesn't drop down to the bottom of the mast. If it did, then I'd be well and truly sc____ed. As you can see, what I did was tie a line to the shackle on this piece and tie the line off. Then I struggled to remove the furler drum.
The lower screw, the one below the shackle, had to be removed, but this can only be done when the furler is partly down. And to do this, you have to pry it out some. This puts some strain on everything, but it's possible.
With the screw out and the furler removed, I discovered the cause of the problem: The inhaul line had swelled, I think because of its having absorbed a lot of salt, and it was rubbing against the casing on the side and back of the mechanism. So I replaced this line. I thoroughtly rinsed out the furler with soapy and then fresh water and after allowing it to dry I put some anti-corrosive oil in it that the rigger recommended to me.
While it was drying, I force down the mast a little ways a piece of foam whose sides I'd coated with caulking. Then I more or less cut to fit a piece of plastic to put on top of it and caulked around it. This was because there is no seal under the furler and water really runs down the mast into the bilge (I have a keel-stepped mast) when it rains or if there's a lot of sea spray on deck. (See third photo - it looks ugly, but I think it will work.) I installed all this at a slight angle and drilled a little weep hole at the lowest point.
While doing all of this, I had blocked the foil up with a bar through the inspection plates (2nd photo). Then it was simply a matter of putting everything back together. One word of warning for anybody who wants to do the same thing: The hardest part was putting that lower screw back in and putting on the nut. If my fingers weren't pretty small, I wouldn't have been able to do it because it can't be done until the furler is back all the way up, so you have to do it through the inspection plate holes. So if you have large hands, get a lady or a man with smaller hands to help with this part. (Actually, what I had to do was start the screw when the furler drum was half way installed and then get it all the way through and put on the nut when it was all the way in.)
I had found that the furler drum turns very freely, so I didn't bother sending it in for servicing. The whole thing took me and my two "helpers" about four hours, including time to go get a new line. Everything seems to be running smoothly now, but the wear and tear on me and my helpers is obvious from the last photo, which is of the three of us recovering from this strenuous ordeal.
