P42 Furling System Modification

[Terry Cox]

Our 1991 boat came equipped with a Hood double line furling system that has always worked, except recently while on a cruise with my oldest son and his family. In the picture below is a temporary modification using a piece of wood that is bolted to the aluminum cylinder base of the Hood drum. The purpose was to keep the drum from rotating thus causing the double lines to bind at the point of drum entry. The original "U" bolt that secures the cylinder to the horizontal SS pin that is part of the head sail chain plate was insufficient to keep the drum from rotating.

So, in the picture below, to create a more permanent fixture, I used a piece of SS bar to replace the "U" bolt and a piece of oak to help keep the drum from rotating as it did before. What I may do is to fabricate a SS bar that has two bolts that attach to the aluminum cylinder. That might work just as well, thus making the piece of oak unnecessary.

I got the bar idea while cruising the docks at Friday Harbor where I saw an older H43 with an original Hood double line furling system that used a SS bar to secure the Hood drum to the chain plate. Made more sense to me than a "U" bolt. Now a sea trial is in order to test the modification.

 

[Terry Cox]

In my previous posting you can see the bracket that I made to prevent the aluminum cylinder that is at the base of the drum below from rotating. When it rotated clockwise, it would cause the retrieve line on the drum slot left to drag on the drum housing making it very difficult to retrieve the head sail. Likewise if the drum rotated counter clockwise ditto the launch line. My final plan is to do away with the wooden bracket and instead bolt the SS bar directly to the aluminum cylinder, thus preventing the drum from rotating. Should work. I'll take pictures of the final product once it is installed.

 

[Terry Cox]

Final edition. Should work better than the previous versions. Bracket should keep the drum from rotating thus prevent binding the double line. Now the head sail halyard can be trimmed or eased without causing the drum to rise or drop as a result of this new bracket. Sea trial needed, but feel very good about the finished product.

Correct position of the furling drum shown below allows unrestricted path for double line.