Pro Furler

jssailem · Mar 23, 2020

Slider said:
Our Bemeteau 37 has a ProFurl system

Not sure what your in for on your boat, I can tell you what I found on my CAL35.

At the top of the foil the there is a "wrap stop". My rigger called it a "3/4 donut" that grabs the tang on the swivel to prevent the halyard from wrapping the forestay. This system worked most of the time, until it didn't

. I was cautioned to take the sail off the foil a few time a year to clean the swivel bearing with soap and water. I am guessing this was not in your list of regular maintenance. You may need to remove the sheets from the sail clew. Free the reefing sheet on the drum so you can manually rotate the sail and foil to unwrap the halyard. It may save you a trip up the mast if the wrapped halyard is the only issue.

Then there is the issue of pulling the sail down. Again this can be a cleanliness issue. Dirt can accumulate inside the swivel and slow or stop the swivel from sliding down the foil.

Sometime a strong stream of water can clean or lubricate the swivel enough for you to pull the sail down.

If these fixes fail, It may be time to drop the mast and do an inspection, repair, refit. One of the nasty repairs happens when the screws that hold the foil sections in place start to unscrew. The set screws backs out "just enough" to stop the swivel from sliding down the foil and freeing the sail from the foil. Then you have to climb the mast, unattach the sail from the swivel and drop the sail. Then you get to inspect the 4-5 sets of screws on the foil. Easy standing on the ground with the mast laying down at waist height, not easy in a bosons chair 45 feet in the air hanging onto the foil and forestay sliding down section by section looking at the set screws.

Good luck.

ps. A good soaking with dish soap and a lot of spray is always a good way to clean out the dirt and grim that accumulates on most furlers. Unfortunately the ProFurl uses a "Sealed Bearing Drum" and must be removed, pressed open and resealed to inspect and service the steel bearings. To avoid such issues, I switched to a Harken. Now just a good dose of soap and water and its ready to sail.

BigEasy · Mar 23, 2020

All good advice from Jssailem.
With regards to the top swivel; it is not serviceable. The bearings are sealed and cant be cleaned & lubricated because you are going to need replacement parts to reassemble. I am not sure if Profurl services the swivel. Another thing to note is that the swivel will seem somewhat stiff; that is normal for Profurl swivels. It does not swivel freely as do other manufacturer's swivels.

BigEasy · Mar 23, 2020

Slider,
Hopefully, once you clear the wrap, everything will work as normal.

Apparently you can rebuild the upper & lower swivel & drum if you are inclined to do so. There are some videos on you tube about disassembly, & replacing the bearings and seals without using a press. One individual took the units to a bearing shop and was able to obtain generic replacement parts. Can also purchase pro furl replacements from Mauri Pro sailing. Perhaps the folks from the SBO store could obtain replacement parts also. I have never rebuilt mine; however, I would give it a try if necessary.

jssailem · Mar 23, 2020

Hey Big Easy... I took mine to a shop and had them pressed out. A whole lot easier then playing with screwdriver and a hammer. Was able to save the parts, Tossed the rusty bearings. (Sure it was hermitically sealed at the factory...) installed new stainless steel bearings. Put all back together. Reinstalled on the boat in 2017. Sailed for a season then pulled boat to have crash damage repaired, during which time I installed a new Harkin and sold the refurbished ProFurler.

Learned the manual unwind the halyard trick when I was faced with solving the issue during a bad emergency furl. Necessity is the mother of invention.

BigEasy · Mar 23, 2020

jssailem said:
I took mine to a shop and had them pressed out. A whole lot easier then playing with screwdriver and a hammer. Was able to save the parts, Tossed the rusty bearings. (Sure it was hermitically sealed at the factory...) installed new stainless steel bearings. Put all back together. .

Good Idea!

DougM · Mar 23, 2020

If you have a spinnaker halyard, make up a small grappling hook, hang it upside down from the halyard shackle with a tag line tied to it. Try to snag the jib halyard and pull some slack into it from the mast side and see if you can begin to lower the jib (assuming you can get the jib completely unfurled first). Don’t lose the jib halyard up the mast in the process. Its not a one person job.

If that idea is a non-starter, its time to go up the mast. Overall, in spite of the climb issue, its still the easiest way to untangle everything. Just do it safely. Bosuns chair, safety harness on a second halyard, and somebody on a winch below. Did the climb that way a few times, then got a top climber. The last time I climbed that way was last summer at age 74 with a new knee. (Anchor light burned out).

jssailem · Mar 24, 2020

Happy for you. Always good to save a 74yrs old sailor from having to climb the mast.

You just never know what might happen. He might think he enjoys it.

Then we will have to watch him doing it just to prove to everybody how spry and clever he is.

I do this for me as much as you.

Claude L.-Auger · Mar 26, 2020

Slider, glad it worked for you. However your comment ''I don't think the wrap stop is effective on my boat because the halyard comes out of the mast under the stop. The profurl page shows a picture of the stop being under the halyard exit. made me think you might have a misconfiguration of where the halyard exits the mast !
The Profurl picture is showing the correct installation. I don't know whether your boat is masthead or fractional rigging but in all cases, under the stop is often where the topping lift for a spinnaker pole should be located. Some are even way lower. I would suggest you take your binoculars and check the area near where the head-stay is attached to the mast. The halyard exit should be right under it, or very close.
Take a look at the attached poor drawing. If the halyard is too far below the headstay attachment, you will always have a wrap-up situation unless you install some sort of rigging to bring the halyard closer to the furler.
You might also be able to raise the 3/4 donut closer to the top of the furler.
Good Luck

jssailem · Mar 26, 2020

Slider. Claude may be on to an idea. Can you post a picture of the mast an furling connections?

Sailfanatic · Mar 27, 2020

Slider said:
Our Bemeteau 37 has a ProFurl system for the Jib. The last time I pulled out the jib it stuck 1/2 way out, with a little work I got it out all the way. Rolling it back in took some effort. At the dock I rolled it out and tried to lower the jib, NO Way. View from the deck, it looks like I have a half wrap of the halyard above the top spindle. The bottom drum seems to be OK. I guess I will be going up the mast, I don't like that! What am I going to find? I plan to get the sail down and check the spindle and shaft. Let me know what I am infor on this repair. Thanks guys!

Often the cause for jamming part way out is that you may have let go of the furling line and it wraps over itself and jams the drum - always keep some tension of the furling line as it deploys. FWIW, a halyard wrap may occur if the jib halyard is not tensioned when the jib is being furled...

See

Pro Furler

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Attachments

.

.

.