Selden Furlex system Halyard Deflector

[Gary Ryan]

Made some great headway on our 386 today. See pictures. So, the Halyard deflector must have broken away from the luff extrusion causing halyard wrap damaging the forestay cable. I can deal with that. Doing some research, maybe instead of using a deflector, I should install a Halyard restrainer on the mast. I would have to put something on the end of the luff to make sure the halyard swivel can't go past. Of course if I put the deflector low enough, that could be eliminated.

Thoughts for a Friday?

 

[Stu Jackson]

I would have to put something on the end of the luff to make sure the halyard swivel can't go past.

Wouldn't the sail itself be enough?

 

[Gary Ryan]

Geese, that's what you get for being up since 4:30am. Of course. Dah. Thanks for the clarity.

 

[jssailem]

Gary You have a problem. The furler extrusion should rotate around the forestay. There should be a bearing that permits this rotation. It appears that the bearing has seized and the furler rotated the forestay unwinding the cable. This is not supposed to occur.

 

[Gary Ryan]

Thanks John. I may go out there this weekend if it warms up and I'll take a look.

 

[jssailem]

Good luck Gary. May Mother Nature give you a little grace before winter sets in.

 

[DrJudyB]

That doesn’t look like a selden Furlex to me. It looks like a Profurl. Profilers have a round extrusion and a wrapstop shaped like that at the top. selden furlexs have a very different looking cap at the top of the extrusion.

However, I could mistaken wrong - the pictures don’t show the extrusion well enough. Maybe somebody added a wrapstop from Profurl to a Selden Profurl....

... but In any event, they installed it ALL wrong. The wrap stop was installed upside down and in the wrong location.
It’s supposed to be clamped to the wire just below the swage at the top. It’s supposed to prevent halyard wrapping, not act as a stop at the top of the extrusion

the Profurl has a c washer that acts as a a stop at the top of the extrusion.

the pictures below are from a Profurl C320 manual.

 

[DrJudyB]

Wouldn't the sail itself be enough

All furlers have a top stop to keep the top swivel from sliding off the top of the extrusion.
What would happen if you sky’d the top swivel?

 

[DrJudyB]

Gary You have a problem. The furler extrusion should rotate around the forestay. There should be a bearing that permits this rotation. It appears that the bearing has seized and the furler rotated the forestay unwinding the cable. This is not supposed to occur.
View attachment 187212

While I agree with John that there is a serious problem that the wire has untwisted, I think a different problem than a seized bearing caused the damage.

I suspect the damage to the forestay was probably caused by halyard wrap. That(Profurl?) furler ends too far from the upper swage on the forestay. It’s supposed to be less than a couple of inches from the upper swage. Either the furler is too short or it needs to be raised off the deck with extensions.

That looks like a Selden mast to me. Selden masts are designed/build so the don’t need halyard restrainers. The Genoa halyard exits several inches below the forestay, which obviates the need for a halyard restrainer.

I’m sorry to say that I think the furler was installed really with serious shortcomings. Critical dimensions from the manual were ignored and at least one critical part is installed wrong.

Judy B
Semi-Retired sailmaker who has seen a lot of furlers up close.

 

[jssailem]

I think the furler was installed really badly and with serious shortcomings.

Seeing the install instructions I agree with Judy.

 

[Gary Ryan]

Thank u Judy and John. Appreciate the input. Hope to look at it tomorrow. I'll get some more pictures

 

[Gary Ryan]

I had asked Selden if they had any information. They came back and said that our furling system is a Facnor.

 

[morsail779]

The mast does look like a Seldon. They do have the jib halyard sheave box low enough to prevent halyard wrap only if the jib halyard has proper tension. If you had been out sailing in heavy breeze, the halyard stretched, the jib luff down low would show horizontal wrinkles at the entry of the luff tape, then you start furling and the loose halyard wraps till it is tensioned and locks up the furler.
Next time you are out sailing in some breeze, look at others boats and you will see the wrinkles along the headstay area in the lower sections. Very common. Also be sure you keep the head swivel clean and lubricated. Low stretch halyards are worth their cost due to this problem.

 

[Gary Ryan]

All great input! Got a hold of Facnor and they say our furling system is a Profurl Basic 35. Looks like Dr. Judy wins the prize! I was able to download the manual and noticed the wrapstop was installed upside down as well. Al Declerq ( Quantum Sails ) thinks they did not fit the extrusions properly and they should have gone up the stay further. Al is going to meet me today to take a look at the system and figure out what we need to do to correct it. Can't say enough about you guys and Al for helping us out. We're so happy that we purchased our boat and have a support group we can lean on from time to time. Keep you posted...

 

[Gary Ryan]

It's been a while so I thought I'd follow up. Before winter locked us down, I took some measurements and I needed to add another 8" to the foils. I was able to locate a foil locally. I completely took apart the furling system and cleaned it up. I did some modifications to the foils so that I could add the extra 8" at the top. I removed the forestay cable and took it to a marine supply where they made me a new one. So, I have it all sitting at home waiting for old man winter to move on so I can reassemble. I'll follow up with some pictures when it's completed.

 

[jssailem]

Nice follow up. Spring appears to be near. Daffodils are up and trees are beginning to blossom. Pollen is floating in the air and i hear more sneezing as folks deal with allergies. Sailing season must surly be nearing.