So I had posted a while back if anyone new of parts for Hood furlers,
as our older drum had cracked & actually shattered one of the drum plates
during a heavy sail out in the Chesapeake this summer. Since the lower plate had broken off the furler was useless, as the furling line would fall off the drum & tangle upon itself hopelessly.
So I contacted Hood, & first they wanted to charge me $50.00 an hour for a "consulting fee" just to tell me that they no longer sell the parts for this furler. Then they said they would sell me a an entire replacement drum assembly for over $500. I explained to them that my furler still works, it just needs the lower furler drum plate replaced. No go on that.
Then I checked around my area of Richmond, Va. for a metal fabricating shop who could make me new drum plates, as I had tried unsuccessfully to make them myself out of plastic or thin aluminum plate.
Over $280 later I finally got the new, enlarged plates made out of .316 gauge 1/8" thick stainless steel. The seams were machined so that the plates overlap & screw together, so it does not require removal of the furler drum or forestay to replace them, like the originals. But these new drum plates are HEAVY DUTY, as they are not made of flimsy ABS plastic that can & will shatter from impact or severe weather. These new drum plates should last forever.
Funny how when you talk to a machine shop about making something custom, the price starts out at about a hundred to $150. Then the cost of the S.S. has gone way up, don't ya know, so now its gonna cost about $250.00, and you want s.s. screws & nuts to hold the plates together? Well that's extra man. Now were up near $300. But that's still a good bit less then then Hood wanted for an entire drum assembly that I didn't need.
I think the mistake I made was telling them that these plates were for a sail boat! If I had said they were for a BBQ rotisserie or some crap, they would have cost a bit less, I reckon. But I think the final product came out good, after I made them re-grind the inner diameter twice to get them to fit right, even though they had an original plate as a perfect template to work from.
I actually contemplated grinding them down myself with my angle grinder when they didn't fit the first time. But when I remembered how much I was charged, I thought no way, make them do right by me at the machine shop.
Pix are attached.
as our older drum had cracked & actually shattered one of the drum plates
during a heavy sail out in the Chesapeake this summer. Since the lower plate had broken off the furler was useless, as the furling line would fall off the drum & tangle upon itself hopelessly.
So I contacted Hood, & first they wanted to charge me $50.00 an hour for a "consulting fee" just to tell me that they no longer sell the parts for this furler. Then they said they would sell me a an entire replacement drum assembly for over $500. I explained to them that my furler still works, it just needs the lower furler drum plate replaced. No go on that.
Then I checked around my area of Richmond, Va. for a metal fabricating shop who could make me new drum plates, as I had tried unsuccessfully to make them myself out of plastic or thin aluminum plate.
Over $280 later I finally got the new, enlarged plates made out of .316 gauge 1/8" thick stainless steel. The seams were machined so that the plates overlap & screw together, so it does not require removal of the furler drum or forestay to replace them, like the originals. But these new drum plates are HEAVY DUTY, as they are not made of flimsy ABS plastic that can & will shatter from impact or severe weather. These new drum plates should last forever.
Funny how when you talk to a machine shop about making something custom, the price starts out at about a hundred to $150. Then the cost of the S.S. has gone way up, don't ya know, so now its gonna cost about $250.00, and you want s.s. screws & nuts to hold the plates together? Well that's extra man. Now were up near $300. But that's still a good bit less then then Hood wanted for an entire drum assembly that I didn't need.
I think the mistake I made was telling them that these plates were for a sail boat! If I had said they were for a BBQ rotisserie or some crap, they would have cost a bit less, I reckon. But I think the final product came out good, after I made them re-grind the inner diameter twice to get them to fit right, even though they had an original plate as a perfect template to work from.
I actually contemplated grinding them down myself with my angle grinder when they didn't fit the first time. But when I remembered how much I was charged, I thought no way, make them do right by me at the machine shop.
Pix are attached.
