Streamstay Furler

[Tom Madura]

Help! I have a Hunter 31 with a Hyde Streamstay headsail furler. I bought replacement split Delrin bushings for the swivel, but I cannot figure out how to install them. The bushings are split, so it looks like they just slide in along the headstay rod up into the swivel, but there doesn't appear to be anything to hold them in place. I'm baffled. I think it may be a press fit and I have to tap it further up inside the swivel, but I don't want to do that and jam it up if that's not right. I have called Rig-Rite and they don't return my calls. Tom Madura s/v Good Vices

 

[John Tesoriero]

What I did

I rebuilt my entire Stream Stay I furler about two years ago. The split Deldrin bushings are to be inserted when you take the entire furler swivel apart. That does not guarantee that they will stay in place. The upper bushing was hard to keep in place and it came loose on my set up the following year. I tried wrapping it with electrical tape to make a tighter fit between the bushing and the housing, but that lasted only half the season. I then used some two part epoxy to try to keep the upper bushing in place and that seemed to work for the second half of the season. My boat is going in today and I will keep an eye out to see that the bushing stays in place. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.