I have a Stearns Twinstay furling system on my 1982 P367. The system had become hard to furl, the bearings were shot, and I rebuilt it with all new bearings, but last year it was still a struggle to furl. I will check the bearing movement, when the snow lets me, but I don't expect to find a problem. The folks that were helping me step my mast were concerned about the lack of threads showing inside the aft stay turnbuckle, and put a couple more turns on it. I don't have a gauge big enough for this stay, and can't check it.
Here are the questions: Would the aft stay tension, only changed a little, cause enough strain to make the furler work very hard?
Is there an easy way to check the tension?
How hard should it be to furl the headsail? I am quite able, and can do it, but it is almost impossible for smaller crew. I have even considered installing a winch.
Thanks for any help.
Vince
Vince,
My first thought, is that the extrusion has worn and the debris could be causing excess friction as it rotates around the rod head stay that is in the middle. This might also explain why the lower bearing were spent. A second thought is that somewhere along the line the unit was fitted with a wire headstay instead of the rod that it was designed for. Perhaps the head stay assembly was bent and the wire was a much cheaper replacement alternative to the rod. If it is a wire perhaps one strand has broken and that strand is unwinding causing the binding issue. This happens from time to time and is difficult to determine without a complete dissasembly and inspection.
Basic troubleshooting...
Sight up the head stay and see if you can see any kinks in the extrusion. Perhaps the luff extrusion was slightly kinked some where along the line and the misalignment is causing the difficultly while spinning. If the extrusion is kinked you won't be able to straighten it satisfactory enough to make it work and finding a replacement section will also be next to impossible. Bent extrusions or damage from freezing are the two biggest reasons for furler replacement.
How much head stay sag, mast bend and mast rake do you have? The most basic rig tune for the boat will have the head stay sag around 4-5 inches, mast bent forward at the spreaders 2-3 inches, and the rake at basically nothing. A little backwards is OK, but no more then a few inches. I would start with re-tuning the mast and seeing if that helps. Start with locating the mast head, center it side to side first, then bow to stern. Adjust your lower shrouds to put the correct amount of bend in it, and then see how much head stay sag you have. If it is more then 4-5 inches, put on a little back stay and take off a little lower shroud to keep the mast bend the same.
I would not install a winch. If it is that difficult to operate something is really wrong. Try heading down and placing the headsail behind the mainsail when rolling it up. That typically makes it easier.
That unit being the design and vintage that it is, even if well taken care of is past its life span. It probably doesn't owe the boat anything. The design and materials used in the new furlers are far better than those of even 10 years ago. They are robust and smooth operating and are no longer considered a luxury.
Like I mentioned. That furler unit owes you nothing and the new ones are so much better. If you determine that your unit is gone and are looking for a new one please let us provide you with a quote or at least advice.
Hope all works out...
Dale Tanski
Thanks for the info.
Dale,
Two years ago I had some friends help tune the mast, so last year, after stepping the mast, I sent all away. They were well meaning, but to many cooks. I managed to get the mast tuned amidship, and with a slight aft rake, but my headstay was tighter than you suggest. I had it set up, but as I said some others, that had returned for launching, thought it loose. I will have to check this carefully this year.
As for the extrusion, it is the headstay. This Stearns unit uses a solid extrusion, instead of the wire, or rod. It is old, but with the new bearings it should be good. These units come with tapered, or cylinderical bearings at each end, but of course I had an odd ball. When switching from one type, to the other, they apparently made some with different types at either end. It was because of this that I had to get different bearings to supplement the rebuild kit.
I think I will forget the winch, as you said, and if I can't get it working properly, use the money towards a new unit. LOL, another expense not anticipated. I once started a spread sheet to track the cost of refitting this boat, but after entering just three receipts, I shred all my records. You can't put a price on the joy she gives me. This is how she named herself, lots of fun, and lots of work, sort of a " Mixed Blessing ".
Vince