Roller Furling Problem: HELP!

[jfdubu]

Ohio, I had the same problem with my Harken unit when I first got my boat.
The solution was as easy as spraying the top swival with mclube. Bear in mind that when the swival is down it may feel very free running but when it is loaded up at the top it will drag. I now lude the bearings, torlon or not every time I put a sail up. No haylard wraps in 5 years

[sailingdog]

If you're going to lubricate bearings in a roller furling unit.. .. USE THE RIGHT LUBRICANT. You shouldn't grease Torlon or Delrin bearings. Using McLube Sailkote on them would probably help.

[knothead]

Originally Posted by CalebD

Then you have a bigger problem and the extrusions are not rotating cleanly about the forestay and catching somewhere. Perhaps the PO ran the roller furling mechanism into a dock somewhere and put a dent in it. If you can find any dings in the extrusioins that go up the fore stay you can straighten them out a bit but I would still give some lubrication to the fore stay parts, even WD 40 if it is catching badly.
Suggest you disassemble the stuff to figure out what is not rotating properly.
Good luck.

Ohio doesn't say how far from the top of the extrusions the halyard swivel rides.
Even if there is a restrainer installed, if the sail is very short and the head is attached directly to the swivel, there is a good chance for halyard wrap.
The swivel on any and all furling systems should be within inches of the top of the extrusion.
It is not uncommon for a pennant to be installed between the tack and the tack shackle at the drum nor is it uncommon for one to be installed between the head of the sail and the swivel.
One should unroll the sail, release the tack shackle and hoist the sail as high as it will go. (But don't pull the swivel off the top of the extrusion)
Then with a lashing between the tack and the drum, tighten up the luff of the sail. Then measure the length of the lashing. Subtract at least an inch and that will be the length of your pennant.
If it is exceptionally long (meaning you have an exceptionally short sail)
You may want to split the difference and make two pennants. One at the head the other at the tack.
Some people like to have the extra visibility below the foot and also get the sail off the lifelines.

I didn't see where Ohio mentioned any problems with the extrusions rotating cleanly around the wire. What he describes sounds like normal halyard wrap.
SD is correct about the lube. The manufacturer of the system will have info in the manual pertaining to lubrication and maintenance. Follow their guidelines.

[ereuter]

Unlikely that this is the whole problem, but improper headstay tension will make the furler difficult to turn, no matter how it's lubricated.