roller furling bushing problem

[northstarjim]

Hi

For the last few years I have a trouble raising my head sail over the furling foil. The bushing (???) inside the upper roller furling unit is damaged such that it gets stuck on the foil while trying to raise the sail. It looks to made of a ceramic-like material and is cracked/brittle looking. The previous owner used a couple of cable zip ties to insert between the damaged bushing and the foil to lessen the friction. Liberal amounts of lubricant don't help much. Is there an easy way to fix this without taking the whole assembly apart? Anyting else I can temporarily insert between the bushing and the foil for smooth operation?
Thanks

[Brucerobs]

I made the same repair on my older Furlex this spring. I had to replace the sliding sleeve halves. The parts were cheap, and The repair itself was very easy to do but required either a trip up the mast, or to bring the extrusion(foil) down to you as it had to be repaired from the top. If you have a Furlex, I'll walk you through it.

It's important that it is repaired properly as the upper swivel jamming on the extrusion when raising/lowering the sail can cause damage.

[northstarjim]

Thanks,

I don't know the brand; I have never seen any names on any of the parts but I will look again. So there is no way to replace the pieces without going up the mast? Thansk again.

[JimsCAL]

Take some pictures of the drum assembly. Someone may be able to identify the mfr from that. Each unit is different.

[Brucerobs]

NorsthstarJim,

Re: my specific repair, yes a trip up the mast (or dropping the foil/mast), was necessary on my Furlex. It was the only easy access point, and the repair itself was a snap and only took a few minutes.

But your furler may be different. There are lots of designs. Brand and Pics will help identify it, then finding a schematic on-line and figuring out what needs to be replaced on your particular unit will be much easier.

[knothead]

You really need to take a picture of the furler. If it's the one I'm thinking of, it's an older Hood with white plastic liners in the swivel. They are easily replaced by lowering the sail and removing a couple of screws. The problem is that you are probably going to have to fashion up a couple of new bushings yourself. I doubt that they are available anymore.

[northstarjim]

Here is my furler...anyone recognize it? There is a faded logo visible

[northstarjim]

I'll try again...

Pictures by northstarjim69 - Photobucket

[knothead]

That's a Sterns system. It was made by the same company that made the Hyde Stream stay. There is no wire headstay, but rather a solid aluminum rod that has sealed bearings top and bottom.
I can't remember how to replace the swivel bushings. I think they were just plastic press fit but I'm not sure.
The only place that still carries parts for this system is Rig Rite.
Rig-Rite Inc. - Masts, Booms, Spars, Rigging, and Hardware for Sailboats
They might have installation manuals as well.

[knothead]

Actually, now that I look at the site, the swivel inserts have screws.