Furler Project

[cookwithgas]

You guys crack me up! I made a little progress on my home-made jib furler project last night so here are my allotted three photos:

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I only have a few hours each evening, but I hope to make enough progress each night to have it done by the weekend.

If anyone wants to post more photos of their forward (or rear) cabins, I have no objection!

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[cookwithgas]

I made a little more progress on the furler spool last night:

,

I'll be working on the spool bearing (or bushing) this evening.

Happy Sailing,

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[technicalman]

Keep posting on that Furler. I've been thinking of making one but didn't have any idea on how to start. I was wondering if one could use a hank-on jib with a home made furler. A friend of mine says he has one like that but i haven't seenit up close.

[cookwithgas]

Keep posting on that Furler. I've been thinking of making one but didn't have any idea on how to start. I was wondering if one could use a hank-on jib with a home made furler. A friend of mine says he has one like that but i haven't seenit up close.

My jib uses "hanks" so the answer is yes. I'll post more photos as I make progress.

[cookwithgas]

More progress on the jib furler:



I put all the PVC together and drilled the holes where each hank aligns, then I removed all the hanks from the jib. They were too big. I'm going to use a Amsteel synthetic rope to tie the jib to the forestay through the holes I drilled.

The 3/4" PVC was the right size to fit the forestay eyelets through. I had to install two couplings to make it long enough so I cut the PVC so the couplings would align with two of the hanks on the jib. The last picture shows what the assembly will look like inside the spool. I started on a bushing that I didn't take any pictures of yet. I turned some nylon on my lathe for the main bushing and I'm going to use some 1/2" HDPE for the thrust load on the spool. I tried it on the spool and it rotates freely with no metal-to-metal contact. I think the nylon will hold up well, but if it wears, it will be easy to replace. Fewer moving parts (no roller bearings) may be a better solution anyway. I don't know how stainless on stainless bearings would work, but I suspect they would "gall" in time. I noticed that some of the high-end furlers use carbon steel bearings. I can't bring myself to use carbon steel on anything on a boat due to the corrosion I've seen on CS nuts and bolts here and there.

I turned a 3/4" end cap on my lathe to drill a centered hole, then split the cap so it could be installed at the top of the forestay. I may install a SS pipe clamp to make sure it stays in place. I don't want to glue it because I may want to remove it in the future.

Happy Sailing,

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[Catigale]

Aubrey - IIRC the FF2 bearings in the CDI are Torlon - thats a PAI thermoplastic material

[cookwithgas]

I finished the furler project this weekend.



We took the boat out Saturday evening and the furling jib is the best thing I've done to the boat. No fussing with the front sail any more! This is the best thing I have done to the boat so far to add to the pleasure of sailing. Here's a short youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFLjzIIIJYU

Happy Sailing,

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[TAW02]

Hats off to you buddy! my FF2 CDI never operated near that easy.

And to weld stainless that nice ... got hand it to you. You weld better than anybody I've seen!

[cookwithgas]

Thanks for the compliments on the welding, but I really need more practice. I use a Miller TIG welder I purchased a few years ago and I just don't get to use it enough. I'm thinking of building a bowsprit next to help with anchor deployment and allow another forsetay so I can play with a spinnaker later or maybe two jibs just for fun. I promise the next welds will look better!

Take care,

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[Catigale]

Good. We will be checking. Those last welds barely met Board Standards for neatness. Just so you know...we're watching...

[bjmeunier]

If'n you need some practice, I would gladly shoot my hank on jib down to ya!

Good job tho, I must say...

[3sheets]

I've been wanting to add a furler to my M25, but balked at the cost. I just saw your video on utube. Nicely done! It was laid out so well, I drew up my own plans from them. I'm thinking of aluminium just because it easier for me to weld. The pvc pipe idea is great. I figure the savings will go along way to paying for a plasma cutter. I'm always looking for opportunities to buy more tools...

[vizwhiz]

I need a welder...

Awesome job - did you have a jig for cutting the circle with the plas-arc? Looks perfect!

It's funny, but I wondered what the basis of the roller-furler was on other types - and a piece of PVC seemed to work in my mind - glad to see that it really does work!

How did you pin the PVC to the spool (or did I just miss that)? I was wondering about the positive drive aspect - don't want to pull the sail out and have it not spin the spool...and vice versa. Did you put a pin through it, bolts/screws?

Another question - did you put a smaller tight bushing on the forestay and a larger one inside the spool (pressed in maybe?), or just one bushing? Does it spin on the forestay, or is the bushing locked and the spool spins around the bushing? Just wondering where the wear-and-tear from spinning is going to happen...on the forestay itself, or the inside of the spool...?

[cookwithgas]

I need a welder...

Awesome job - did you have a jig for cutting the circle with the plas-arc? Looks perfect!

It's funny, but I wondered what the basis of the roller-furler was on other types - and a piece of PVC seemed to work in my mind - glad to see that it really does work!

How did you pin the PVC to the spool (or did I just miss that)? I was wondering about the positive drive aspect - don't want to pull the sail out and have it not spin the spool...and vice versa. Did you put a pin through it, bolts/screws?

Another question - did you put a smaller tight bushing on the forestay and a larger one inside the spool (pressed in maybe?), or just one bushing? Does it spin on the forestay, or is the bushing locked and the spool spins around the bushing? Just wondering where the wear-and-tear from spinning is going to happen...on the forestay itself, or the inside of the spool...?

Thanks Viz:

The spool just spins on the turnbuckle with a nylon bushing. I keep a close eye on the lock nuts and so far they haven't turned. The forestay and turnbuckle do not turn. I would do the PVC pipe a little different, but the way I have it is working. The holes where the hanks go - I would drill two holes in the SIDE of the PVC instead of one big one in the middle. This would give the pipe more strength and put less where on the amsteel rope I used. I may pull it all apart and change it one day if I take a break from sailing. It's been working really well and it seems to turn easier now that I've had it out several times. I would not go back to a hanked-on jib at this point.

For your questions about the bushing, I just have the one I on the bottom I got from Lowes, and a hole in the split pvc end cap on top. The PVC coupler at the bottom is attached with two small screws through the SS tube on the spool. The tube is made from leftover 1-1/2" SS exhaust pipe I used to make my airplane exhaust pipes. The SS pipe is not a perfect fit for 1-1/2" PVC adapter, so I turned the adapter on my lathe to make it fit tight. You could probably just sand it or Dremel it if you don't have access to a lathe.

As for cutting the circles, It is a CNC driven plasma cutter so it cuts out perfect circles according to the drawing that is input. I used it to make my rudder parts also. I'd say I've made back most of the money I spent on the tool considering the cost of a store-bought furler and an IDA rudder. I have a few other projects in mind also .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6z8-B6jz9s





Have fun!

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[Geek]

You've done a beautiful job on the furler and rudder ! I also built a copy of the same rudder in stainless, but am having trouble finding a pneumatic cylinder that is just right, any help there would be appreciated. Also, on the furler, has anyone ever made one with a built in halyard, and an oval or V shaped foil, wide and deep enough that you could use a hank on sail? I'm new to the forum, so hello to everyone and thanks for sharing your great ideas!