[Rhodes22-list] IMF

[Jim Connolly]

The bearing surfaces appear (to me) to be some sort of hard self-lubricated
plastic (like Delrin maybe?) on the aluminum furling tube.  They are visible
from the mast slot looking into where the mast furling  line goes onto the
aluminum tube.  There is a photo  on the owners' web site that shows the
gooseneck and this area, at least a little.  

When the sail is furled, all or most of the furling line is out, so the area
is pretty wide open and visible.  While on my mooring, with the mast up and
ready to go, I just jammed some paper towels into the slot to contain drips,
and sprayed WD-40 liberally onto the bearing surfaces.  I then alternately
pulled the sail out a bit with my hand and pulled the furling line to bring
it back in, all just to rotate the bearing and clean out the dirt and/or
salt that was gumming it up. It took maybe ten or fifteen minutes.

I will consider sliding the whole assembly out during spring cleaning to
check it all out and wash with lots of water.  This only to avoid having to
delay sailing for ten minutes during the season.

I seem to recall that some have spoken of a problem with a screw coming
loose and causing the furling tube to stick, but this may have been an older
design.  I have not had this problem.  

The only other problem with the system was during initial delivery.  The
furling line had too few wraps on the drum, so the sail wouldn't furl all
the way in, (perhaps because I had one of the first few battened mains for
delivery that season).  We didn't find out of course until the mast was up
at the ramp, but Elton figured out how to add wraps to the drum without
dropping the mast.   Just another reason to pay for professional delivery,
IMO.

Also, I had boom roller furling main on my previous boat, an ODay Mariner
19.  It was not all that easy to use, especially as the Mariner had mid-boom
mainsheet and needed a claw to grab the boom around the reefed main.  Sail
shape was not good reefed, and you couldn't furl the sail that way, because
it would be too bulky to fit the claw over it on the boom.  Nice idea,
maybe, in the 1960's.

Jim Connolly

-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Joseph Hadzima
Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 12:14 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] IMF

thanks Jim 

this is helpful

when lubricating ... do you need to disassemble?  Rummy said "when I get teh
opportunity", will my opportunity be annualy, or just when I don't feel like
reading anything and I'm anchored somewhere and jsut feel like it?


--- Jim Connolly <jbconnolly at comcast.net> wrote:

> I have needed to lubricate the IMF lower bearing once mid-season, only 
> because I forgot to do it before launching.  The mechanism is 
> elegantly simple.
> 
> I have also found it helpful to secure the sliding block that follows 
> the clew back and forth along the boom as far forward as possible when 
> leaving the boat on the mooring.  It is easy to do with a pair of tiny 
> bungee cords to the forward end of the boom.  The one time I didn't do 
> this, we had two days of gale force winds during the week.  The 
> sliding block slid aft and allowed the clew of the sail to flog in the 
> wind as the boat swung on the mooring.  The sail wrapped a bit tighter 
> on the furling tube and exposed a couple of extra inches of sail, and 
> the loosened outhaul line flogged and chafed a bit.  Easily fixed, but 
> could have damaged the sail, too.
> 
> Jim Connolly
> s/v Inisheer
> '85 recycled '03
> 
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Arthur H. 
> Czerwonky
> Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 11:43 AM
> To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] IMF
> 
> Joe,
> 
> Why does a problem normally occur with the headsail furler?  I have 
> usually found the problem at the fastening point on the mast.  I am 
> going to help Luis with his this week.
> 
> On the IMF it is better to reef on a port tack - look at potential 
> friction with the sail slot and you see why.  Any other hangups I am 
> aware of are based on preventative maintenance.  The internal workings 
> of Stan's IMF are beautifully simple.
> 
> Art
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Joseph Hadzima <josef508 at yahoo.com>
> >Sent: Feb 17, 2007 11:08 AM
> >To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] IMF "Reefing"
> >
> >Hi Gang:
> >
> >I assume no one on this list has ever had any major
> problems with their
> >Rhodes IMF. Is there any special maintence required?  I
> was on a boat
> >where the furling on the head sail failed as the 160 was
> fully out.  I
> >recall it was a little dicey going foward and fixing the
> problem, under
> >the no so calm conditions.
> >
> >the down side any time you add complexity to something,
> you introduce
> >another point of possible failure (plus maintenance
> issues, cost,
> >etc.).  I'm assuming Stan's choice of materials, and his
> teams' 
> >workmanship minumize risks, but I'd still like to know
> of any sea
> >stories involving IMF systems.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >--- Jim Connolly <jbconnolly at comcast.net> wrote:
> >
> >> It seems to me that the difference between IMF and
> conventional from
> >> a weight distribution standpoint is two fold:
> >> 
> >> 1.  The furling tube which is negligible and the
> weight of the mast
> >> extrusion, heavier than standard.  Both of these are
> fixed weights
> >> (fixed height above deck with the mast raised in
> sailing
> >> position) and can be
> >> approximated by a weight "x" at the midpoint of the
> mast (i.e.,
> >> center of gravity or CG).
> >> 
> >> 2.  The weight of the sail (less than conventional,
> because it is
> >> smaller).
> >> Since it reefs and furls on a vertical roller, the CG
> of the sail
> >> also stays at the same height above the deck.  The
> center of effort
> >> (CE) of the furling
> >> sail will move down and forward as the sail rolls into
> the mast.
> >> 
> >> Net effect, furling the IMF lowers the center of
> effort and not the
> >> center of gravity of the mast and sail combination,
> while furling the
> >> conventional sail lowers both the CG and CE.  The CG
> of the
> >> conventional mast/sail assembly is lowered by the
> weight of the sail,
> >> which is not likely a significant part of the whole.
> >> 
> >> It seems then to come down to the additional weight of
> the IMF
> >> assembly with sail vs. the conventional mast and sail.
>  I don't know
> >> this, but I am sure somebody here does.  Likely
> windage of the
> >> thicker mast extrusion might be a factor in some wind
> conditions.
> >> 
> >> For me, convenience trumps all.
> >> 
> >> Jim Connolly
> >> s/v Inisheer
> >> '85 recycled '03
> >> 
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> >> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf
> Of Bill Effros
> >> Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 9:55 AM
> >> To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> >> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] IMF "Reefing"
> >> 
> >> Wally,
> >> 
> >> Comparing "reefing" on standard sails vs. IMF sails is
> very hard to
> >> do when discussing among sailors some of whom have
> never even seen an
> >> IMF.
> >> 
> >> "Reef Points" result in noticeable changes in sail
> size.
> >> The IMF is
> >> infinitely adjustable. I often adjust my sail in
> increments of 5% of
> >> total sail size. I suspect most IMF sailors change the
> size of their
> >> sails instead of using the traveler. We don't think of
> it as
> >> "reefing"
> >> -- it is an adjustment the sailor can quickly make in
> response to
> >> changing conditions.
> >> 
> >> The extra weight of the mast is insignificant.
> Remember that your
> >> sail is larger, adding weight aloft compared to the
> smaller IMF sail. 
> >> But, since the boat is designed to be sailed upright,
> and can easily
> >> be trimmed to sail upright, the difference in
> performance due to
> >> weight is probably no greater in an IMF boat than the
> difference of
> >> carrying an extra bottle of rum. Or not.
> >> 
> >> I carry my extra sail on the Genoa instead of the main
> sail. Both are
> >> infinitely adjustable while single handing. When
> conditions change, I
> >> change the set of my sails, all by myself, so easily
> that even a lazy
> >> sailor will do it.
> >> 
> >> I think the biggest surprise about the IMF is how well
> it works
> >> mechanically. The sail and mast are made for each
> other.
> >> There is no
> >> compromise here, and it is easy to extend and retract
> the sail under
> >> any conditions. My wife enjoys doing it.
> >> 
> >> Our harbor is busy on weekends with a very narrow
> neck,
=== message truncated ===


HADZ (a.k.a. joe)

"That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and hull and a deck
and sails. That's what a ship needs. But what a ship is... is freedom." 
-- Captain Jack Sparrow
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