[Rhodes22-list] Furling foil

Wed Jun 8 09:15:36 EDT 2022

Mike,

I replaced my OEM standard roller furler with a Harken Unit 0 about 30 years ago.  With the Unit 0, I got all the advantages of independent upper and lower swivels and an aerodynamically shaped headfoil with twin luff grooves.  The independent upper and lower swivels enable the use of foam luff pads on the genoa for better furled sail shape over a wider wind speed range.  The furling mechanism uses Torlon ball, needle, and roller bearings throughout.  The only maintenance required is an occasional freshwater flush on the upper and lower swivels.  After 30 years, the thing still spins as freely a bicycle rim!  It’s an expensive solution; but, it really is a nice piece of gear.

Roger Pihlaja
S/ dynamic Equilibrium

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From: ROGER PIHLAJA<mailto:roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 8, 2022 6:01 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Furling foil

Mike,

The insert doesn’t need to be solid.  Just machine a narrow slot in one side of the insert from the surface down to the central bore.  Then, you can wedge the slot open with a flat bladed screwdriver while you slide the forestay in.  When you remove the screwdriver blade, the slot will close.  Once the insert is in place, the ID of the furling extrusion will hold the slot closed.

With modern CNC machine tools, pretty much any shape can be created.  The machinist will have the old broken insert to use as a template.

Delrin 150 has  tensile, flexural, and compressive moduli of 450,000 psi.  It will stretch ~30% before failure.  It is both more rigid  vs HDPE and sufficiently flexible for this application.  It has excellent fatigue strength and is unaffected by water.  It has excellent machinability.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

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From: Mike Riter<mailto:mike at traildesign.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 7, 2022 9:53 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Furling foil

I had the same piece break on my furler and thought it would be easy to get
a new one machined at a shop. Because of its odd shape along with the
groove, it proved to be very difficult for the machinist to replicate.
Ultimately he had to come by my shop and take  a bunch of
detailed measurements on the inside of the tube to get the piece to fit
correctly. It was a pain and took a couple weeks to complete. I had asked
him to make it out of more rigid material and he said that wasn't a good
idea as the part needed to flex a bit. He did make it 1" longer on both
ends than the original. It's been a year now with no problems.

Getting the cable routed back through it was pretty straightforward. I
unscrewed the two part block at the top and was able to fit the cable end
through the hole in the center of the new part.

I'm guessing that as hard as it was to machine, that the maker of the
original furler tube had the part injection molded.

Mike Riter
SV Emma B

On Tue, Jun 7, 2022 at 11:36 PM Michael McKay <mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com> wrote:

> It’s not a simple cylinder. It’s more an irregular oval with a groove in
> one side corresponding to the slot for the luff tape.  I’d also have to
> redo the headstay because that runs though the center of it. The whole
> process  won’t be trivial.
>
> Might be worth replacing the furling system altogether  How do Rhodies
> like the CDI furler?
>
>
>
> Michael McKay
> (630) 209-2054 (m)
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jun 8, 2022, at 12:19 AM, Ken Simolo <kensimolo at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > 
> > Actually Delrin is not a glass fiber reinforced nylon product.  It is a
> uniform acetal monopolymer product.  It machines nicely but the surface
> finish can look dull.
> >
> > If it is just a cylinder with 4 holes in it (hard to see on my phone),
> it would be simple to buy the right material and use the holes in the metal
> to mark the hole locations in the plastic.
> >
> > Ken
> >
> >
> >> On June 8, 2022 at 12:06:56 AM, Michael McKay (mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com)
> wrote:
> >>
> >> That’s a good idea Roger—thanks.
> >>
> >> Michael McKay
> >> (630) 209-2054 (m)
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >>
> >> > On Jun 7, 2022, at 8:46 PM, ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > Mike,
> >> >
> >> > Can you pull out the two halves from the aluminum extrusion? After
> that, maybe there is a local machine shop to make you a new insert? I would
> make the new insert out of delrin, which is a glass fiber reinforced nylon
> composite.
> >> >
> >> > Roger Pihlaja
> >> > S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >> >
> >> > Sent from my iPhone
> >> >
> >> >> On Jun 7, 2022, at 5:09 PM, Michael McKay <mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> 
> >> >>
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>
> >> >> -------------- next part --------------
> >> >>
> >> >> As can be seen in the picture, my General Boats furling foil has a
> broken joining HDPE connector. It?s been working fine when the pieces are
> butted up to each other, but it does give me some concern. However, fixing
> it requires skills I don?t have. Any suggestions?
> >> >> Michael McKay
> >> >> (630) 209-2054 (m)
> >> >>
> >> >> Sent from my iPhone
>