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Messages - bclery

#1
Fleet 12 / Re: Fleet 12 Event Planner
May 20, 2011, 11:07:04 AM
EXPECTATIONS OF THE RAFT-UP HOST
Please provide the Lat & Long of the location and general location description
Please fly the Fleet 12 Burgee on site
Please declare a VHF channel (usually 78) and monitor for guests
Please find an alternate host if you can not attend at the last minuite
Please arrive early to provide the primary anchor
Extra Credit: Write up a summary of the fun afterwards with some photos

ETIQUETTE OF THE RAFT-UP GUEST
Please rsvp your intention to attend so we may be looking for you
Please notify if you must cancel, so we know not to look for you
Please hail on VHF as you appoach (or cell phones)
Please provide your fenders and lines to connect-up
Please try not to arrive after dark.

#2
Main Message Board / Re: Engine clearance to stairs
February 23, 2011, 05:24:50 AM
Thanks.

I'll go get the Dremel.
#3
Main Message Board / Re: Cutting lip off the muffler
February 23, 2011, 05:24:11 AM
Thanks for the input.  I did read all that stuff, but I did not see anyone cut the lip off the muffler.  With the exhaust in place I had a very tigh fit getting the think out, so I wanted to remove that lip.  Also removal of the lip will allow easier placement of the muffler even after the wood strucure is expoxied in place.

I started cutting into that lip last night and now I see how it was manufactured.  I believe there is no risk of leak by cutting the lip off.  From what I can see the lip is NOT where the joint is.  I believe a simple flat glass bottom was originally pushed up inside the lip; the lip is just a part of the top continuing down.

I'll let you know how it goes.
#4
Main Message Board / Engine clearance to stairs
February 22, 2011, 03:57:59 PM
I put in the new Vetus K75 engine mounts outns and did a preliminary alignment.  Since the boat is on the hard I will have to redo this later, but this is at least in the ball park.  The old alignmnet was very bad.

I found that now the engine sits quite a bit higher in the front and the water pump pulley is touching the stairs.  Then looking at the stairs I saw some older indenting there from previous rubbing.  Looks like this pulley had rubbed before, even with the old alignment.

Is this common?  I was suprise to not find any previous post on this.

My first though is to trim the wood away a little bit.  Is that a normal thing to do?

This may all get better once a redo the alignment in the water.
#5
Main Message Board / Cutting lip off the muffler
February 22, 2011, 08:20:36 AM
I found my muffler had come lose from the wood mount and the wood mount lose from the hull.  So I ripped the mess out and will refurbush and re-install.

I found that it was a very tight fit getting the muffler out and without the wood base being lose I am not sure I would have gotten it out.  I took it out behind the engine over the shaft.  My goal is to improve this so that the muffler can easily be removed and installed.

I see no purpose for the lip around the bottom of the muffler.  Four decent SS bolts will hold the muffler in place as well as that lip.  I plan on cutting the lip completely off so that the muffler bottom is smooth.  I believe this will make installation/removal much easier. 

I expect to re-pressure test the unit after the cut.

Has anybody done this?  Just wondering.  Inspecting the unit I can't see how this cut would really damage the joint.

Also, is there any value in re-coating the inside of the muffler?  Maybe slosh about some acitone to clean and then slosh about some good paint.  Anybody done that ?
#6
I am about to pay Hood $150 for a new extrusion section for a 900/915 furler. 

If anybody has a good condition used one laying in the garage (because you might use it "some day") I'd be happy to buy it for $50.
#7
Some info from Pompanette..

The bearings are the same in the drum and the halyard swivel; 4 bearings in each place.  So you CAN replace the bearings in the top.

The cost is $61 PER bearing, this includes the inner (cone) race, outter (bucket) race, and all balls.  I think this cost is very high for a single open-case bearing with a stamped race (not even machined).  That's $244 for bearings for the halyard swivel.
#8
Main Message Board / Re: Prop removal
December 08, 2010, 12:34:46 PM
My 3-blade prop was on the original shaft and never off I believe.  I tried MAPP gas, PB Blaster, huge gear pullers, serious hammering, nothing would remove it.

I finally decided the shaft was history - took out the sawz-all and removed the prop and shaft in parts.

At home after a week of PB Blaster and setting the prop on concrete over a hole (used an old coupling), I beat the nut end of the old shaft and it came off.

This winterization I removed the prop only to insure it was not sticking on there again.
#9
Main Message Board / How much forestay to replace
December 08, 2010, 08:11:10 AM
Sorry for all the posts, I'm trying to tackle that winter TODO list.

When replacing the forestay, are you typically replacing the turnbuckle and toggle below the turnbuckle?  Those things look to be in fine shape, spending most of their life protected inside the furler drum.

Is it considered OK to remove the forestay and support the mast with two halyards for a few WEEKS while the new forestay is built?  They will want the old one for sizing.

Thanks,
Bill
#10
I got that halyard top spining thing off my Hood roller furler.  I took it appart to inspect the condition and found some very odd bearnings.  Has anybody taken this thing apart and cleaned/refurbished it?

The bearings are half big and half little balls, alternating.  The inner bearings are 38 balls and the outer ones are 40 balls, very odd for other wise identical bearings.  Were they really trying to save money on 4 balls?

The inner two bearings are in fine shape (the take no load), the outer two are more worn (they take the load).  I think that just swapping the races and some new grease will provide another 20 years of perfect service.

Has anyone replaced these bearings?  It seems that Hood (now Pompanette) only sells the whole unit for $500.

Pompanette sells bearings for the drum, are they the same ?


#11
I needed to refurbish my Hood roller furler and replace the forestay.  At first I could not figure out how to get this mess off, but eventually I managed to remove my entire Hood 900 furler single-handed with the forestay still up.  I did this in a very controlled manner while winds ran 20 knots gusting to 30 knots.  So I thought I would share this trick.

You need a jib halyard and also a spinnaker halyard attached to a block on that "spinnaker crane" at the mast top.  You need 80 feet of extra line, 3-strand type works best, use your anchor line for this.  You need 60 feet of basic 5/16 line to be cut up ($24).  And a few tools, vise grips are handy.

Cut the 60 foot 5/16 line into 4 foot pieces, melt the ends. I will call these "loop lines".

Remove the jib.  Fix the jib halyard to the bow cleat, tighten.  This is what will hold the mast up.  I also pulled my main halyard forward to backup this jib halyard.

Tie the end of the spinnaker halyard to the boat-end of the anchor line.  Begin to raise the anchor line up.  At a point 4 feet below the start of the anchor line tie a "loop line" to the anchor line, sticking the loop line through the twist of the anchor line so it cannot slip in position.  Then wrap the loop line around the roller furler and back to the anchor line, then tie again to the anchor line.  This loop should be small enough that the anchor line stays close to the furler, but plenty lose to allow movement up and down.  You will be creating a "cradle" that will hold the furler in place.

Raise the spinnaker halyard another 4 feet.  Now tie another loop line in the same way.  Continue doing this until the anchor line is ALMOST to the mast top.  At this point you will have about 14 loop lines on the anchor line which will support the forestay and furler.  Tie off the spinnaker halyard.

Do NOT pull the spinnaker halyard so high that the top loop line has any risk of going over the top of the furler extrusions at the top.

Now take the anchor line at the bottom and route it around something forward like the bowsprit if you have one.  Then run it back to the bow cleat and tension it by pulling down on it and taking up on the cleat end.

Loosen up the backstay turnbuckle, about an inch is good.   Put heavy tension on the Jib halyard.  Put good tension on the bottom of the anchor line (the cradle).

At this point the forestay and furler are slack and are nicely cradled by the loop lines.  You can easily disconnect the forestay from the bow and remove the furler sections, one at a time.  The forestay and furler sections will stay safely in place while you do this.  Have your drill handy to drill-out the rivets.

In an few weeks I will put the thing back up and try to use almost the same process.

Hope this helps,
Bill
#12
Main Message Board / Re: Hood 915 Roller Furling
November 23, 2010, 06:29:45 AM
First, let me say that I am very opposed to the single line units.  A few years back I was in heavy weather on a C34 with the single line furler.  we needed to let out a small amount of Jib, but just a small release of hard tension on that single line loop and WAMMO, the whole jib went rolling out.  It was not the measured predictable system I needed at the time.

Mine today is the 915 which was upgraded to the 900SL years ago.  It works fine but I see signs that the cable stay needs to be replaced and the upper bearing is gone.  I think I can get the parts (top extrution and top bearing).

But, how do you get the thing off?
Do I have to drill out all those rivets?
If I disconenct the stay and try to lower it I believe the 40 foot furler will bend under its own weight.  How do you lower this mess to the ground?
Is it possible to thread a new cable through it?  I don't think so, each bearing in the middle has a tiny cable only hole, right ?

$1100 is a good price, but for me right now, other things need that money too.
#13
I did it.  It took about 30 minuites at the top of the mast, but I managed to untie the wire from the bolt and replace it.

I used a screwdriver to "loosen up" the knot and spread the wrapped wires out.  Then a coat hanger with a deep narrow hook bent into it was used to catch the main down hanging wire.  I pulled that wire out of the hole.

Then I hooked a part of the knot and I pulled that out of the hole too. Atthis point I had three wires going into/out-of the hole.  The main wire came up, out of the hole, then back into the hole, around the bolt, then back up out of the hole.  The half hitch knot was still losely tied but was out of the mast. 

Then i fished the new wire through the same exact path as the old wire.  Then i tightened up the knot and pushed it back into the hole. So the new wire is now knotted exactly like the old wire.

So it is possible.  Not easy, but possible.

Someday the mast will come down, but still too muvh other stuff on the list.
#14
Thanks for the input.  I will try these things.  If I can't hook it and pull up, then I'll try yanking the bolt.  Of course there is something odd about removing a big bolt from the thing that is holding you 50 feet in the air.

My idea for holding the wire weight after replacement is to tie some SS "saftey wire" around the bolt and pull up a tail of that 4" out of the little hole, then wrap/tie that SS-wire around the light wire.  Then drop that all down in the little hole.  The SS-wire will support the full weight from the bolt, but I can always pull the whole mess back UP out of the hole.

#15
I have fixed many thing so far on my '87 C34, but so far fixing the anchor light has eluded me.  I have the new light, new wire, been up the mast 3 times so far, and now stuck on..

The wire in the mast seems to be wrapped or tied around a bolt which is 3 inches below the mast top.  This appears to be a way to carry the weight of the hanging wire rather than have it pull down on the light fixture.   Without un-wrapping the wire form that bolt I can't pull the new wire through the mast.

There is a 1 inch hole directly over the bolt/wrap where the anchor light sat.  I can see the bolt and wrapped wire and can even hook it a bit by sticking bent stuff in there.  but so far no luck untying it.

At this point dropping the mast is not in the plan.  Is there any trick to getting that wire untied, or un wrapped, from that bolt?

I searched the forum and found one mention of this wire/bolt/wrap by Ron Hill.  Has anybody dealt with this?