Rolling furler(Hood). Next to impossible to turn.

[sailingdream]

I finally stepped my mast this weekend. But now have a problem with the rolling furler. It won't roll. I don't have the exact model which I forgot to write down this weekend before I left the boat, but I have a C34(1990) with a Hood system. It required a D-Shackle(the one that was original there was too small) so I had to take a trip to west marine for another one about .5" longer. Putting some pressure down on the drum I was able to get someone to feed the pin. Now it's SOOOOO hard to pull the furler sheet. Did I do something wrong?

[tonywright]

Can you give us some more information about what you have done so far?

First: where did you attach the d-shackle? What made you think the other was too short? Maybe you haven't attached it correctly to the furling drum...? Is it a straight d-shackle or a "twisted" one. (Twisted seems to work better).

Other random thoughts:

Have you checked that you have wound the furling line in the right configuration around the drum?
What kind of tension do you have in the backstay, genoa halyard etc.
Are there any bends or kinks in the foil?
Have you rinsed the bearings in the foil? If this boat was transported, was the furler fully protected from road dirt and bending?

Does the car at the top rotate feely around the foil, or is a line jamming? Was the halyard properly fed through the restarining eye at the top of the mast to prevent a wrap? 
Have you kept the second halyard well away from the foil? (I pull mine back around the spreader and secure it tight, so there is no chance of a wrap. Saw a nasty mess one day as someone was trying unsuccessfully to furl a genoa in 25 kts with a halyard jamming the foil car completely. )

Tony

[sailingdream]

Wow. I won't be able to answer all the questions right now. But the unit I have now of course has the center(forstay?) which was attached first. Then the drum has a outer ring, below where the sheet rolls in there is the hole which the straight d-shackle was connected.
During transport the drum wasn't covered. Looks clean.
I think before putting on the shackle it seemed to roll better. But I will check next time I'm at the boat and have someone help me remove it. (Next to impossible to have one person do it).

The halyards look well clear of the stay.  I think it became impossible to roll it when I put on the d-shackle. But I will remove it on the next trip down to the marina.

Anyone here from Bronte, Ont care to help? :)

[sailingdream]

So I went down to the boat last night, sun was setting fast, and I had a look at the problem.
I tried to remove the d-shackle but it was in there pretty good. I will need let go of the backstay
a little. One thing I did notice was that the clevis pin for the for stay was loose, not in the sense
that it's coming to come out since the cotter pin is there, but there was no pressure on it and I could
freely spin it. So it seems like the load of the mast is in the drum and not the forstay. I'm only going
to take a wild guess and thats why the drum isn't freely able to spin.
Is this a good assumption?

[tonywright]

Sounds like a much too loose forestay and a tight halyard. That combination could well make it difficult to turn. Slacken off the halyard a lot (leave it very slack) then tighten the backstay. Then you can snug up the halyard again, but not so tight that you get a vertical crease in the luff of the genoa. Then try furling. Should be completely different.

Just in case I am misunderstanding: the d-shackle you are talking about is connected to the clew of the genoa?  Or are you talking about a different d-shackle?

Can you find someone experiencedwith rigging and tuning a masthead rig keelboat to take a look for you? There is nothing too special about the C34. Anyone with good general rigging knowledge should be able to help.

Tony

[sailingdream]

I'll have pics this weekend. But it's a d-shackle at the bottom/under the drum, not the clew of the sail. I don't even have the sail up since I wouldn't be able to furl it.

I'll post some pictures for a better understanding what Im talking about.

[sailingdream]

FIXED!!

Once I removed the d-shackle, and replace it with something that was just alittle longer, the pressure was put on the forestay, and roll the furler went.

Back to fixed all the other stuff.

Thanks Tony for the help.