Harken furler drum cracked

[zachduckworth]

I have a potentially important question.

I have an Islander Bahama with a Harken Cruiser 1 roller furler, installed in 2008, making it 13 years old. The baseplate of the drum is in two pieces attached together with two screws and two plastic pins. The radius where the two screws enter the drum plate have broken through, so that the plates are separated by a few millimeters (about 1/8 inch). The bade plate is still held in place by the body of the drum that it sits inside of.

I am wondering if this is a known point of failure with these older Harken furlers? My fear is that the baseplate could somehow work itself loose in such a way that it jams inside the drum.

I contacted the rigging company who installed it for the PO and they told me that the Cruiser line of furlers from the 2000s were the only piece of junk Harken ever made, which was not encouraging. On the other hand 13 years seems like a good run and I am planning to re-rig the boat next year anyway. I am concerned that this is an immediate safety issue though. Thanks!

[Orion Jim]

It’s usually best to go to the source, especially when it’s Harken. Their technical help is outstanding in my experience. They may offer valuable advice.

https://www.harken.com/en/contact-us/

[jjernigan1972]

This is a known weakness on harken furlers. I had this happen to me on Harken MKIV unit 1, about 100nm west of bermuda. The sail fully deployed in squall, with 40-50kts of wind with out the drum turning. The reason is the top and bottom pieces are what keep the foil and the drum locked together. When they break and separate it allows the foil to spin without the drum moving. In Bermuda I put metal straps across the top or bottom of the plate to hold it together. At least for my unit you can buy the the top and bottom pieces and they are fairly easy to replace.

[more]

Originally Posted by zachduckworth

I have a potentially important question.

I have an Islander Bahama with a Harken Cruiser 1 roller furler, installed in 2008, making it 13 years old. The baseplate of the drum is in two pieces attached together with two screws and two plastic pins. The radius where the two screws enter the drum plate have broken through, so that the plates are separated by a few millimeters (about 1/8 inch). The bade plate is still held in place by the body of the drum that it sits inside of.

I am wondering if this is a known point of failure with these older Harken furlers? My fear is that the baseplate could somehow work itself loose in such a way that it jams inside the drum.

I contacted the rigging company who installed it for the PO and they told me that the Cruiser line of furlers from the 2000s were the only piece of junk Harken ever made, which was not encouraging. On the other hand 13 years seems like a good run and I am planning to re-rig the boat next year anyway. I am concerned that this is an immediate safety issue though. Thanks!

https://www.p2marine.com/harken-furler-parts

[donradcliffe]

At one point, Harken made a furler with a split drum which could be removed for racing. It was a bad idea.

[zachduckworth]

Originally Posted by jjernigan1972

This is a known weakness on harken furlers. I had this happen to me on Harken MKIV unit 1, about 100nm west of bermuda. The sail fully deployed in squall, with 40-50kts of wind with out the drum turning. The reason is the top and bottom pieces are what keep the foil and the drum locked together. When they break and separate it allows the foil to spin without the drum moving. In Bermuda I put metal straps across the top or bottom of the plate to hold it together. At least for my unit you can buy the the top and bottom pieces and they are fairly easy to replace.

This is exactly what is happening to me. The jib does slip out from time to time. Good to know I’m not the only one. I bought a new bottom flange from Harken and will replace it this weekend. Just realized that I probably need a top one too…