In-mast furling broken off

[ryall]

Hi, I'm new to the community (this being my first post) but I've read a lot on this forum in the past and was wondering if I could get some advice on my first major problem on my first boat, a 2002 Hunter 386 (38ft).

I bought the boat recently and being inexperienced with in-mast furling (I trained with a mainsail that needed raising), appear to have snapped the top off of the furling pole inside the mast. It's a Selden mast, (http://puu.sh/ntd9G.jpg) and I have taken the mainsail off and the pole inside, while attached at the bottom of the mast to the gears to get it to turn, moves freely at the top when wobbled. I'm guessing this is a pretty major problem and it's something I want to get resolved ASAP before I can get sailing again, as spring is on the way!

Being kind of inexperienced, I don't really know what to do next. Who would I contact to fix this kind of thing? I can't find any similar stories anywhere on the internet. Also, it's a long-shot but I am in Barcelona right now if anyone knows any reliable local contacts.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Hi ryall ... Welcome to CF !!!

I'm not personally intimate with the top end of this system, but hopefully somebody will be along to help shortly !

(I can think of a few members who really should know)

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, ryall.

You might contact:
José Mª Bataller, Sales Manager Spain
Apartado de Correos 231
03730 – JÁVEA – (Alicante)
email: jmb@seldenmast.se
Tel/Fax: + 34 96 579 37 52
Celluar: + 34 689 023 134

➥ http://www.seldenmast.com/en/topmenu/contact.html

[paulajayne]

This may help:-

Sparepart lists : Seldén Mast AB

Paula

[jslayton321]

Ryall,

Reading your post the first thought that came to mind is that there is nothing broken. Removing the main sail removes the upper bearing for the roller furling post as well as the sail itself which wraps and cushions the post when furled.

With the sail removed the the post will flop around banging against the mast and sound awful. To stop that, reinstall the main sail. Also, when sailing the main sail should not be fulled deployed. Leave at least one to one and one half turns to cushion the furling post.

Hope this helps, Jerry

[ryall]

Thanks so much for the replies so far, they're really helpful.

@jslayton321: I don't think this is the case in my mast. The diagram shows it is attached at the top and the reason the main had to come down was because the pole was already moving and would not furl when coming back into harbour. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

[jslayton321]

Ryall, what tells you something is broken? What are the symptoms and when did you notice them in relation to removing the main sail?

The top end of the main furling post is held in place by the swivel which is in turn pulled up and held in place by the force of the main halyard. On my boat an accidental release of the main halyard clutch will remove tension on the post and allow it to flop about making a terrible sound. With the main sail removed, the main halyard lowered and the boat sitting in its slip the furling post will bang around inside the mast and make horrible noises.

Before you spend a ton of money on this, reinstall the main and try it out.

Jerry

[unclemack]

It may be that the bearing in the top swivel has collapsed - not referring to the halyard swivel which has its own bearings and slides up and down the luff extrusion.

First check that the luff extrusion tensioner hasn't come loose. There's a locking screw but it may have come loose and allowed the tensioner to unscrew.

There's a sleeve covering the tensioner adjustment, need to carefully unclip and remove the large plastic cover (they get brittle) to access the assembly.

Look on the Selden website for the manual if you don't have it. An early version - like mine - has the number 595-069-E, look at page 20. Freely downloadable in .pdf format.
Read the whole manual until you thoroughly understand the system. Easy to cause more damage and they're expensive units.

Whether it's the top bearing or the adjuster adrift it's going to rattle/wobble in similar fashion.
Don't just start screwing or unscrewing the adjuster without thinking hard first - need to mark stuff for when you put it back together.

If it is the top bearing it would be very difficult to replace it safely without taking the mast off the boat.

[sailcrazy]

We sail a Bamar in-mast furler, not a Selden, but they are all similar. We had a similar experience when sailing in Greece. We have always had a sporadic issue with bringing the m/s out-never in-for a number of years and could never find the problem. Then, as we were bringing the sail out leaving Athens it jammed hard, would not move, and as I tried to pull on it to get it to move one way or the other the m/s suddenly came down on top of me. Long story short....turned out the bearing in the upper swivel had gone bad, finally froze, and the whole lower part of that swivel housing unscrewed. And it and the m/s came down-the halyard was still at the top of the mast. A local rigger was able to seperate the mandrel from the winding mechanism at the base, and raise the mandrel just enough to remove the entire upper swivel. He rebuilt the bearing(2 of them), reassembled the rig....and it has worked flawlessly now for the last 3 years. Find a local dealer or rigger, and let him have a go at it.

[ryall]

Just as a followup, I contacted Jose as GordMay suggested and he sorted everything out for a very reasonable cost. Can highly recommend the guy if you need mast work in the area. Turns out a pin had come loose in the crank mechanism, preventing it from working. He dismantled, cleaned, fixed and greased it before replacing it and it seems to be working beautifully now.

The top is wobbly because the plastic sheath broke off. The mast is still functional without it but I have ordered the replacement to make it a bit easier to furl and to protect the bearing.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who helped, I would have been very lost without you!

[HappyMdRSailor]

Spectacular!

Thanks for the follow up, and surely the glowing recommendation for Jose! (where's that dang e with the thingy above it?)

Glad things worked out so well... And... Stick around and start posting your adventures!