I choose to flush the bearings once a year with excess WD 40 for cleaning and wash regularly when we wash down the boat.Hood seafurl 5 installation manual. It has been said that WD 40 or other lubricant will attract dirt, so that part has been left out of the new Hood Owner's Manuals. If stickiness or friction is excessive, such that they are not functioning acceptably, remove the entire offending assembly from the boat, and return it to a Hood Yacht Systems Dealer or Distributor for service or replacement.
At NO TIME attempt to disassemble these swivel (bearing) units. At this time spray WD 40 (or another similar lubricant) into the race while rotating them, until friction is acceptable. If, after especially hard usage, or after a couple of years - this process may no longer be sufficient to remove the friction inducing particles. Simply pour the water into the bearings and rotate them in both directions every 5 or 6 weeks.
Maintenance Instructions as written in the Hood Owner's Manual (March 1985) Hood also suggested that I rinse the drum with fresh water frequently.Ĭontinued to do that at every washdown and haven't had a problem with After that treatment, the drum rotated easily. It at the same time, a LARGE amount of crud came out. I let the drum sit forĪbout fifteen minutes first. I used a large tub and used the warmest water I could stand, andĭetergent. He talked about saltīuildup and associated problems it caused.
They suggested that I first remove the drum, immerse it in warmĭetergent water and thoroughly flushing it out. Lot of help - and that was with no sail! I called Hood to order a When I purchased my boat two years ago, the drum would rotate only with My roller furling unit is a continuous line design - I think a model Ya Right! Mine was washed away years ago! This grease is very tenacious, such that under normal usage it will be effective, indefinately, provided the bearings are flushed out with water every 5 or 6 weeks. During factory assembly, (1986) the bearings are "run in" with Teflon grease for lubrication. The MAINTENANCE Manual (see more on this below Pete's letter) states that the bearings are hardened 304 stainless steel balls on stainless races. The picture is what happens when the Roller Furler does not work properly! Take the sail down, call the dog forward for advice and start cleaning.
You would be amazed at the BLACK CRUD that started dripping out! Well, to make a long story short, I decided to use the full can to do this cleaning and then do the water wash all over again.
So I got out a bunch of rags, spread them under the drum and started spraying in the WD40 to soak it through an through. So I washed mine out with water and rotated it a zillion times (before installing sail). I have a Hood Seafurl 3250 one line set up that is very hard to use. I have seen a few letters on the Catalina mail list talking about not using WD40 on the bearings in the roller furler drum because it attracts dirt. Our Catalina C34 Upgrades Al & Michele's Catalina 34 Hull #55 "Kindred Spirit"Į-Mail me if you have any questions at Roller Furler Cleaning