Broken furler tube

[csoule13]

I believe this is a harken mkIII. During transit, the aluminium(?) that the drum connects to snapped just above the drum. This is on the section below where the sail feeds in. A little birdy suggested to, basically, get the broken piece out, slide the drum up, and connect it to the main shaft. Use dremel as needed to score any notches to mirror the old piece. Seems straight forward enough.

Wondering if any of the handier folks here have a better idea. Given the forces at play here, I'm assuming something like jb weld would fail quickly.

[Jim Walsh]

https://www.harken.com/
If you contact Harken technical service they can assist you in identifying your furler. Replacement parts are readily available. The assembly instructions are also on their site. Should be a relatively cheap and easy fix if you are somewhat handy.

[tjr818]

. . . Should be a relatively cheap and easy fix if you are somewhat handy.

Although, this would be a great time to inspect the forestay. How long has it been since you have seen it? This could be not cheap and easy.

[Jim Walsh]

. . . Should be a relatively cheap and easy fix if you are somewhat handy.

Although, this would be a great time to inspect the forestay. How long has it been since you have seen it? This could be not cheap and easy.

Cheap and easy in the “yacht owner” sense of the term.

[csoule13]

. . . Should be a relatively cheap and easy fix if you are somewhat handy.

Although, this would be a great time to inspect the forestay. How long has it been since you have seen it? This could be not cheap and easy.

All the standing rigging is literally brand new due to the move, since the old turnbuckles, etc were basically frozen in place. And with the boat now in a fresh water environment, it'll be good to go for a good long while.

[csoule13]

Finally got this fixed, and wanted to share a few lessons learned in case anyone stumbles over this in future searches.

First up, for the Mrkiii furler, you do not need to disassemble the drum the furling line spools onto. Next, when you are doing anything with the torque tube/collar, *tape it to the foil* or otherwise secure it. If you do not, you will forget about it, and it will end up in the drink, and the giant turtle that was floating around your boat will laugh at you.

The biggest surprise for me was that when the column of foils are no longer held up by the bolts in the torque tube, the entire column slides down the forestay. Watch your fingers.

The locking nut at the top of the drum turns counter clockwise to loosen. Hold the forestay with pliers. Turn the main unit clockwise to loosen and eventually free up the forestay. When it comes out, the column of foils are going to want to make a run for it. Also, the locking nut might want to make an escape.

An extra set of hands to keep the column of foils from crashing down proved the difference between hardship and success. There's enough going on trying to get the forestay threaded onto the turnbuckle when reassembling.

At everyone point in this, a little well placed violence with a flathead screwdriver got things unwedged and moving.

For those in the Annapolis/DC area, Steve at East Coast Rigging was a champ with this and took the time out to make a short video to guide me through this. He also replaced my standing rigging and packed the boat up for the move, and the work was super throughout.