Hi Thomas;
Unfortunately, we are not on board, so I cannot definitively answer your question. However, I do recall holding the gear box in my hands and wondering how to get into it. If there was a screw cap, it would have drawn my attention to it.
That plus a lack of time, led me to just spray the CorosionX inside. So, I’m guessing that ours looks more like yours, without a cap.
Happy Sailing;
Mohammad and Aty
B&B Kokomo
AMEL 54 #099
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From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io>
On Behalf Of Sv Garulfo via groups.io
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2020 4:52 PM
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Mizzen furler gearbox, A54 peculiarity?
In Randall’s picture, i noticed the gearbox housing is consistent with the drawing in Gary Silver’s document.
My gearbox appears slightly different, at least from the outside. It doesn’t have a screwed top lid.
what is your gearbox like? Mine or Randall’s?
Does it have straight through drain holes?
Did you have to apply great force to unscrew the bottom part? How much leverage does your tool have? How long is the handle?
Tahuata, French Polynesia
There were 2 sets of Delrin bearings 1st set just under the bottom cap and the other in the top. My furler took 2 hands and great force to turn.
Just like in the Delos video. If you look at the one picture you can see the place where the Delrin bushings in the cranking shaft with the gear, has eroded and that is where all of the stiffness is coming from.
I can only say that the 2 holes in my furler bottom go all the way through.
I intend to make a start to finish video of this. It was incredibly simple and now the furler moves like new.
On Fri, May 15, 2020 at 7:21 PM Sv Garulfo <svgarulfo@...> wrote:
I will attempt to watch the video but I doubt the bandwidth here will allow that...
Further to Mohammad’s question, did you find a bearing inside or delrin balls like Gary described?
As far as I can see through the horizontal shaft opening, there is a vertical element (consistent with the diagram in Gary’s document) that is supposed to be on a set of derlin balls at the bottom of the housing, but mine does not rotate
at all.
Clearly the gearing housing is not waterproof and without drains it will inevitably fill with dirt and water up to the attachment bolts. The bushing is then halfway soaked in that and the aluminium/stainless steel interface between the
gearshaft and the winch handle socket attachment will corrode. The oxidation on the aluminium shaft will slowlly increase the friction to the bushing. The gears are moving freely otherwise.
So, drill for drain or not?
Tahuata, French Polynesia
I removed disassembled and cleaned my mizzen outhaul last fall. You don't need to drop sail. The issue will be in the Delrin bushings that become very stiff. I have attached 2 pictures of my work. The bearings are not to be lubed/greased.
I used a cheap homemade tool to unscrew the bottom. 2cm square bar 2 drill holes straight through, put the drill bits in so the solid end goes into the bottom of the furler, with furler in a vice. Worked great.
They do the job at 8.02 of the video. If you need more info let me know. Use the bar not the saw.
On Wed, May 13, 2020 at 6:50 PM Sv Garulfo <svgarulfo@...> wrote:
In the great document by Gary Silver about the overhaul of the SM Mizzen furler gearbox (thanks Arno for sending us a low bandwidth friendly version), it is mentioned that the bottom part of the gearbox housing is drilled with 2 holes that
are used to both unscrew that part (with great efforts) and drain the gearbox of liquids.
As our gearbox got stiffer recently, I removed it and it appears that those 2 holes are not through openings.. thus not acting as drains. And the gearbox was full of rainwater up to the attachment bolts. Arno tells me he saw the same.
So the teflon bushing got very dirty and stiff with all sorts of deposits.
Does anybody know why the drains are no longer machined through? Is it an A54 “innovation”?
It doesn’t really make sense and I’m thinking of drilling those holes all the way through to reinstate the drain. Any word of advice against that idea?
Tahuata, French Polynesia
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