Selden 100S genoa furler: Broken tack ring

[reystos]

While in a clubrace a few days ago, I heard something snap from the bow while going upwind in choppy water, with the genoa depowered as much as possible via the track. Backstay was tensioned for high wind conditions.  Simultaneously the bottom 15% of the sail lost tension and started fluttering.


From the cockpit it looked like the bottom snap shackle on top of the furler drum had let go. On close inspection the shackle was intact and had stayed with the sail but the eye that used to hold it on top of the furler was broken. As I learnt later, that plastic part is called "tack ring". My furler is a 22year old Selden 100S. Later designs on the 200S feature a tack ring made out of metal, but they are not compatible to the 100S.

Quick fix to continue sailing: used a piece of rope to tension the sail to the bottom of the forestay. With the tack ring broken you cannot use furling to depower it.

Good news: a tack ring only costs 63Euros+VAT from Selden. The part is available (Look for B12 on the selden catalogue), is the same for all forestay wire diameters and the code is 539-355 .

Bad news: The forestay needs to come down. The furler needs to be fully disassembled in order to replace it. Much easier to meet with the Pope than find a Selden authorized rigger in Greece during summer, but I did put my request for an appointment in their dealer's waiting list. Twice a bummer for me as I had the furler lower assembly rebuilt last year. Had I known it it was a common point of failure, we would have replaced it then and there.

You can see in the photos attached where the tack ring broke. Most of the photos that circulate in the internet with broken 100S tack rings are the same: after so many years in the sun you get brittle fracture.

[reystos]

There is a little voice in my head that told me I should find a temporary fix around this, until the rigger eventually shows up and replaces the tack ring. Thankfully, modern technology allows us to do things that were not possible just a few years ago.

Rather than disassemble the whole drum, I designed a larger tack ring that encircles the old one. It also has a bottom lip that secures it around the old one, so when you tighten it, it will never let go. The eye for the snap shackle is made to be even more reinforced compared to the original part.

Tested last weekend, its a go! The furler works again. You can see the version that I have left on the boat, with a quick coat of grey primer for UV protection.

It would be extremely difficult to call this a permanent fix, but it could help owners who get this failure while underway or during crossings. Having a couple of them as spares on board will probably cause no harm..

[Krumelur]

This is ingenious! And it’s also the first time I see 3-D printing being used for something useful! 😂😂😂