Schaefer CF-500 furler

[Sailor Sue]

I am in the process of installing a new Schaefer Snap-furler.  Does anyone have any tips for straightening the furler extrusions prior to assembly?  Is leaving it out in the sun for a couple of days the best option? Thanks for any constructive tips.

[Ed]

I've never installed a Schaefer of any type, but I have done a CDI FF2 with bearings on a previous boat (insert humorous chuckle here).  I watched a number of installation videos on YouTube and read through the instructions several times before proceeding.  I watched a little of the Schaefer install video on a Cal20 in Bezerkly and the basic principle looks the same as the CDI, just a little more complicated.  I would leave it uncoiled out in the sun for a day or so and go for it.  I waited until the heat of the day to install, just in case.  You might want to watch the CDI videos too, just to compare. I have mast furling for the main and mizzen sails now, so stays of any type (fore/aft/side/etc) are a thing of the past.  Good luck!

[Sailor Sue]

I just realized that the temperature on my shop roof is around 140° so I'm thinking/hoping that a few hours on the roof should be enough to relax the twists in the extrusions.

[Spot]

I would be careful at that 140 F temp, it might do more harm than good to the plastic bits.

[Timm R Oday25]

Well ,if it gets too hot ..he can always put it in the freezer for a few minutes.                                    

[Doug SC]

I used 2 dish/hand towels dipped in a pot of very hot water. I would leave one in the pot and warp one around the section to be soften and bent back in shape by applying light pressure to straighten a twisted CDI FF2 luff extrusion. I would have to keep swapping the towels because they would cool down. It wasn't difficult to control the pliability of the extrusion. Wear gloves!

[Sailor Sue]

Furler installation update. 5 or 6 hours on the roof made enough difference so I could get reasonably accurate measurements.  The extrusions also relaxed enough that we were able to snap the two halves together, though not as easily as the instruction manual implied.

And no, the extrusions did not melt, and I didn't have to put them in the freezer. I had already watched the Schaefer video, and the extrusions were snapped together before the suggestion of hot towels.