Dazzler’s Bowsprit project part two.
After all parts removed were cleaned and/or painted, the process of re-installing parts back onboard began. While the bow pulpit was off and being cleaned, Jilly discovered a crack and hole on the lower aft corner. That was sent off to a welding shop for repairs and was returned the next day. Thanks to Haracio in La Cruz for his valuable assistance. First I set the bowsprit on the bow and bedded it with 3M 4000 bedding compound.
Next was bedding the windlass and installing all of its cha cha. Next was starting to re-string the rigging. All was re-connected except for the Jib roller furling which needed its lower bearing replaced. This was a bit easier and a bit more difficult than it seemed. First the roller drum at the base of the foil came off easily. This allowed me be able to work on removing the large oil/grease seal from the bottom of the drum. The center shaft that the bearing rides on has a heavy duty circlip retainer keeping the bearing in place and preventing the shaft from riding upward. This little tidbit will be revisited later. The center shaft could then be tapped out through the top of the drum. After I cleared the shaft from the drum, another oil/grease seal and another circlip is visible and attached to the shaft. It is important to note that the two circlips on the shaft index the bearing placement on the shaft. I was able to locate the necessary replacement bearing and shaft seals locally here in the Banderas Bay area as the seals and bearings are standard type machine grade parts. There is a large circlip that insets against the interior of the drum against the outer ring of the bearing to index it against the drum housing. After removing that circlip, I was able to tap the bearing out of the drum. The ProFurl bearing and seal kit was somewhere in the neighborhood of $350 USD … if you can get one. The rigging shop in San Diego would not sell it to me because they have to be the ones that install it. I found all the parts I need here in the Banderas Bay area for approximatel $95 USD.
Ready to put it all back together, it went back together about as easy as it came apart. I recommend that you have some kind of heavy duty circlip tool for removal and re-installing the circlips. Those rings are very stout. Pack the bearing and the area between the seals with a good marine grade grease, but not too much. I used a straight probe carefully inserted between the shaft and the inner part of the seal to allow excess grease and air to escape while tapping the seal into place. I could now re-install the drum on the headsails foil. The forestay furler was attached allowing me to start tuning the standing rigging. Dazzler is starting to look like a sailboat again.
After tuning the rigging, we hoisted the staysail and furled it up. Next was the headsail. We hoisted it up with its halyard and I put the extra tug to set it in place. Now was the moment of truth. Did replacing the bearing correct the stiff roller furling of the sail? The answer was yes, but as I looked at the drum something didn’t look right. The lower shaft had pulled the top seal almost out of the top of the drum and was elevated about two inches above where it should have been. Knowing how the drum was put together, I knew that the lower circlip had some how failed. Which meant I had to de-tune the standing rigging, drop the Jib Sail and remove the roller drum, AGAIN, to take it apart.
Well, the culprit was the lower circlip was too thick and did not seat into the grove on the shaft, which allowed the shaft to slide upward when I loaded the forestay halyard. I had another circlip that was a few millimeters thinner and that was the end of that. BTW, I was able to find the heavy duty circlip at another tienda here in Mexico also. Lucky or just holding my mouth right I guess.
The double repaired drum was re-installed, the forestay roller re-attached, the rigging returned and the headsail installed again. All was good!
As part of this bowsprit project I decided to replace the stainless lifelines with Dynema material. Since I had already purchased the Dynema line, I only needed a few end terminals, which I acquired at the local Marine chandlery in La Cruz. Two afternoons of splicing and the lifelines were completed. Dazzler’s stanchions are equipped with rings welded onto them to allow the line to easily pass through. I carefully marked those locations on the Dynema and spliced Dynema covers onto the lifelines. It turned out very nice. If attempting to do these cover splices, I recommend that you complete the first cover splice and then mark where you plan to make the next cover splice. I discovered that the splice reduced the length of the line by approximately one inch for each splice.
The Dynema was so easy to work with and splice. I was able to remove a few splices and move the splice to the correct location. I used about 16” of Dynema cover for each splice. I also stitched each splice with Dynema whipping twine to finish it all off.
Parts List for the ProFurl furling drum and life lines
Bearing FAG #16010, this seems to be a standard number with different manufacturers
Seal Dichtomatik #39395, 80x50x12mm
Regular 3/16 Dyneema line with a breaking strength of 6,500 pounds
Johnson products were used for termination points.
lions (my favorite) from shore to shore, island to island. I even got the chance to get on a beach with them in Puerto Refugio. It wasn’t what Dan wanted because he was worried about my safety but he let me go there anyway. Note that I had to beg for days to make this happen and even then it was a struggle. But, Jungle Jilly must always be where the animals are and my Dan makes sure I never miss my chance. He even made certain I got to swim with one in Alacrán. It was one of the highlights of my summer.
for sure but I know my amazing guy is always making sure I get to see and experience every possible thing here. Sometimes I feel like Jacques Cousteau. I am an explorer and nothing is too strange or outrageous for me to see or experience. One of my favorite quotes by Cousteau is, “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” This summer I truly began to understand the meaning and depth of these words on an entirely new level.
day my hair stands on end and I get so excited just thinking about it. It was certainly a “once in a lifetime” experience and one we will never forget. When you have an orca playing around your boat, in your wake and surfacing to blow its blowhole in your face…you know you are being blessed by the nature Gods! To say this was the most incredible wildlife moment of my summer and my life is an understatement! Even Dan was excited and can be heard screaming, “Oh my God” as one of the orcas surfaces beside Dazzler. It takes a lot to get Dan excited about something so this speaks volumes about how amazing this experience was for both of us.
Of course, I can’t talk about this summer without talking about how wonderful it’s been to be here, FINALLY, with Dan. I’ve 
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