OMG, that furler repair! I'm sure you edited out the frustrating parts, but "Hold these bearings in with grease individually without letting the others fall out" is my idea of torture.
Memories of fixing old British motorcycle headstock bearings, same technique of sticking them on with grease. My take on a bearing catcher is the top part of a 2 litre soda bottle, slit, slipped over, and taped in place.
I love ❤️ Dan's repair and maintenance videos 💖💙 He is always very accurate, confident, knowledgeable, and optimistic, on top of the fact that he is so good at explaining all the details 👍👍👍 The cave adventure was fun, too! As always, Kika's editing is so great almost magical ✨️ Thank you guys 😊 Enjoy Gibraltar! As always, Love you 😍
Remember seeing someone once use an upturned fully open umbrella hanging off the bow to catch any pieces that dropped while they did a job on their forestay.
So, eight years ago you rebuilt the furler. When done you had some spare bearings which you stashed away on the boat for the next time. Then, eight years later you found them when you needed them. How did you manage that? How many little bags of extra parts have you collected over the years? How many out-of-the-way nooks and crannies have you stashed them in? Do you have some sort of tracking system?
The salt water environment combined with the physical forces involved in sailing has to be really tough on all sorts of parts on your boat, particularly anything metallic. The caving looked like a lot of fun!
Thanks for another great video. My first visit to the 'Rock' was in 1976 with the Navy and I was lucky to be picked to have a tour of the facilities guided by the garison batalion The Royal Greenjackets. It's an amazing place with probably more history per square foot than most places. I'm sure you would need years to see it all. 🙂
That furler repair brought back memories of replacing old Harley upper and lower neck bearings. Only thing I would do differently is put a layer of thick grease down first.
Bravo on the furler repair. Tedious work! Proud of myself for making it through the whole spelunking part. I have fairly severe claustrophobia. I don't do caves, and I usually don't watch other people doing caves. But I made it through this with no panic attack! You guys being the ones doing it helped. :)
Thank you so much for your weekly and always inspiring videos. Made me think how fortunate you guys were that the sail furler needed seeing too in sunny Spain and not winter in Svalbard.
College, particularly, architecture, which requires learning about math, chemistry, physics, and various architectural engineering disciplines such as mechanics, statics, dynamics, and machine elements.
I almost skipped this one, since my sailboat does not have a fore-stay or roller-furler, but so glad I didn't. That behind the scenes cave tour was amazing!!
Hi guys Just in case you need to go to the next step. I had a similar issue with my fuller. Which I decided I needed to dismantle having done numerous cleans and greese’ings like you. Key point We have a dufour 35 with a keel stepped mast! Jib off! I took all the tension off the fore stay Took the top fuller up the track Went up the mast Disconnected the fore stay Removed the to roller off the top of the fore stay Now you can inspect / service and replace at your leisure Mine needed some new bearings Seems that most are SS but some are plastic 20 years at the top of the mast ……l Hey ho
I've done an upside down race on a motorcycle before and put a bead of grease around the race and was able to stuff the bearings into that and close it up. Easier than greasing individually.
Dan, I often see sailors with same problems. I remember another thing: On a catamaran with batten wagons we had a problem not getting the main sail down. Another cat owner told us to at least wash them twice a year. After that sorrow rinse the sail went smoothly. Perhaps it may also be accumulated salt inside that furler?
All Aboard instructure, James, as well as also being a cave guide is also wearing a Wasps rugby shirt. I have been a season ticket holder and fan for 25 years: they went in to administration today and may cease to exist. Other than that - great episode! (timing can be a bummer!)
I must have gotten an extrasensory signal. I somehow knew you posted. Watching you work on the bearings it makes me think that one of the reasons you two would like a bigger boat is for a workshop space on board, with a machine shop with mini lathe, hydraulic press, and cnc cutter. Lol.
Guys, check your nylon sleeve between the furler foil and wire. Plus that grease didn't look like the correct marine grease. The nylon sleeve rides up the wire and puts extra pressure on the upper bearing assembly by causing a lot of drag on foil, making it almost impossible to furl up. That's the first give away, the second is the foil section joining screws are showing signs of twisting and the screw holes just starting to wear oversize. Any which way you look at it, you will need to replace the furler completely in the near future. Cheers.
Good Morning Dan & Kika I think I past you on my walk in Port Andratx Mallorca this morning you were in company and I didn’t want to disturb but welcome and I hope you have a lovely time here it’s my little piece of paradise 😎 D
The flow stone looks so slick and difficult to get purchase on. Their used another great area to explore that starts in the St. Michael's Cave but that was 40 years ago and looking at all the safety features that are in place now its probably sealed off.
some suggestion need to drill and tap zerk fittings in so you can grease them one you just want to put a plug in so when you pump grease in you see it come out the other hole its full
So if tt is not smooth rotation , clean the grease of , inspect for pitting on balls and races , and check to make have enough balls and the tension is not to loose or to tight . Use thicker grease or put in the refrigerator for thicker viscosity to hold the balls better as you reassemble .
You two always surprise me. The two of you doing surgery on UMA (likely able to rewire DATA...NG.) and then going spelunking or as I call it upside down rock climbing...in the dark. Good on ya both. Great video as usual. By the way, your trip to the Arctic Circle and beyond has now got the tropical sailors wanting to do the same. It's going to be a bit of a surprise to most of them. HAHA. Keep up the great work you two, it's inspirational for other sea folk and most of us land lubbers.
Nice videos as always. Please note that Gibraltar is 6.8 km2 and there are about 150 caves and 30km + of tunnels ,not bad for such a small place. Glad you enjoyed the experience.
If your greasing doesn't work check for halyard wrap. From your previous videos it looks like this is your problem. Occasionally jamming but freeing up with a bit of working back and fourth. If it is halyard wrap just fit a halyard deflector and check the forestay for damage. But that will fix it.
Halyard wrap was the first thing we checked. But that’s only an issue on a new set up. It’s worked for 8 yrs with the same sail and tension, so it’s not halyard wrap.
I love Gibraltar! I like to pass through and stay overnight at the Sunborn, the casino boat next to the runway when I ride my bicycle between the house I sit at often near Granada and Morocco. I'm sure the Sunborn *loves* having someone arrive by bicycle.
Next time just take a bit of thick (if needed cold/ cooled) bearing grease and mix them in the palm of your hand with the ball bearings in order to get a ball bearings and grease mixture that is easy to pack into the cup holder without loosing them even when it’s upside down it sticks due to the grease and you just use your hands and an old rag to wipe your hands during the procedure and wash them afterwards.
Would it be possible to drill and tap the bearing races--even if it had to be within the furler drum, under the wraps of the furling line--to put in Zerk fittings? (As used with automotive or aircraft grease guns?) Then you could just pump new grease in from time to time, wiping up the nasty old grease as it comes gooshing out the slot between the bearing races.
The biggest fallacy in modern ship propulsion going on *DECADES* now is the need for a stayed mast. Once you get rid of needing the ability to transport said vessel out of water upon land is so apparent as to be ridiculously sane/laughably *NOT* insane. Using the *"magnus effect"* with modern materials of course aluminum the need for even a sail be done away with. Modern hull designs are so efficient and mass produced and *HUGE* by volume clearing the mast out offers obvious advantages let alone eliminating cabling/etc as shown here.
Hahaha. Two favorite channels (youngbarnacles being the other) released videos on the same day of replacing the bearings headsails furlers. It must be bearing failure season. Which reminds me: all the bearings in our top two track cars for the mainsail fell out and I really need to find replacements. Defies me was to how that can even happen.... I'm sure the part autopsy will be interesting
modern swivels use delrin balls and good swivels use torlon balls never steel balls and no grease . Grease holds the dirt and grimme and causes seizing
Next time, before you put in new grease make sure you clean it first with a decreaser for instance brake cleaner. This will get all the dirt out. Then put in a minimal amount of grease. If you put in to much dirt will stick to it.
Aha so you think on the ocean is no dirt? It that were true the grease you remove would look exactly the same as the new yellowish you did put in. Even on the ocean you have build up of salt, dust, bird poop, moisture etc. It really pays off to clean it thoroughly.
We’re going to do some sketchy shit.. dooo Daaa dooo daaa. When you were doing the canal shoot backing the boat up and said that absolutely cracked me up
Ball bearings like that are such a drag…. Great tips and fixes to brain archive as always! Love seeing you in the cave… do not enjoy caving personally😢
I don't understand why they didn't fit those bearing housings with zirk fittings. (Like suspention parts on older cars and trucks) That way you could just connect a grease gun and pump it full of new grease.
That was a nice mix of content. The only caves I have been through are the "ice caves" (not sure what the real name might be) at Bragg Creak Alberta (year around ice in there but mostly rock surfaces much past the entrances) and Horn Lake caves here on Vancouver Island.
Oh, that cave is a Hell NO! for me! Well, honestly, caves in general are Hell NOs for me! As a kid I used to go into the mines with my dad, but as I have gotten older there is no way. Although, my main memory from caving the old mines was my dad telling us how dangerous it was. The owner of the mine actually paid my dad to make sure no-one was mining in his mine. The owner didn't want anyone stealing HIS gold!
WoW... You guys are getting closer... Will you be in Sardegna? I will be there after the new year to do maintenance on my sailboat... Hope to cross paths with you two!!!!!
So in effect the furler is younger than Uma, isn't it. The caving action came out better than I expected, head lamps and such seemed that at first it wasn't going to be that good a quality 👍 also the falis jokes were so funny. Another epic video. We're in Tuscany now and toured a farm 🚜 house. That may become our bbq beer base, fingers crossed. You guys inspire ✨️
So what was the right answer? I’m assuming Dan was “accurate”, that would not be surprising 🤣; but weren’t you supposed to look at the cave diagrams and check? How far had you gone? I think I heard someone way a mile, Dan said 300 metres… so??? Great episode again, as always. Love your videos every time, can’t believe it’s 8 years though! 👍☮️
Re bearings, I fill a straw or piece of tubing with grease and bearings, insert however possible the squeeze or push one out at a time..
OMG, that furler repair! I'm sure you edited out the frustrating parts, but "Hold these bearings in with grease individually without letting the others fall out" is my idea of torture.
I've done that before on larger bearings, but never that small.
Memories of fixing old British motorcycle headstock bearings, same technique of sticking them on with grease. My take on a bearing catcher is the top part of a 2 litre soda bottle, slit, slipped over, and taped in place.
Sailors should never lose their bearings 🤪
Love the maintenance and repairs you share. Seems like Uma, at 40, could be the basis for an entire "Dan & Kika Repair Things" series.
Couldn't possibly have predicted the Uma crew to take us on an exploration of the Rock of Gibraltar's cave. Amazing again!
I love ❤️ Dan's repair and maintenance videos 💖💙
He is always very accurate, confident, knowledgeable, and optimistic, on top of the fact that he is so good at explaining all the details 👍👍👍
The cave adventure was fun, too! As always, Kika's editing is so great almost magical ✨️
Thank you guys 😊
Enjoy Gibraltar!
As always, Love you 😍
That was a cool little adventure. I loved the whole back story of the two RAF guys faking their own deaths.
So down to earth
So relatable
Never change guys
Great vid
Take care
There is NO WAY I would ever go down in that cave. Good job on the boat repairs!
Ditto
Lol "Don't ask Dan, he's going to be accurate". That is classic.
But who was closest? I never heard them say how far it was.
@@jamesmyers3773 I didn’t either
Remember seeing someone once use an upturned fully open umbrella hanging off the bow to catch any pieces that dropped while they did a job on their forestay.
So, eight years ago you rebuilt the furler. When done you had some spare bearings which you stashed away on the boat for the next time.
Then, eight years later you found them when you needed them.
How did you manage that? How many little bags of extra parts have you collected over the years? How many out-of-the-way nooks and crannies have you stashed them in?
Do you have some sort of tracking system?
I love the effects of time and water on rock. It's always mesmerizing for me.
Who was closest on the distance you traveled into the cave?
The salt water environment combined with the physical forces involved in sailing has to be really tough on all sorts of parts on your boat, particularly anything metallic. The caving looked like a lot of fun!
Caving Uma ?
Such excursions are my main phobia - squeezing down holes in the ground - nightmares for me !
Thanks for another great video. My first visit to the 'Rock' was in 1976 with the Navy and I was lucky to be picked to have a tour of the facilities guided by the garison batalion The Royal Greenjackets. It's an amazing place with probably more history per square foot than most places. I'm sure you would need years to see it all. 🙂
That furler repair brought back memories of replacing old Harley upper and lower neck bearings. Only thing I would do differently is put a layer of thick grease down first.
Bravo on the furler repair. Tedious work! Proud of myself for making it through the whole spelunking part. I have fairly severe claustrophobia. I don't do caves, and I usually don't watch other people doing caves. But I made it through this with no panic attack! You guys being the ones doing it helped. :)
Thank you
The forethought in keeping those bearings as a newbie sailor is magnificent. Mwah. Chef's kiss.
You need a umbrella upside-down to catch your bearings and tools when working over the water. The cave expedition was real cool 😎
So brave you are! I would never go into a cave for an hour!!!
Thank you so much for your weekly and always inspiring videos. Made me think how fortunate you guys were that the sail furler needed seeing too in sunny Spain and not winter in Svalbard.
Wow, thanks so much for taking us along on the cave experience!! Awesome!! Ya''ll take care.
Good find guys. Thanks
You’re not that far away from Atticus! Hope to see an another “battle of the channels”.
How on earth does Dan know so much about so much? It’s astounding!😮
By growing up HAVING to be self-reliant. Not a city boy.
He’s an avid reader; probably read encyclopedias at home growing out of junior high school. My guess.
and he has ADHD. Magpie fact brain. I'm the same.
College, particularly, architecture, which requires learning about math, chemistry, physics, and various architectural engineering disciplines such as mechanics, statics, dynamics, and machine elements.
He is a real man
I almost skipped this one, since my sailboat does not have a fore-stay or roller-furler, but so glad I didn't. That behind the scenes cave tour was amazing!!
Y’all always make it fun to watch, super great content! Keep it going from Oklahoma love y’all!
Guide had a London Wasps jersey, he must be heartbroken,
Hi guys
Just in case you need to go to the next step.
I had a similar issue with my fuller. Which I decided I needed to dismantle having done numerous cleans and greese’ings like you.
Key point
We have a dufour 35 with a keel stepped mast!
Jib off!
I took all the tension off the fore stay
Took the top fuller up the track
Went up the mast
Disconnected the fore stay
Removed the to roller off the top of the fore stay
Now you can inspect / service and replace at your leisure
Mine needed some new bearings
Seems that most are SS but some are plastic
20 years at the top of the mast ……l
Hey ho
I've done an upside down race on a motorcycle before and put a bead of grease around the race and was able to stuff the bearings into that and close it up. Easier than greasing individually.
Wow! Some Boat work finely.
Maybe some day we will learn what worked and what didn't work on the Boat after the refitting was done 8 years ago.
Dan, I often see sailors with same problems.
I remember another thing: On a catamaran with batten wagons we had a problem not getting the main sail down. Another cat owner told us to at least wash them twice a year. After that sorrow rinse the sail went smoothly.
Perhaps it may also be accumulated salt inside that furler?
Thank you for years of wonderful content!
All Aboard instructure, James, as well as also being a cave guide is also wearing a Wasps rugby shirt. I have been a season ticket holder and fan for 25 years: they went in to administration today and may cease to exist.
Other than that - great episode! (timing can be a bummer!)
I must have gotten an extrasensory signal. I somehow knew you posted. Watching you work on the bearings it makes me think that one of the reasons you two would like a bigger boat is for a workshop space on board, with a machine shop with mini lathe, hydraulic press, and cnc cutter. Lol.
Dan's self awareness when he says 250-300 meters and he's right is totally like him. You're supposed to say it was miles! 🤣
I love that shot of the cloud & mountain top
Guys, check your nylon sleeve between the furler foil and wire. Plus that grease didn't look like the correct marine grease. The nylon sleeve rides up the wire and puts extra pressure on the upper bearing assembly by causing a lot of drag on foil, making it almost impossible to furl up. That's the first give away, the second is the foil section joining screws are showing signs of twisting and the screw holes just starting to wear oversize. Any which way you look at it, you will need to replace the furler completely in the near future. Cheers.
One of your very best steps.
Good Morning Dan & Kika I think I past you on my walk in Port Andratx Mallorca this morning you were in company and I didn’t want to disturb but welcome and I hope you have a lovely time here it’s my little piece of paradise 😎 D
Really nicely done. Great episode.
The flow stone looks so slick and difficult to get purchase on. Their used another great area to explore that starts in the St. Michael's Cave but that was 40 years ago and looking at all the safety features that are in place now its probably sealed off.
some suggestion need to drill and tap zerk fittings in so you can grease them one you just want to put a plug in so when you pump grease in you see it come out the other hole its full
Upended umbrella makes a great bearing catcher.
So if tt is not smooth rotation , clean the grease of , inspect for pitting on balls and races , and check to make have enough balls and the tension is not to loose or to tight . Use thicker grease or put in the refrigerator for thicker viscosity to hold the balls better as you reassemble .
Wow- much like working on WW2 era optical instruments! Lots of bearings! Then going inside The Rock!
Your lucky you have a beautiful assistant!
A white towel makes the best small part catcher. Don't ask me how I know.
You two always surprise me. The two of you doing surgery on UMA (likely able to rewire DATA...NG.) and then going spelunking or as I call it upside down rock climbing...in the dark. Good on ya both. Great video as usual. By the way, your trip to the Arctic Circle and beyond has now got the tropical sailors wanting to do the same. It's going to be a bit of a surprise to most of them. HAHA. Keep up the great work you two, it's inspirational for other sea folk and most of us land lubbers.
Nice videos as always. Please note that Gibraltar is 6.8 km2 and there are about 150 caves and 30km + of tunnels ,not bad for such a small place.
Glad you enjoyed the experience.
If your greasing doesn't work check for halyard wrap. From your previous videos it looks like this is your problem. Occasionally jamming but freeing up with a bit of working back and fourth. If it is halyard wrap just fit a halyard deflector and check the forestay for damage. But that will fix it.
Halyard wrap was the first thing we checked. But that’s only an issue on a new set up. It’s worked for 8 yrs with the same sail and tension, so it’s not halyard wrap.
No worries with Dr Dan on the case...
The cave looked cool, no pun intended LOL
Looked like a ton of fun.
I love Gibraltar! I like to pass through and stay overnight at the Sunborn, the casino boat next to the runway when I ride my bicycle between the house I sit at often near Granada and Morocco.
I'm sure the Sunborn *loves* having someone arrive by bicycle.
Wow that's something else, never knew there's such great caves inside the Gibraltar Peñón ! Saludos from Ottawa, cheers.
sweet side tracking trip. nice boat doctor work. Good Health to you both. Winter is coming here to north central Turtle Island. Ciao.
Next time just take a bit of thick (if needed cold/ cooled) bearing grease and mix them in the palm of your hand with the ball bearings in order to get a ball bearings and grease mixture that is easy to pack into the cup holder without loosing them even when it’s upside down it sticks due to the grease and you just use your hands and an old rag to wipe your hands during the procedure and wash them afterwards.
If your nose didn't itch while your hands were covered in grease, something in the universe aligned.
Yeaaaaaaah my shows on!
Would it be possible to drill and tap the bearing races--even if it had to be within the furler drum, under the wraps of the furling line--to put in Zerk fittings? (As used with automotive or aircraft grease guns?) Then you could just pump new grease in from time to time, wiping up the nasty old grease as it comes gooshing out the slot between the bearing races.
Dan, great surgery! I hate ball bearings, they roll everywhere! The cave tour was cool! Great job everyone!
4:50 Just casually with the Rock of Gibralter in the background....
at 5:24 is that a 'Lenticular cloud' or a 'Pouring cloud' or maybe a different type? It looks.. Amazing!
The biggest fallacy in modern ship propulsion going on *DECADES* now is the need for a stayed mast. Once you get rid of needing the ability to transport said vessel out of water upon land is so apparent as to be ridiculously sane/laughably *NOT* insane. Using the *"magnus effect"* with modern materials of course aluminum the need for even a sail be done away with. Modern hull designs are so efficient and mass produced and *HUGE* by volume clearing the mast out offers obvious advantages let alone eliminating cabling/etc as shown here.
"It's all ball bearings these days."
Great episode. Safe travels! xo
I've enjoyed some spelunking in my day.... 🌞🌴⛵️
Hahaha. Two favorite channels (youngbarnacles being the other) released videos on the same day of replacing the bearings headsails furlers. It must be bearing failure season. Which reminds me: all the bearings in our top two track cars for the mainsail fell out and I really need to find replacements. Defies me was to how that can even happen.... I'm sure the part autopsy will be interesting
So after repacking with grease, how are the bearings now? Please give us a test result.
Love your work guys
modern swivels use delrin balls and good swivels use torlon balls never steel balls and no grease . Grease holds the dirt and grimme and causes seizing
Yup. This ain’t a modern set up.
Great episode guys. Bearing catching techniques with foil paper was the best😂
Did bicycle wheel bearing maintenance one time. Never. Again.
You guys rock❤ but I’m still mad at the Portuguese that have missed on you guys not the other way around . Stay safe please
OMG, what a great episode! I'm loving it guys💥💥💥👍🏾💥💥
That was truly great!
Next time, before you put in new grease make sure you clean it first with a decreaser for instance brake cleaner. This will get all the dirt out. Then put in a minimal amount of grease. If you put in to much dirt will stick to it.
What dirt? We live on the ocean.
Aha so you think on the ocean is no dirt? It that were true the grease you remove would look exactly the same as the new yellowish you did put in. Even on the ocean you have build up of salt, dust, bird poop, moisture etc. It really pays off to clean it thoroughly.
We’re going to do some sketchy shit.. dooo Daaa dooo daaa. When you were doing the canal shoot backing the boat up and said that absolutely cracked me up
Hope yall got a chance to see the stay behind cave from operation tracer
Oooh boat work. Great stuff.
Ball bearings like that are such a drag…. Great tips and fixes to brain archive as always! Love seeing you in the cave… do not enjoy caving personally😢
Can you drill a small hole and add a zert so you can squirt grease into the bearings?
Sailing Project Atticus is also in the Gibralter Med area.
Go Kika go, crank up that sail. America's cup here she comes!
I don't understand why they didn't fit those bearing housings with zirk fittings. (Like suspention parts on older cars and trucks)
That way you could just connect a grease gun and pump it full of new grease.
Because that would make too much sense...
That was a nice mix of content. The only caves I have been through are the "ice caves" (not sure what the real name might be) at Bragg Creak Alberta (year around ice in there but mostly rock surfaces much past the entrances) and Horn Lake caves here on Vancouver Island.
Having just been to St Michael's Cave, I had no idea there was a whole other side to it!!
Oh, that cave is a Hell NO! for me! Well, honestly, caves in general are Hell NOs for me! As a kid I used to go into the mines with my dad, but as I have gotten older there is no way. Although, my main memory from caving the old mines was my dad telling us how dangerous it was. The owner of the mine actually paid my dad to make sure no-one was mining in his mine. The owner didn't want anyone stealing HIS gold!
lucky what a great cave .
Great episode....it must be difficult to film in the cave...
It's very difficult, though Sid Perou used to be pretty decent at it (and I see there are a number of his films on here)
WoW... You guys are getting closer... Will you be in Sardegna? I will be there after the new year to do maintenance on my sailboat... Hope to cross paths with you two!!!!!
What kind of sick bastard would use loose ball bearings and not a cage bearing on a fricken' rolly sailboat?!?
So how deep did you go down the caves?
So in effect the furler is younger than Uma, isn't it. The caving action came out better than I expected, head lamps and such seemed that at first it wasn't going to be that good a quality 👍 also the falis jokes were so funny. Another epic video. We're in Tuscany now and toured a farm 🚜 house. That may become our bbq beer base, fingers crossed. You guys inspire ✨️
Love your videos, always a new adventure.
What a cool thing,thanks
So what was the right answer? I’m assuming Dan was “accurate”, that would not be surprising 🤣; but weren’t you supposed to look at the cave diagrams and check? How far had you gone? I think I heard someone way a mile, Dan said 300 metres… so???
Great episode again, as always. Love your videos every time, can’t believe it’s 8 years though! 👍☮️