Isofurl Concerns

[CurtTampa]

During my never ending on the hard refit I've had plenty of time to look at the rigging from top to bottom. Not knowing if the standing rigging has been replaced the thought of 1989 rigging has made me nervous. No meat hooks are present but some tarnished ever so slight rust colored staining is present. Since the mast is still down from transport I decided to replace it. While measuring the rigging I noticed there is no forestay. Apparently Isomat thought the aluminum extrusion was plenty strong to carry the force of the mast and sail loading. This has kept me awake at night. Further interwebs surfing has revealed maybe the French miscalculated? I'm replacing the whole shebang with a new Furlex - while not in the refit budget it could be cheaper than a dismasting.
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[peterg]

Smart move to replace the Isofurl- I always worried that it would fail on my old CP27 , plus I did not like the goofy attach-detach system for the headsail. The Furlex is an excellent system- used one for years trouble-free. If you are replacing the standing rigging, also replace your chainplates and backstay tangs. I spent a fortune on replacing standing rigging on my Orion 27, and a few years later noticed crevice corrosion on the plates and tangs- did manage to change all the pieces without lowering the mast. Better safe than sorry!

[CurtTampa]

Good advice. I've inspected them in as much as access will allow. They seem corrosion free. None of the tale-tail signs of hull streaking. Not sure how easy the interior panels are to remove. They look like they were installed before the bulkhead...(?)

[deisher6]

Good scoop and good advice.  Although I use hank on's.  Thanks
regards charlie

[wes]

Curt - no, the interior term panels weren't installed before the bulkheads, but you do have to remove the panels in both the v-berth and salon to expose all the backup plates. It requires a considerable amount of careful prying off trim strips that were attached at the factory with headless pins.

I fault Hutchins for making it so hard to get to something that needs occasional inspection. But all boats have design flaws, and Com-Pacs have a lot fewer than most.

Note the bonding wires. Also make sure you replace the nylock nuts with new ones; don't try to re-use.

[CurtTampa]

Thanks Wes. I stopped by Compac yesterday and got the nickle tour. Met Jerry, Richard and Matt. Got to see all the phases of several Compacs being built. They are very busy right now. Highly recommend it if you find yourself in Clearwater Florida with time to kill. Jerry was kind enough to pull up some pics and drawings of the chainplates. Your pics fill in some missing info - thanks! Got to do a little early Christmas shopping for myself - bought a great looking compac hat and zippered bag. They have more. [/URL]