I had a different setscrew problem with my ProFurl. It started at the end of last season when I couldn't lower the genoa. At first I thought that either the halyard was jammed in the sheave or that the swivel had somehow been pulled over the top of the foil. Neither was the case, but the swivel was immoveable. I went up the mast, released the sail, and left the problem for the Spring. In the Spring, I had the rig pulled. The swivel was so securely jammed--and for no apparent reason--that I thought I was going to have to cut it off. Finally I discovered that there is supposed to be a 4 mm headless setscrew running through the body of the swivel; it serves to locate the inner plastic sleeve that rides on the foil. What had happened was that the setscrew had somehow gone all the way through the swivel body and the inner sleeve and was caught between the foil and the sleeve. I managed to get it out, and replaced it with a machine screw.
I can only begin to guess how this happened. The threads in the swivel body are intact, and there was no significant damage to the foil (I smoothed out some small gouges). The setscrew was obviously not held securely by whatever goop was on it, so it was able to work its way inward. I first thought it might have caught on one of the foil joints, but the only marks on the foil are at the top.
I strongly recommend that anyone who has a ProFurl avoid this problem by replacing the setscrew with a short machine screw set in Loctite. The head doesn't interfere with anything. Getting it the right length is a cut-and-try process.
Jim Fulton
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