Hi All

We recently managed to knock the operating handle off one of our barton clutches on Blue Moon's coachroof.

Looks like a combination of UV degradation and old age.

Have not yet attacked the job yet as we managed to reroute the kicker to a spare halyard clutch.

Two questions:

Do we have to replace the whole clutch ?

Are the clutches bolted through the roof or screwed into it ?

Jan Newman

325/32

Blue Moon

Bartons reconditioned several clutches for me last winter for a reasonable price. On the 235 they are bolted through the coach roof.

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Hi. I replaced the clutches on my P275. They were bolted in position so my guess is that your arrangement is the same. Cheers-Ken

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Hello again, thanks for the replies, reasonably priced refurb was good news, bolts was not so good.

Anyone with experience of getting to the underside of the coachroof on the stb side ?

Or can I take the clutches apart leaving the mounts where they are ?

Jan

325/32

Blue Moon

Hi Everyone, I have bitten the bullet and called Barton. For general information, they can supply the handles but do not refurb that model of clutch as it it riveted together unlike the newer clutches which are bolted. We did discuss the possibility of grinding off the rivets and replacing them with bolts, I was told that it was possible but when taking the clutch apart springs and bits would fly out, so it sounds like a workshop job. The clutches can still be bought.

Jan

325/32

Blue Moon

Hi Jan, I had a go at this over the winter. As you say, the clutches cannot be repaired. On the starboard side I could only see how to replace the clutch nearest to the sidedeck as the inner clutches all seem to bolt through immediately above the bulkhead! So I just replaced the outside clutch by using a hole cutter drill in approx the right places into the plastic headlining within the aft cabin. The holes were big enough to get a socket into (about an inch diameter). I replaced the single clutch with a double. Once replaced I screwed a vent cover over the holes to make it look smart again. I added additional clutches to the easy-to-access port side to make up for the slipping starboard side clutches. Not a lot of help,I appreciate. Kind regards Doug

Hi Doug and everyone else following this . Surely someone has had to access the underside of those std, side clutches or will I be the first intrepid explorer. Port side is no problem, just remove headlining over the galley but the std seem to straddle the bulkhead so that the front bolts are over the main saloon but the rear are hidden by the inner moulding of the entrance to the rear cabin. I will try removing the saloon headlining and see if that gives any clues and let you all know the results, a winter job I think.

Jan Newman

Blue Moon

325/32

Good luck! My big winter project will be replacing the eberspacher which refuses to be repaired. Last year I added a bow thruster and windows in the main cabin hull (easier to be nosey without jumping up and down). Both great improvements. Doug

Hi All

OK the clutch is replaced but I am still no wiser as to what is going on under the coachroof.

I must thank Pat Morgan (Phun) for donating 3 old Barton clutches to the cause. I dismantled one clutch completely by drilling of the rivet heads and found they were not as complicated as Barton had given me to believe. Then as I was scared of loosing the nuts under the coachroof I

decided to remove the clutches from their base plates. The Broken clutch was second in from Starboard side so to get access the outer one also had to be removed. I drilled the rivet heads holding the clutch to its baseplate on the outer clutch and drove the rivets out with a punch.

Then I was able to lift the clutch assembly off its base. I was about to repeat the exercise with the now accessible broken clutch when I noticed there was small movement detectable between the base and the coachroof. The screws were now moveable, so very gingerly I removed them all the time trying to make sure whatever fixing was under the coachroof was not moving and listening carefully for the tell tale sounds of nuts dropping behind the cabin roof moulding. We got away with it ! replaced the dead clutch with one of Pat's which had been suitably lubricated, and mounted another of Pat's clutches on the outer base using M5 bolts and Nylocs. So I still don't know what holds the nuts to the coachroof but when time allows I will remove the headlining over the galley and investigate there.

Jan

Blue Moon

325/32

Hi Jan

I replaced a clutch on Dancer and found that the nuts are held captive by being fibreglassed in place. One was good, but the other was no longer captive so had to make a hole from underneath, just big enough for a socket spanner.

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Hi Steve

Thanks for the reply, at last a report from someone who has seen what is there. In fact you report exactly what I was afraid of, it is easy to force the nuts around if they are simply hexagonal. I think I was very lucky with the one that I did manage to undo. Was the hole you had to make over the entrance to the aft cabin ? Is the nut buried in the glass of the coachroof or just sitting on top ?

Do you have sufficient clutches for spinnaker pole control ?

We could do with two more for this but not yet sure where they can be fitted or even if we can get enough pulleys around the base of the mast.

Jan

325/32

BlueMoon

Hi Jan,Hi steve

This winter ,I have put a new Barton clutch ( with a white handle) on the port side in the inner side, where there was a free place without any clutch.It was easy on the port side to take off the ceiling roof. It looks more difficult on the other side where you need to do a hole to have the nuts. Now I have 4 clutches on the port side and 4 clutches on the starboard side and that is enough for the spinnaker control if the kicker is out the cockpit clutches (with a special block at the mast)

Pascal

325/27 Maruli

Hi Dominique and Steve

Interesting Dominique maybe we are trying to be too clever .

We have 4 Clutches on port (There is room for maybe 2 more)

3 reefs and mainsheet

We have 5 clutches on the Starboard side

Main halyard

Genoa Halyard

Spinnaker halyard

Topping lift

Kicker

We could move the kicker but still would need one more clutch.

How have others approached this ?

Jan

325/32

Blue Moon

Hi Pascal

Please excuse my mistake with your name, we have a business colleague Dominique.

Jan

325/32

Blue Moon

Hi Jan

I don't have a third reef line threaded at all. The only time I was down that far I used the first reef line (I had actually set out with the second reef in but with the forecast rethreaded the first reef line into the sail's third hole before setting out). Three reef lines always reeved seems to me to be a lot of rope flapping around at the leach, just my opinion.

I also don't use a topping lift as I have a strut kicker, I use the main halyard for lifting the boom when the mainsail is down. Again just less rope at the leach.

Just re-reading your post, my mainsail cleat is on the track in the cockpit.

Kind regards

Doug

Hello Doug

Thanks for your comments some things to think about there, room for some simplification. I don't think we have ever used the 3rd reef either, certainly there is too much rope flapping around already when reefed.

Jan

325/32

Blue Moon

Hi Jan, hi Steve

My main sail sheet is on the block track in the cockpit bottom. I keep the third reef in the sail and in a clutch. The boom topping lift is in a clucth also but when I put the spinnaker, I take off the boom topping lift( there is a cleat for it on the mast wich is usefull when I put a reef) and I put at the same place the spinnaker foreguy. That would be more easy with a rigid kicker. So The pole topping lift, the 3 reefs, the genoa halyard, the main sail halyard, the spinnaker halyard and the pole topping lift or the boom topping lift are in the clutches with 8 clutches. Sorry I don't know all technical words.

Kind regards

Pascal 325/27 Maruli