ZSPARS mainsail furler worm-drive
Printed From: myHanse.com
Category: Hints & Tips
Forum Name: 445/455/458
Forum Description: 445/455/458 Hints, Tips and News
URL: https://www.myhanse.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13961
Printed Date: 27 March 2026 at 03:51
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.06 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: ZSPARS mainsail furler worm-drive
Posted By: Ian Coverdale
Subject: ZSPARS mainsail furler worm-drive
Date Posted: 18 April 2023 at 19:48
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We have mast ashore for full inspection and standing rig replacement. Found mainsail worm-drive had fine cracks in plastic so ordered new one from ZSPARS UK, ~£570 delivered. Arrived next day. Design has changed. Thrust bearings now run on aluminium collars rather then a groove in plastic moulding. Collars are riveted to aluminium shaft which gave opportunity to fix a problem we've lived with for a while and other owners may suffer too ... the occasional ball bearing escape. We've stripped and repacked thrust bearing twice in last two years as mechanism had ~2mm of en-float with no means of adjustment. I drilled out four rivets holding lower collar, turned collar 45-degrees then redrilled holes 2mm lower. This has completely cured our end-float problems. Invalidated warranty no doubt but mechanism is comfortably tight and spins beautifully! Hopefully now we'll have years of trouble free operation :-/   ------------- Ian & Andrea SV Gabrielle (H445) Liveaboards - currently Montenegro. www.facebook.com/sailinggabrielle |
Replies:
Posted By: Stellata
Date Posted: 01 September 2023 at 23:57
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Hello Ian, Thanks a lot for this explanation and congrats for all the fine-tunings you've made on Gabrielle ! You've made me realize why i've found bearing balls on my deck for several months... I've recently acquired almost exactly the same boat as you (Hanse 445 #125), and i have the same problem with my furling system. All the ball bearings seems to be gone within the lower and upper bearings. So obviously the rotation of the system is not as smooth as it should be, and i assume it created too much pressure on the worm-drive that made it fully break several weeks ago.
Video : https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/r3ygh3ks6c4t9dsbtsh1y/2023-08-02-19.53.48.mp4?rlkey=q8ibf3ymobrb70ommyd1hrdmz&dl=0" rel="nofollow - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/r3ygh3ks6c4t9dsbtsh1y/2023-08-02-19.53.48.mp4?rlkey=q8ibf3ymobrb70ommyd1hrdmz&dl=0 I wrote to Zspars (both UK and US) in order to order a new worm-drive, and the US office offered me to rebuild exactly the same. BUT i'm convinced that the original worm-drive dimensions are not good and lacks the 2mm you are talking of. So i would prefer do the same fix than you, from the new design. Could you confirm me that the spare part you've ordered is the reference number n°3859 in the Zspars UK catalog ?
Btw, the worm-drive in the US catalog seems to be under another reference (ref n°4532). https://www.usspars.com/product/?part-id=4532" rel="nofollow - it looks exactly the same, but still wondering if they really are...
All the best, Nicolas ------------- Nicolas Co-captain of the family boat Stellata in Marseille. Hanse 445 #125 |
Posted By: Ian Coverdale
Date Posted: 03 September 2023 at 17:10
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Hi Nicolas, Sorry, I do not know part number ordered. Spoke to ZSPARS UK who knew furler fitted to 445 without asking too many questions, paid using bank card over phone and part arrived. Pleased you found my post useful. We have sailed over 2,200nm so far this summer and mainsail furler has worked perfectly with no loss of ball bearings :-) Cheers, Ian.
------------- Ian & Andrea SV Gabrielle (H445) Liveaboards - currently Montenegro. www.facebook.com/sailinggabrielle |
Posted By: Stellata
Date Posted: 15 September 2023 at 22:15
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Hi Ian, Thanks a lot for your prompt answer. At the end, we've ordered the worm-drive from the US website, as it looked to be the same (and it was) and was a bit cheaper (430$ shipping incl. ). We've made the same fix than you (with a 3mm adjustment in our case) and it now works beautifully !  Thanks again ! All the best, Nicolas ------------- Nicolas Co-captain of the family boat Stellata in Marseille. Hanse 445 #125 |
Posted By: Ian Coverdale
Date Posted: 17 September 2023 at 18:49
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Fabulous Nicolas, very pleased somebody has benefited from our post. Cheers. ------------- Ian & Andrea SV Gabrielle (H445) Liveaboards - currently Montenegro. www.facebook.com/sailinggabrielle |
Posted By: Sailingmatzi
Date Posted: 07 May 2025 at 09:12
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Good morning Nicolas, I experienced the same problem on our ZSPARS worm-drive last year (Dufour 412 GL MY 2018). I can claim, that the cracks are exactly the same that you show in your photo. I also attach the photo of our worm drive. I confronted the distributor of the new worm drive with this problem. This issue is not caused by any pressure or wrong handling. In the opinion of a good friend who is an engineer for plastic molding, this is a production material issue that shrinks over time and causes the cracks. The used materials are insufficient to withstand the harsh environment. The distributor did approach ZSPARS without any reaction. I am truly afraid that we will face the same problem in 5-7 year again. With the worm drive, I also received an instruction how to remove the worm drive module but not the instruction how to change the worm drive itself. We are in Sardinia with our Dufour and you need to drive for a while to find someone that can remove the stainless steel safety pin. We found a heavy machinery work shop for Caterpillar that also struggled to remove that pin. During the process, half of the bearings fell out….It was a true mess. I complained big time about the insufficient documentation from ZSPARS without any response (how can it be that they are certified in Qualtiy Management????). I also compared with other mast manufacturers (e. g. Selden), they use a aluminum worm drive to obviously avoid any longterm problems. Just wanted to share my experience with you as well and maybe, we can exchange more experience in the future about this problem. Kind regards, Markus
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Posted By: Ian Coverdale
Date Posted: 07 May 2025 at 10:20
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Hi Markus, In 2025 with CNC machining being common and relatively cheap, shame new parts are not fully aluminium. Cannot recall a 'stainless steel safety pin' in our mechanism. Maybe this was added on later models? Cheers. ------------- Ian & Andrea SV Gabrielle (H445) Liveaboards - currently Montenegro. www.facebook.com/sailinggabrielle |