Selden Furlex Electric 200E, 300E & 400E — Owner's Manual

Motor & gear

Key facts

• Motor unit IP57; DC brush motor with neodym magnets, direction reversed by a relay in the control box.
• Belt drive (toothed aluminium pulleys, composite belt) under the port cover; motor under the starboard cover.
• Self-locking worm and bronze pinion: the sail cannot unfurl however hard the sheet load. ½" socket on the starboard side for emergency furling.
• The 60, 90 and 135 Nm loads (200E / 300E / 400E) correspond to furling in very hard weather or with the sheet insufficiently slack; in normal conditions the unit works at 20 to 30% of capacity. Torque, current and speed curves: diagrams 1.3.a–1.3.e in the PDF.
• Not for continuous operation under high load: do not furl and unfurl repeatedly in heavy conditions.

Drive unit (mm)

The black collar on the 300TD motor unit is chamfered to give F = 20 mm.

Forestay attachment torque (Max Service Load, Nm)

With no furling line, all torsion goes through the drive unit, toggle and any link to the boat's forestay attachment, which must not deform locally. Existing standard toggles and links must be replaced by the stiff Furlex E types. If the chainplate is too weak, a boat-specific torque absorber can be fitted to the four threaded holes under the motor unit.

Components & battery

• Battery → main fuse and isolator → control box (C1) → connection box (C2) → drive unit (C3). Avoid the engine starter battery.
• Battery capacity at least 115 Ah for 200E/300E/400E 12V, at least 60 Ah for 300E/400E 24V.
• Control box (H=250, W=180 Depth=105, IP65) upright on a dry bulkhead below deck, cable entries down, never in the anchor box. Control-current glass fuse Ø 5x20 3.15 A. At 110 A 12 V (75 A 24 V) current is cut within 1 sec; the factory-set potentiometers must not be adjusted.
• Connection box (IP65, 130 x 130 x 77 mm, plinths up to 35 mm2) in the anchor box close to the deck collar; strip C2/C3 12 mm, crimp collars on C3. C3 is 6mm2 (200E) or 16 mm2 (300E/400E); keep it under 1.5 m.
• Deck collar: hole saw Ø 20-25 mm, 4 self-tapping screws (L=19 mm, torx T25).
• Control buttons IP67: Ø 30 mm hole saw direct in laminate (max 5), or Ø 37 mm with the stainless panel. A control-current switch and a button-lighting switch must be fitted.
• If the extrusion turns the wrong way, swap C3's wires in the connection box (not the signal wires).

Cables & fuses

Minimum fuse: 200/300E 12V = 125 A; 300E 24V = 60 A; 400E 12V = 150 A; 400E 24V = 80 A.

C4: 15 m tinned 7 x 0.75 mm2 cable (3 wires buttons, 2 lighting, 2 control-current switch). C5: 4 wires x 0.75 mm2. Remote hand unit battery: 6 V type 4LR44, about 25 operating hours; replace each season. Channels 434,33MHz / 433,92MHz.

Furling & unfurling

• Unfurl: control current on, free the windward sheet, one turn of the lee sheet on a winch, hold GENOA OUT while pulling the sheet (upwind is best).
• Furl: free the windward sheet, keep one turn on the winch and ease while holding GENOA IN so the sail rolls firmly. If the motor cuts out, release the button, slacken the sheet and press again – the cut-out is a warning that the load is too high.
• Switch the control current off afterwards. Do not use Furlex E to sheet with.

Emergency furling

1. Turn off the control current.
2. Fit the emergency unit's square drive into the ½" socket on the starboard side and secure it with the screw/plastic knob (M6 thread).
3. Pull the short continuous line, or use a ½" crank (L=100 mm or 325 mm).
4. Never leave the emergency gear or crank connected when operating electrically: it would rotate very rapidly.

Care & service

• Every week: rinse with fresh water (also a TDE in the anchor box); check the anchor-box drain.
• Every year: check toggle wear, grease lower bearing and halyard swivel with Furlex grease (see the base-model manual, chap. 15); inspect sleeve, cables C3 and connection box; new remote battery.
• Every 5th year (more often for charter / long-distance): dealer service of the reduction gear (lithium grease SKF LGEP 2/04) – seals, O-rings, drive belt.
• Storage: remove the drive unit for dry, ventilated storage, hose ends down; never in a tight package. If left on the extrusion with the mast, support it on a board (it is much heavier than a Furlex S unit). A TDE can winter onboard with the anchor-box cover open.

Changing the belt (595-526-E)

1. Disconnect power. Remove the port-side cover with a torx screwdriver (cut the sealant with a sharp knife).
2. Loosen the four screws of the motor with oblong holes slightly (torx T30), push it to its forward position and pull the belt off the unflanged wheel(s).
3. Fit the new belt starting at the flanged wheel; lever the motor back with a screwdriver to tension, tighten the motor screws to 10 Nm. The belt should move 2-3 mm by finger force – over-tightening damages the motor bearings.
4. Remove all old sealant, run new Loctite 5926 all round the cover groove and both sides of the screw holes, tighten the cover screws to 6 Nm.