Was I lucky or what? Forestay failure!

[Will Gilmore]

Congratulations for successfully navigating through your disaster. As you say, it could have been a lot worse than the loss is a little sail time and an $87 part.

I would guess that your 40 years of roller furling in heavy weather may have contributed, but of course, every time you tack, the angle of stress changes against your stem chain plate. It's really a wonder that more stem chain plates don't fatigue and fail after 40 years of sailing.

-Will

 

[dLj]

I would guess that your 40 years of roller furling in heavy weather may have contributed, but of course, every time you tack, the angle of stress changes against your stem chain plate. It's really a wonder that more stem chain plates don't fatigue and fail after 40 years of sailing.

-Will

I don't quite agree with that. All chain plates on sail boats should be designed and built to work well below their endurance limit. They should never fail through fatigue. I'd love to look at this failure and see why it broke.

dj

 

[Tally Ho]

Well, I pulled the mast today. First time I have ever done it…but it went pretty smoothly. A few friends to help and the marina guy with their big forklift got the job done. Tally Ho was in the water and tied up where the big forklift usually puts dry stack boats into the water.

I picked the new stem strap from the fabricator today…$86. Hard to believe.

Tomorrow, I will try to fit the new stem piece back on the boat and re-assemble the bow roller I needed to disassemble to get the stem strap back in place.

Then schedule haul put for next Tuesday, where I will store Tally Ho for the winter and will move the mast down to the ground on horses. I will have lots of work to do on the mast. In addition to the stays and shrouds. The sheaves are all broken, the furler will be replaced, new VHF cable and antennae, etc, etc.





Greg

 

[jssailem]

I will have lots of work to do on the mast.

It is a task, but you're good at this type of challenge.
When it is complete, you will sail with new and deserved confidence.

 

[BigEasy]

Well, I pulled the mast today. I will have lots of work to do on the mast.

Greg.
on A positive note, at least you will be doing these repairs with both feet on the ground & not hanging in a bosun’s chair! And, you have lots of time to get it done.
Happy that unstepping the mast went smoothly. First time for me didn’t go so well, on my previous boat, 25 years ago. Clowns at the boatyard decided to remove the mast with winds gusting 25-30 & dropped the mast overboard! Tore up all kinds of stuff (I was at work when it happened). Needless to say, I had words with the yard owner. I was not a happy camper.

 

[Tally Ho]

Greg.
on A positive note, at least you will be doing these repairs with both feet on the ground & not hanging in a bosun’s chair! And, you have lots of time to get it done.
Happy that unstepping the mast went smoothly. First time for me didn’t go so well, on my previous boat, 25 years ago. Clowns at the boatyard decided to remove the mast with winds gusting 25-30 & dropped the mast overboard! Tore up all kinds of stuff (I was at work when it happened). Needless to say, I had words with the yard owner. I was not a happy camper.

Ouch! I was there with a few guys to help. But it was a calm day.

I am looking forward to fixing a lot of things with my feet on the ground!

 

[shemandr]

Well, I pulled the mast today...
I will have lots of work to do on the mast. In addition to the stays and shrouds. The sheaves are all broken, the furler will be replaced, new VHF cable and antennae, etc, etc.

I used to tell our yard manager, who didn't like sailboats because they don't buy much fuel, that there was a lot of deferred work standing on the decks of sailboats all around the yard. All he had to do was make the price for un-stepping and re-stepping the masts more reasonable and his workers would be busy all winter.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

@Tally Ho I have the HST Pro crimpers if you want to borrow them. Let me know if you need any advise or a second opinion on the electrical side of things

I used to tell our yard manager, who didn't like sailboats because they don't buy much fuel, that there was a lot of deferred work standing on the decks of sailboats all around the yard. All he had to do was make the price for un-stepping and re-stepping the masts more reasonable and his workers would be busy all winter.

There's far more systems that need maintenance on a sailboat than on a power boat!

 

[dlochner]

There's far more systems that need maintenance on a sailboat than on a power boat!

But there are more DIY sailors than power boaters.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

But there are more DIY sailors than power boaters.

I can't argue with that!

 

[Tally Ho]

@Tally Ho I have the HST Pro crimpers if you want to borrow them. Let me know if you need any advise or a second opinion on the electrical side of things

There's far more systems that need maintenance on a sailboat than on a power boat!

Thanks Dave.
I plan to replace the foredeck / Steaming light for sure. The anchor light is already LED.

The bigger issue (or opportunity) is the VHF cable that I plan to renew. I will have to learn how to solder those connections.

Greg

 

[Tally Ho]

I put the new stem piece in today and it seems to fit perfectly.

There are some tool marks on both the old one and the new one where it was bent. I suppose that could weaken the piece, but not sure it is possible to bend the piece without leaving a tool mark.



So that is done.

Hauling out on Monday and will get the mast lowered down to the ground.

Today I pulled the masthead cap off and found 3 of the 4 sheaves broken (all plastic). No wonder I had such a hard time getting a new topping lift and spin halyard pulled.



New ones will be ordered this week.

On a really positive note, I was able to retrieve my Kobalt 14mm ratcheting wrench I dropped in the water the other day…fishing with a magnet!



Waiting for a rigging estimate from a rigger I reached out to this week.

Still need to decide on a furler.

Greg

 

[Tally Ho]

ProFurl, no halyard wrap. Harken other excellent choice.

Stu, what is unique about a Profurl that it prevents or eliminates halyard wrap?

Greg

 

[dlochner]

Today I pulled the masthead cap off and found 3 of the 4 sheaves broken (all plastic). No wonder I had such a hard time getting a new topping lift and spin halyard pulled.

Try ZephyrWerks for the sheaves. He will make them to your specs. I bought one earlier this year.

Zephyrwerks, The Sheave Factory

Zephyrwerks, The Sheave Factory, owned by Ed Louchard, manufactures and repairs running rigging parts: sheaves and rollers for sailboat riggers, boat builders, and boat owners worldwide, from Port Townsend, Washington.

www.zephyrwerks.com

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Thanks Dave.
I plan to replace the foredeck / Steaming light for sure. The anchor light is already LED.

The bigger issue (or opportunity) is the VHF cable that I plan to renew. I will have to learn how to solder those connections.

Greg

That wasn't too difficult to solder. I found an 80w soldering iron on amazon for $18 that's almost as good as my Hakko. I can dig up the link if you'd like

 

[BigEasy]

The bigger issue (or opportunity) is the VHF cable that I plan to renew. I will have to learn how to solder those connections.

As usual, You Tube is my “how to” source. A few years ago when I replaced my cable & renewed the cable terminals, there was an older HAM radio operator who had a video on how to solder VHF terminals. Very detailed but easy to understand & replicate. He recommended Amphenol (sp?) connectors.
I do believe I would ship my old rigging to an outfit like RigRite to duplicate my setup, unless there was a reputable co in my locale that had sophisticated machinery that could produce quality machined swaged terminals. I wouldn’t trust a rigger who uses hand held swaging tools. Your local rigger could lend a hand installing the new furler & standing rigging as well as help with tuning. There are some local guys that have the expertise, facilities, & machinery to provide quality services; the nearest one in my vicinity is Zern Rigging in Pensacola.

 

[BigEasy]

Stu, what is unique about a Profurl that it prevents or eliminates halyard wrap?

I have a Profurl B35S on my boat. It has been trouble free; however, I have not used it extensively offshore & in the conditions that you have. There is a rubber or plastic device that is attached to the top of the foil that is supposed to prevent halyard wraps.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Instead of needing a halyard restrainer on the mast, there is a unique fitting at the top of the upper swivel that captures the halyard. I call it Darth Vader. Google ProFurl and learn more.

Stu, what is unique about a Profurl that it prevents or eliminates halyard wrap?

Greg

 

[Tally Ho]

As usual, You Tube is my “how to” source. A few years ago when I replaced my cable & renewed the cable terminals, there was an older HAM radio operator who had a video on how to solder VHF terminals. Very detailed but easy to understand & replicate. He recommended Amphenol (sp?) connectors.
I do believe I would ship my old rigging to an outfit like RigRite to duplicate my setup, unless there was a reputable co in my local that had sophisticated machinery that could produce quality machined swaged terminals. I wouldn’t trust a rigger who uses hand held swaging tools. Your local rigger could lend a hand installing the new furler & standing rigging as well as help with tuning. There are some local guys that have the expertise, facilities, & machinery to provide quality services; the nearest one in my vicinity is Zern Rigging in Pensacola.

Yep. I am ok with the shrouds and stays, but I am not too sure about the furler.

For shrouds and stays, if I do it myself, I would probably do a swayed fitting on the top and a Stay-loc on the bottom. That way I can order the wire a little long, and cut to fit… or just send them off to have them replicated as you recommend.

We will see what the rigger comes back with and his suggestions.

Greg

 

[shemandr]

... On a really positive note, I was able to retrieve my Kobalt 14mm ratcheting wrench I dropped in the water the other day…fishing with a magnet!...

Murphy's Law corollary is that while up the mast a dropped wench will break the Binnacle Compass before falling overboard. At least you were spared that. But you were flirting with the esteemed Murphy.