Pins for stem head?

[Indysailor]

Hi all,
I bought an O'day 23 last fall and am in the process of getting it ready for sailing. I noticed that the stay attaches to the stem head with a bolt/nut rather than a pin. That seems like a problem waiting to happen, but not being real experienced, I wanted to ask if that's normal? If not, should that be attached with a pin (which seems better to me and less likely to work it's way loose)?

Speaking of pins, I noticed that the fore stay at the mast head had a cotter pin that was not stainless. It was practically gone from rust and crumbled when I took it out. Felt lucky to have caught that one in time.

Other problems taken care of so far (all of which are mentioned on this board- thank you all!):
Chainplates leaking? Yep- rebedded, rot damage repaired and backing plates installed.
Anchor locker drain? Ditto- new hose installed. What is up with that goofy through hull fitting, by the way?
Cockpit drain leak? Of course- had to rebuild the area around the floor fitting. Other O'day owners at our marina report similar problems, and I have to wonder why they would route water undersides to get it out, but I don't know much, admittedly. A friend has a Catalina and the cockpit drains go directly out the transom. Seems smarter.
Mast step? Done- rebedded this week.

 

[Joe11688]

Hi all,
I bought an O'day 23 last fall and am in the process of getting it ready for sailing. I noticed that the stay attaches to the stem head with a bolt/nut rather than a pin. That seems like a problem waiting to happen, but not being real experienced, I wanted to ask if that's normal? If not, should that be attached with a pin (which seems better to me and less likely to work it's way loose)?

Speaking of pins, I noticed that the fore stay at the mast head had a cotter pin that was not stainless. It was practically gone from rust and crumbled when I took it out. Felt lucky to have caught that one in time.

Other problems taken care of so far (all of which are mentioned on this board- thank you all!):
Chainplates leaking? Yep- rebedded, rot damage repaired and backing plates installed.
Anchor locker drain? Ditto- new hose installed. What is up with that goofy through hull fitting, by the way?
Cockpit drain leak? Of course- had to rebuild the area around the floor fitting. Other O'day owners at our marina report similar problems, and I have to wonder why they would route water undersides to get it out, but I don't know much, admittedly. A friend has a Catalina and the cockpit drains go directly out the transom. Seems smarter.
Mast step? Done- rebedded this week.

On the stem plate there should be a rigging pin with a cotter pin. A bolt will work as long as it's not completely threaded. On my boat I have a roller furler and an anchor roller under it. I needed the room under the drum to be able to handle my anchor so I Mickey Moused a MacGregor lever type rigging fitting to give me that 5" of space needed. In place of a regular rigging pin, I use a press button quick pin for my fore stay connection to this tang. This is what I choose to use along with a Johnson Handy-Lock on my back stay. I also have a Mickey Mouse set up for my tang on my mast to make disconnecting my furler a lot easier for trailering. My friend uses a bolt and nut with a cotter pin in a toggle strap, and I use a rigging pin with a cotter ring in a toggle strap at the mast tang. As long as it's all stainless steel and it's safe, it's OK.

 

[Indysailor]

Thanks! That helps a lot.

 

[Joe11688]

Thanks! That helps a lot.

I think that the previous owner may have lost the rigging pin and he just decided to use a bolt and nut rather than go out and find the right size pin. Bolts will work as long as they're not completely threaded, but they don't look too nautical on the boat. Stay away from Fast Pins. They'll work their way out and you can lose your mast.

 

[Indysailor]

With the threads, do you mean the bolt should have a shoulder? This one does not have a shoulder at all and it's pretty chewed up. I just ordered some parts from DR- I just wish I would have noticed this before that!

 

[Joe11688]

With the threads, do you mean the bolt should have a shoulder? This one does not have a shoulder at all and it's pretty chewed up. I just ordered some parts from DR- I just wish I would have noticed this before that!

Precisely. The bolt should have a long smooth area to hold a sheave pulley or turnbuckle. They say that the threaded area of a bolt is the weakest part of a bolt. You may need to replace a mast head sheave some day and some mast heads have pins that are pressed in place, or a riveted type pin. This pin can also be replaced with a S.S. bolt and lock nut to hold the pulley in place. I installed one on my mast years ago and it's still holding up. As long as the pulley spins on the smooth part of the bolt, it's perfectly acceptable. My friend Wayne uses a nut & bolt, with a cotter pin for his fore stay connection to the tang on his mast and this works for him. In the picture, the bolt at the end of the stay connects to the toggle strap on the tang. I stole this idea off him, but I'm using a rigging pin instead of a bolt.