A $60 Fitting Ends a Six Month Cruise

[Dick Dixon]

While on a port tack in twenty-five knots of wind one hundred and twenty miles northwest of the Cayman Islands, a toggle broke causing eighteen feet of mast above the top spreaders to collaspe to leeward. The stainless steel toggle that failed - possibly due to crevice corrosion cracking - connected the port chainplate to the upper shroud turnbuckle on a 1991 Catalina Morgan 51. Although seas were running 6-8 feet and the now drifting vessel began rolling severely, thankfully it was daylight which helped the captain and crew quickly gain control of the situation. With the broken spar safely on deck and all shrouds, halyards, sails, roller furling, and assorted lines secured, the vessel made its way under power to the Caymans were further damage control was done. Eventually the sailboat made its way back to the Mississippi Gulf Coast were complete repairs were made. The mast was spliced back together and, as of this writing, the Catalina Morgan 51 is in route back to Jamacia for a six month cruise.

 

[Jackdaw]

Wow!

First glad one one was hurt, and kudos for the seamanship than got the situation under control, jury rigged, and the boat back safely without a call to the coasties. Well done.

But that deck-level fitting. Wow. That's WAY beyond crevice corrosion. It has visible corrosion and I've guessing has been a danger to the boat for some time.

 

[zeehag]

looks more like the inside the fitting was the real cause of failure, as the rust is involving each strand. rust doesnt have any strength. just sayin' from sein'--fitting looks fine, but cable ends are not fine.


coulda been tough--good save.

 

[Cool Beans]

Holy crap! Please tell me they inspected every other fitting on the boat before heading out? That looks like a stainless stud screwed into a fitting end. . .it's not a Navtec Rod Fitting is it?

I'm glad everything seems to have worked out, but that should never have happened I would think. . .and should have been found and fixed before leaving on a 6 month cruise?

 

[RichH]

That toggle end is definitely 'screwed' and a those 'thread roots' are a REAL good source for the propagation of crevice corrosion. This type of T bolt is common on Taiwanese boats/rigging from the 80s and is VASTY inferior - and the typical failure as shown in the pic. T-bolts should be solid, forged ... not a screwed together configuration. This one probably has the T-cross section also screwed into the toggle shaft --- very typical of 1980s Taiwanese rigging 'stuff' (Grand Deer was most infamous for the manufacture of such 'crap').
This sort of failure, crevice corrosion, is common with 300 series stainless and should entice one to completely disassemble and visually inspect rigging screws and 'turnbuckles' on a regular basis.

 

[Ray Bowles]

Had the standing rigging been tuned recently? I would think that this shroud would have shown a much different tension or demonstrated a much different tone. It looks like it was very close to broken before you left.
Nice save!
Ray

 

[Ross]

Mostly why I have bronze turnbuckles .

 

[Bad Obsession]

So sorry to hear about that. At least no one was hurt. I hope the rest of the trip goes smoothly.

 

[kpgraci]

Bigger boat and much more potential for disaster than my recent encounter with standing rigging failure, but one thing in common - this was preventable with proper inspection - something I will not neglect in the future (and I hope neither will they).

 

[rasselas]

I owned an 85 Hunter 40 and the T-bolt fastening the only mast cable to the deck plate failed while in port. We were unfurling the jib to take it off and have the sunbrella repaired when the T-bolt gave way and the mast fell crushing the dodger and bimini with my wife, son and daughter in the cockpit. By the grace of God no one was injured. State Farm Insurance adjuster took the T-bolt for further examination. This was a $10,000 and 2 month repair.

 

[Windride27]

Glad to hear the crew is OK!! I am suprised that no one has questioned the age of the standing rigging. I'd say it looks like it is 20 years old and the original standing rigging from 1991. Hopefully the rest of the rigging has now been replaced before the latest adventure so it doesn't happen again on a different point of sail.
d.

 

[jackhararis]

I had the same thing happen on my S2. It was the stainless cable down in the fitting that failed, not the fitting. The rigging company explained that you really can't examine the end of the cable inside the fitting. The rule, they said, was every 20 years change your standing rigging. My boat was 23 years old. I had to replace the mast and all the standing rigging$ Does anyone have any other information about when to change standing rigging?

 

[kpgraci]

Does anyone have any other information about when to change standing rigging?

I heard 10 to 15 years.

 

[zeehag]

i was advised to change it every 20 years or when there are barbs on any of the strands. i was also taught to check my cables with a nylon stocking and if it hung up to change rigging.

 

[Joe11688]

When I first bought my boat new, I read in the owner's manual that it was advisable to add a little heat to the cables near the fitting and rub it with bees wax to seal out moisture and I've been doing this to my stay fittings ever since. I don't know if it's a deterrent to a failed fitting, but it can't hurt. Thank God no one was hurt.

 

[kloudie1]

Notice the rust marks from the corroding stainless on that fitting at the wire entrance.. When you see those on a fitting, especially an upward-looking one, that fitting is most likely a goner. The junction between the wire and fitting crimp .. iinspect with a magnifying glass or dye penetrant; any crack is cause for replacement. Wires too, as others have said..

 

[Dick Dixon]

The fitting that broke was made by Gauhauer in 1999. It was threaded into the socket. The owner replaced all similar fittings during the mast repair.