Aft split backstay pin size?

[Alex]

Does anyone know the size of the aft split backstay pin which holds the the backstay at its attachment plate in the cockpit. I would like to order a quick release pin for one the split backstays. Makes it easier to step the mast with one of the backstays released. The pins with a safety ring are a pain to remove and attach. Can't just go measure the diameter of the pin since the boat is stored in Reno outside of lake Tahoe for the winter and home in central CA.Thanks in advance.Alex

 

[Jim Kolstoe]

Instead of removing

one side of the split back spreader, Alex, I would suggest installing a split back stay adjuster. I did that about 10 years ago, and I no longer have to mess with the turnbuckle tension, or fight the stay tension while raising orlowering the mast. I just leave the turnbuckles adjusted loose, then use the stay aduster to put on the tension I need at any time.  The stay adjuster is just two steel plates with sheeves in them, two on each side to create a larger effective radius on the stay as its deflected by the adjuster, and a fifth one for the stay sheet to pass through giving you greater purchase. What it does is to bow-string the two stays. I never worry about whether I have enough back stay tension, because its easy to change it as I go - mines rigged to give a 3-1 purchase, plenty for a bendy mast.Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo