I am about order roller furling for my hunter 25. My question this time is regarding the replacement of the fore stay. It looks good, but is 20 years old. If I don't replace it and a few years down the road and it needs replacement do I need to replace the roller furling or can it be easily transferred? Thanks.
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Steve O.
replace RF
Depending on the brand, I'm sure you could remove and re-install it, but why not just replace the stay now and be done with it?
Depending on the brand, I'm sure you could remove and re-install it, but why not just replace the stay now and be done with it?
forestay
I just had a long converstation with a woman who works at a Fla rigger that I was refered to by Greg Emerson at Hunter, she was very honest, she said one way to tell if you need to replace the rigging is to look at the studs on the ends, if they are showing any signs of cracking or crazing , anything at all. it is time to replace, she told me of a man who had a 20 yr old catalina who sent them his rigging and it was like new, where you live has a big impact, saltwater and sun are the big enemies, I live in Ohio and so my boat does not have the exposure of a west coast or south coast boat,the company is Seco South , 727 536 1924 ask for Jean. I was quoted between 275 and 300 to replace all rigging on my h23, that is forstay split back and upper and lowers, hope this helps , Mike B
I just had a long converstation with a woman who works at a Fla rigger that I was refered to by Greg Emerson at Hunter, she was very honest, she said one way to tell if you need to replace the rigging is to look at the studs on the ends, if they are showing any signs of cracking or crazing , anything at all. it is time to replace, she told me of a man who had a 20 yr old catalina who sent them his rigging and it was like new, where you live has a big impact, saltwater and sun are the big enemies, I live in Ohio and so my boat does not have the exposure of a west coast or south coast boat,the company is Seco South , 727 536 1924 ask for Jean. I was quoted between 275 and 300 to replace all rigging on my h23, that is forstay split back and upper and lowers, hope this helps , Mike B
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Sam Lust
If your rigging - - - -
If your rigging is 20 years old it needed replacement 10 years ago. Once a furler is over the wire you won'r be able to see most of it to inspect it. Replace? Don't think about it - - -DO IT !
If your rigging is 20 years old it needed replacement 10 years ago. Once a furler is over the wire you won'r be able to see most of it to inspect it. Replace? Don't think about it - - -DO IT !
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Tim Leighton
NEW RIGGING
Tom: I agree with Sam (sort of). Since you use your boat in salt water, your standing rigging has a life span of between 15-20 years with 20 the absolute maximum. I think 10 years is a bit early for replacing quality standing rigging unless there is a problem or the boat has been driven hard (eg raced). Too darn expensive! Those timeframes, BTW, came from my sailmaker, I'm certainly no expert on rigging lifespan. Friends of ours almost lost the rig on their 18 year old boat when they lost the forestay last summer. They immediately changed all their standing rigging. If you contract out the work to your sailmaker, it should cost you about $2000-3000 not including the cost of the roller furling. You can do it yourself (I know a lot of people who have successfully done so... and none are expert riggers) for less than $1000. I know that is a big expense, but it is cheap insurance. Good luck and let us know what you decide. Tim Leighton
Tom: I agree with Sam (sort of). Since you use your boat in salt water, your standing rigging has a life span of between 15-20 years with 20 the absolute maximum. I think 10 years is a bit early for replacing quality standing rigging unless there is a problem or the boat has been driven hard (eg raced). Too darn expensive! Those timeframes, BTW, came from my sailmaker, I'm certainly no expert on rigging lifespan. Friends of ours almost lost the rig on their 18 year old boat when they lost the forestay last summer. They immediately changed all their standing rigging. If you contract out the work to your sailmaker, it should cost you about $2000-3000 not including the cost of the roller furling. You can do it yourself (I know a lot of people who have successfully done so... and none are expert riggers) for less than $1000. I know that is a big expense, but it is cheap insurance. Good luck and let us know what you decide. Tim Leighton
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Bob Howie
Replacing your roller furler
I've done this on a number of boats and there are a few considerations. First, yes, replace your head stay if it is at least 10 years old or if you don't know how old it is. It'll cost a few bucks, but so will your furler and so will replacing/repairing any problems associated with a dismast. Secondly, replace your head stay now because you won't be able to count on being able to remove then reinstall the furler if the head stay breaks or has a problem principally for two reasons. First, if your head stay breaks or fails, the result will be that it will bugger up your roller by typically bending the foils. Yes, you can get extra foils, but that leads me to the second reason. Depending upon your environment, especially if you are in salt water, the furler's sections are likely to corrode and seize, making taking them apart later practically impossible, thus precipating replacing your furler. The foils go together with machined aluminum splines and set screws which are typically put into place using LockTite. The furler is designed in such a way that once it is assembled, it's not intended to be taken apart. The only people who argue with me on this are those who have limited, if any, experience at installing roller furlers. Good news is that you can pretty much do this work yourself if you are half way handy and can read and follow directions. You can take your existing head stay to a rigger and they can use that as a pattern for providing the components you will need, i.e., the proper size stainless steel cable and attachment fittings. I strongly recommend you use Sta-Lock terminals. I have never known a Sta-Lock to fail and the same can't be said about swagged-on fittings. Get some extra Sta-Locks and cable and practice assembling them. It's a little tricky, but you will get the hang of it and be sure, once you are ready to install the Sta-Locks for real, that you squeeze in an ample quantity of good caulk or sealant -- since this is a permanent connection, I recommend 3M 5200 -- to ensure nothing gets inside the Sta-Lock once it's put together. Good news is, too, that to do this job all you really need are a pair of good Crescent wrenches, some allen wrenches, a good hacksaw with quality blade and some take to mark the spots where you need to make the cuts and to hold the braided end of the cable together prior to going to work on them installing the Sta-Loks. Just take your time, measure twice, but cut only once and work methodically while following the directions and you can very easily have a successful project along with the how-to knowledge you will gain. By the way, most quality marine supply stores will now rent you a pre-programmed electronic tensiometer that takes all the guess work out of setting the forestay tension. Just tighten the turnbuckle until the thing beeps, then safety wire the buckle and you're done. Good luck.
I've done this on a number of boats and there are a few considerations. First, yes, replace your head stay if it is at least 10 years old or if you don't know how old it is. It'll cost a few bucks, but so will your furler and so will replacing/repairing any problems associated with a dismast. Secondly, replace your head stay now because you won't be able to count on being able to remove then reinstall the furler if the head stay breaks or has a problem principally for two reasons. First, if your head stay breaks or fails, the result will be that it will bugger up your roller by typically bending the foils. Yes, you can get extra foils, but that leads me to the second reason. Depending upon your environment, especially if you are in salt water, the furler's sections are likely to corrode and seize, making taking them apart later practically impossible, thus precipating replacing your furler. The foils go together with machined aluminum splines and set screws which are typically put into place using LockTite. The furler is designed in such a way that once it is assembled, it's not intended to be taken apart. The only people who argue with me on this are those who have limited, if any, experience at installing roller furlers. Good news is that you can pretty much do this work yourself if you are half way handy and can read and follow directions. You can take your existing head stay to a rigger and they can use that as a pattern for providing the components you will need, i.e., the proper size stainless steel cable and attachment fittings. I strongly recommend you use Sta-Lock terminals. I have never known a Sta-Lock to fail and the same can't be said about swagged-on fittings. Get some extra Sta-Locks and cable and practice assembling them. It's a little tricky, but you will get the hang of it and be sure, once you are ready to install the Sta-Locks for real, that you squeeze in an ample quantity of good caulk or sealant -- since this is a permanent connection, I recommend 3M 5200 -- to ensure nothing gets inside the Sta-Lock once it's put together. Good news is, too, that to do this job all you really need are a pair of good Crescent wrenches, some allen wrenches, a good hacksaw with quality blade and some take to mark the spots where you need to make the cuts and to hold the braided end of the cable together prior to going to work on them installing the Sta-Loks. Just take your time, measure twice, but cut only once and work methodically while following the directions and you can very easily have a successful project along with the how-to knowledge you will gain. By the way, most quality marine supply stores will now rent you a pre-programmed electronic tensiometer that takes all the guess work out of setting the forestay tension. Just tighten the turnbuckle until the thing beeps, then safety wire the buckle and you're done. Good luck.
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