Hi All: Upon lowering my mast on my 1994 H26 in preparation for Hurricane Katrina, I noticed the upper part of the headstay was damaged where it connects to a swaged fitting that attaches to the mast. The outer wraps of the wire rope were "unwrapped" almost as though the wire was rotated in the opposite direction. About three inches of the wire appears to be unwrapped with all of the strands still intact. The headstay is almost brand new as is the Profurl roller fuller it runs through. During Tropical Storm Cindy, my bow rail hit a piling and was bent and it contacted the drum of the furler. I don't know if this is related to the headstay damage. Does anyone have any ideas about what could have caused the type headstay damage I described? How would this be repaired? Does the furler have to be disassembled, or can the stay be threaded through the furler without disassembly? Does the headstay need to be replaced or can it be repaired (e.g. mechanical fitting long enough to make up for the damaged length of wire)? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, BrianW
