Hunter 45 CC: Lost the shackle in my Selden furling main...

[Z83]

Was taking down my furling mainsail on my 2006 Hunter 45 cc last weekend, and dropped the shackle down the mast. Cannot seem to find it, it must have gone below where the furling winch is on the mast but not all the way to the bottom.

My question is, does anyone have a selden furling mast that has an idea of the shackle size? I believe it was some sort of Wichard Twisted Shackle, though I don't know what size now that i've dropped it. My second question, should I be worried about it jamming something in the spring? Aside from taking the mast down or maybe just being really patient with a wire fish, i'm not sure what to do.

After doing some research I figured out I should have shoved a towel into the mast first, which seems really obvious now, but other then that couldn't find much info. Boat is now on the hard, so i'll be ruminating about this until Spring.

Thanks in advance.

MZ

 

[dlochner]

Can't answer your question, but at least the lost shackle isn't affecting your sailing season, yet. Good Luck.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Sorry I don’t know about the shackle size, but +1 for sticking a towel or rag in the mast before doing any work. I dropped an Allen wrench down my US Spar furling mast a few years ago, before I learned the rag trick. It’s been sitting there somewhere ever since, and hasn’t done any harm yet.

 

[Rick486]

Was taking down my furling mainsail on my 2006 Hunter 45 cc last weekend, and dropped the shackle down the mast. Cannot seem to find it, it must have gone below where the furling winch is on the mast but not all the way to the bottom.

My question is, does anyone have a selden furling mast that has an idea of the shackle size? I believe it was some sort of Wichard Twisted Shackle, though I don't know what size now that i've dropped it. My second question, should I be worried about it jamming something in the spring? Aside from taking the mast down or maybe just being really patient with a wire fish, i'm not sure what to do.

After doing some research I figured out I should have shoved a towel into the mast first, which seems really obvious now, but other then that couldn't find much info. Boat is now on the hard, so i'll be ruminating about this until Spring.

Thanks in advance.

MZ

I live in fear each Fall and Spring of doing exactly that. As for the size, just measure the hole in the furler fitting that accepts the shackle and go from there. My shackle is not twisted. You could also try Selden US for the size.

 

[dlochner]

I live in fear each Fall and Spring of doing exactly that. As for the size, just measure the hole in the furler fitting that excepts the shackle and go from there. My shackle is not twisted. You could also try Selden US for the size.

Shackle sizes are fairly standardized based on the pin size. In the standard D shape there are 2 sizes, a long and short for each pin size. There may be minor variations due to being metric or English measurements.

 

[Z83]

Thanks for all the replies! Guess I'm not the only one that lives in fear of taking down the main for this reason. Not sure why the towel method wasn't common sense to me before I lost the shackle. I guess I'll measure the hole size and pick up another shackle. I spun the furling unit around a few times and didn't feel anything snagging.

 

[Rick486]

Thanks for all the replies! Guess I'm not the only one that lives in fear of taking down the main for this reason. Not sure why the towel method wasn't common sense to me before I lost the shackle. I guess I'll measure the hole size and pick up another shackle. I spun the furling unit around a few times and didn't feel anything snagging.

Remember to specify a captured pin. It's bad enough in there with one part, forget 2

 

[capta]

Sorry I don’t know about the shackle size, but +1 for sticking a towel or rag in the mast before doing any work. I dropped an Allen wrench down my US Spar furling mast a few years ago, before I learned the rag trick. It’s been sitting there somewhere ever since, and hasn’t done any harm yet.

If you borrowed a strong enough magnet, if your Allen wrench hasn't rusted to anything, you should be able to gently coax it up with the magnet on the outside of the mast.

 

[Rick Webb]

If you borrowed a strong enough magnet, if your Allen wrench hasn't rusted to anything, you should be able to gently coax it up with the magnet on the outside of the mast.

Harbor Freight has just the ticket

It has also more than paid for itself in reward beers from retrieving lost items from others in the marina

 

[Davidasailor26]

If you borrowed a strong enough magnet, if your Allen wrench hasn't rusted to anything, you should be able to gently coax it up with the magnet on the outside of the mast.

I thought about that and did give it a try. The wrench must have found somewhere well tucked away though. I couldn’t get it to catch the magnet through the mast.