Moving an elderly Hood seafurl Ld 705 to a new forestay

[kbobsky]

Hello,
Last fall I noticed the forestay on my vega had started to unwind, mostly because of incorrect usage of the furler (winding, unwinding while under load), and this spring I'm meaning to replace the forestay (atleast) and I'm now faced with moving the seafurl from the old forestay to the new one. The rigger was skeptical about finding some parts he says are required to do it, and anyway was hinting that ~20 years is a good age to retire one of these.

So, anyone happen to have experience with the seafurl and replacing the forestay it's attached to? I've already emailed Hood yacht systems asking them the same question and whether or not they still stock those parts.

The good thing about this is that hopefully I won't make the same mistake twice

Link to the mauled forestay http://www.inttervep.net/~mikko/vega/31102009006.jpg

Greets,
Mikko Airaksinen
Albin Vega 1005, Ikiturso

 

[Vega1447]

Hi Mikko,
that's a scary photo!

I had my standing rigging (incl forestay) inspected over winter & it is
still OK...

You say that "winding, unwinding while under load" is incorrect - but we
all do it to some extent at times....

John

V1447 Breakaway

Mikko wrote:

 

[vegasailor2001]

Hi!
My forestay looks very similar to Mikko\'s when I took a look on it, with the exception that I have an inner core of 3-4 mm that still seems to be intakt. The outer layer looks exactly as the pictures below. How serious is this?

Björn
Vega 2757

 

[Vega1447]

I have been told that once a stranded wire is unlaid (unwound) it loses
a lot (most?) of its strength.
If you have an inner core of 3-4mm maybe not so critical - I don\'t think
my standing rigging has an inner core (I have not seen it unlaid).

John

Björn Hall wrote:

 

[dougpol1]

It might be possible that if you have a little space at the top you may
be able to cut the cable put on a new fitting below where its untwisted
and add a couple of extender plates from the mast fitting to the cable
fitting. If You have the space this would be cheap and easy.
DougJohn A. Kinsella wrote:

 

[SVFlyAway]

Well I always error on the side of caution with rigging. A new forestay
would cost far less that a new rig (or even the insurance deductible). As
for the roller furling, 20 years is a good run. For the Vega a new furling
system would cost several hundred dollars in the US. I had to replace my
mast (and the rigging) when I had some unrepairable cracks (well they could
have been repaired, but not to my satisfaction). The cost was several times,
maybe an order of magnitude, more than a forestay and furler.

While you're at it you might as well replace all the standing rigging. 30
years is a long time for wire with swagged fittings. Again the expense is
less than the possible alternative.

 

[pjacobs55]

If it's the usual 1x19 rigging wire, there're twelve outer strands, and seven inner ones that make up the core. When installing swageless terminals, such as Hayn Hi-Mods or Sta-Locks, the outer core is deliberately unwound to fit the cone on the inner wire, then re-wound before the fitting is screwed together.

Looking at the picture of the unwound forestay sure is scary. The first thing that popped into my head was that the stay was too loose when the sail was being furled. My Harken furler instructions say that the forestay should be tight when the sail is being furled, i.e. tighten up the backstay, and that furling should not have to be forced by using a cockpit winch on the furling line.

Another thought that comes to mind: If your sail furls in the same direction as to unlay the wire that might be where the trouble is coming from. Maybe when furling, the twist should be in a direction that actually tightens the lay, rather than unraveling it. I'm going to check mine tomorrow! This sounds like a good question for a competent rigger !!

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'

 

[kbobsky]

Hi,
Thanks for all the good messages.

I am indeed replacing all the wires, as I don't know when, if ever, they've been last changed. The furler is more a question of budget, but then again, most things are.

One thing that worries me is my genua and whether or not fitting that to a new furler will prove problematic.

I'll be going to the boat this weekend and picking up some bits and parts to the rigger so that he can get started on it.

As to the destruction of the current forestay, I have to admit being rather heavy-handed with it, and not worrying too much about which direction I should be furling it and with how much force. Lesson learned (I hope).

This being my first spring with the boat, my to-do -list is on the longish side: Replace/fix main traveler track (one of the locks is stuck, so it only moves to one direction), Install a septic tank,
install VHF, replace the cockpit locker lids (which I already bought from www.vegaboatsupplies.nl), replace window rubber seals (later this summer), take off 5+ years of antifoul etc etc etc.

and to make things even more 'interesting' I'm in line for some wrist surgery that'll put a 2+ month break in stuff. All in all I'll be lucky to get the boat in water this summer

Mikko
Vega 1005 Ikiturso