Name That Swageless Fitting

[BrianW]

I am replacing my headstay on my Hunter 26 that was installed by the previous owner. The stay has a swaged T-ball terminal fitting on top and a swageless stud terminal on the bottom. It doesn't have any brand stamped on the fitting. Does anyone recognize what brand fitting this is so I can get the right cone replacement? I think I know, but would feel better with a little backup. Thanks, BrianW

Edited: CalebD correctly identified the swageless terminal as a terminal stud instead of an eye as my original post stated. Thanks, CalebD

 

[Maine Sail]

Looks like Sta-Lok..

Image Courtesy of Defender

 

[CalebD]

Isn't what is pictured called a swageless stud? http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|118|107602|297595|312099&id=136088
That is the turnbuckle body beginning on the right side of the picture, no?
As for the brand, I am no expert but it may just be old enough to be hard to get the exact replacement. You might just think about replacing the entire turnbuckle and fittings (jaw/eye etc). Norseman is pretty easy to use but yours looks a bit more like a Sta-lok fitting: http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|118|107602|297595|312099&id=205152

 

[Dave Groshong]

You can take the old one off, and send it to any local rigger; if you don't have one, send it to Cliff, at West Marine rigging Seattle. I'm not a West Marine booster by any account, but Cliff does a great job.

Use your jib/spinnaker halyards for relief.

 

[BrianW]

Yes, the swageless terminal stud is connected to a turnbuckle on the right. I believe the fitting is less than 5 years old. (I posted a long sad story about a month ago on why I had to replace a forestay when it was only 3 years old. Thread name:"Forestay Woes"). Thanks, BrianW

 

[CalebD]

OK. Thanks for the historical insight into this problem ("Forestay Woes").
If both Maine and I came upon Sta-Lok independently it is most likely that (more so because of his opinion).
Did you solve the problem of reducing the furler's foil length so the stay does not get damaged again?
If the fittings are about 5 years old then they can likely be reused with the caveat that SD mentions that a trailerable boat (ie., rigging set up and taken down more frequently) may suffer more abuse to these fittings/parts then a boat where the mast is left up.
If the Sta-Lok is like Norseman then it should be able to be unscrewed (there may be some 3M 4200 in there) but you should likely consider getting a new jaw or jamb piece from Sta-Lok (they will likely want you to buy a new everything though).
If it makes you feel any better we pulled the mast last fall on our old Tartan 27 and in the process I disconnected all 4 shrouds (by pulling the clevis pins) and my boat partner disconnected the aft stay and forestay with furler on it by some other method (unscrewing the turnbuckle). We lost some of the forestay hardware into the Hudson River and discovered that our mast foot had turned to soil! Now I know why our jib shape was compromised as the mast had shrunk and we could not tighten the back stay enough to compensate (thankfully - we could have pushed the mast foot through the hull!). This leaves lots of work for us in the spring. All boats and owners seem to have their issues.
Good luck with yours!

 

[BrianW]

Did you solve the problem of reducing the furler's foil length so the stay does not get damaged again?

CalebD, yesterday I raised the mast and re-confirmed how much extrusion is actually necessary and determined that I can comfortably shorten the furler's foil length by 8 inches. That will give me about 10 inches of wire between the terminal T-ball fitting and the upper end of my furler foil. Thanks, BrianW