Re: [Re: [AlbinVega] Re: rigging and mast support improvements]

May 9, 2011
1,000
Sorry Bob,

Editing error I'm afraid. I have already inserted your pic in the next issue
and apologised for the erratta in my editorial.

Aloha,

Chuck
 
Oct 30, 2019
1,021
Tom,

I still have your email from August but the photo didn't come through. I did
send a reply but.....you know the reliability is good but not perfect. Please
send me a new copy to crose@...

On the rigging; it really is easy and, yes, I bought the wire and fittings
then measured, cut and installed it all myself. I used Sta Lok fittings on
316 Stainless wire with silicon bronze (No chrome plating) turnbuckles and
toggles. The procedure is pretty straightforward. First, before you take the
old rig down, note the configuration of the hardware. Are you using the same
type of turn buckles? are the new ones the same length? Are you sure? Are
there toggles? Top and bottom or just one? are you going to change that? My
boat did not have toggles and I added them, but forgot to make the adjustment
the first time I cut the wire. As a result, I had to go back and cut four
inches off each wire and re-install the Sta-Loks on one end (A great advantage
of Stay-Lok type fittings, had I used swaged fittings, cheaper, I would have
had to scrap the whole mess and start over.)OK, now you know whether you will
cut your wires the same length as the old ones or make an adjustment of a few
inches. Just find an open, flat, straight area long enough to lay out you
longest stay (Forestay)A wooden pier or wharf works perfectly. Drive two
large nails in next to each other about two inches apart then install your
first sta Lok according to the directions on the package and place the eye
over one nail. Place the eye on one end of your old forestay over the other
nail. Stretch both out tight and mark the new wire and cut. I made a little
tool for cutting out of a scrap of 2X2. Take a piece of scrap 2X2 or 2X4
about four to six inches long and drill a 1/4 inch hole lengthwise then make a
saw cut at right angles to the hole halfway thru, making sure the cut passes
thru the hole. Pass the wire to be cut thru the hole and use the slot for a
guide for your hack saw. Makes perfect cuts every time. After your cut,
touch up the end of the wire with a grinder if needed and install the end
fitting. Do one wire at a time until you finish. The port and starboard
shrouds should be the same length but check anyway.

The backstay on the stock vegas looks like an inverted "Y", just like you
describe but mine and all the others I've seen came with a tackle arrangement
with an anchor at the bottom on the boat's centerline at the stern and two
single blocks bearing on the two parts of the split backstay and a third
single block with a line rove thru it leading down to a double cam cleat block
at the bottom. Sort of like a miniature version of your main sheet tackle,
the arrangement allows you to haul on the tackle pulling the moving blocks
downward which pulls the split backstays together, thus increasing the
tension. The cam or jam cleat on the lower block allows you to lock the
tensioner in place or release it quickly. On Lealea, the upper blocks are
mounted on a ring but I have seen a similar arrangement using triangular
plates. There is an off-the-shelf version in the West Marine catalog if I
remember correctly, but it can be easily made up by any competent boat yard or
you can do it yourself.

Aloha,

Chuck Rose

toml@... wrote: