So I just discovered that the wire at the top of the forestay on my boat is 50% broken. Luckily I had sent someone up to inspect before I sailed the boat for the first time (new to me boat - 1990 35.5). So we did not get to sail on our first vacation with the new boat. My boat is in Mexico, so this will be a little challenging as I will have to order hardware and take it down. We have some guys that are decent with rigging down there but I need as much information as possible to be sure this all gets done well. I have a few questions for anyone that has experience in this specific area.
My plan will be to have a machine swaged fitting at the top and cut the cable to the appropriate length and do a compression fitting (staylok or Noresman - suggestions - recommendations?) down below. However, the Previous Owner installed a winch and this limits my access to the base of the furler. This is going to be a hassle getting the bottom fitting off if I can't slide the drum up. I have not worked on a roller furler before this. I have the 810 manual, but it is not a big help for work after and initial installation. I will have a picture soon, but I was wondering if anyone has any actual personal experience with replacing their forestay. The furler is a Hood 810, continuos line furler with the drum below the deck.
Any experience with what it takes to move the drum and access the connection point at the base?
What about oversizing the forestay to increase the robustness of the forestay since this problem was obviously caused by the furling process over time?
Has anyone used compression fittings on the base, will they fit in that small area or do I need a machine swag at the base and a compression on the top? I don't see a turnbuckle on the forestay - nor do I see anything regarding this in the Hood Manual. Is it hidden inside the furler hardware just above the drum?
Will I need to loosen other rigging to do this? My boat has an adjustable Backstay, I thought these boats did not have backstays because of the swept back spreader design. Do you think this was an add-on by a past owner?
I will post info once I complete this project so any help to get me through this would be appreciated.
My plan will be to have a machine swaged fitting at the top and cut the cable to the appropriate length and do a compression fitting (staylok or Noresman - suggestions - recommendations?) down below. However, the Previous Owner installed a winch and this limits my access to the base of the furler. This is going to be a hassle getting the bottom fitting off if I can't slide the drum up. I have not worked on a roller furler before this. I have the 810 manual, but it is not a big help for work after and initial installation. I will have a picture soon, but I was wondering if anyone has any actual personal experience with replacing their forestay. The furler is a Hood 810, continuos line furler with the drum below the deck.
Any experience with what it takes to move the drum and access the connection point at the base?
What about oversizing the forestay to increase the robustness of the forestay since this problem was obviously caused by the furling process over time?
Has anyone used compression fittings on the base, will they fit in that small area or do I need a machine swag at the base and a compression on the top? I don't see a turnbuckle on the forestay - nor do I see anything regarding this in the Hood Manual. Is it hidden inside the furler hardware just above the drum?
Will I need to loosen other rigging to do this? My boat has an adjustable Backstay, I thought these boats did not have backstays because of the swept back spreader design. Do you think this was an add-on by a past owner?
I will post info once I complete this project so any help to get me through this would be appreciated.