I am very worried about the keel step mast falling over. Will aft lower stays hold it? Will the main halyard led to the mid boom traveler hold it?
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Hello njlarry, We really enjoyed sailing our Oday 34! You have a wonderful boat in my opinion.
Depending on your rigging skill and level of daring this could be a reasonably simple fix or maybe better left to a qualified rigger. The change of the backstay will require work at the top of the mast as well as at the cockpit level. I have been up several masts that have been supported by a variety of temporary lines in addition to the shrouds that remained in place. Most recently we removed a forestay to work on a roller furler that had become troublesome. Before climbing and before removing the lower end of the forestay we pulled the spinnaker halyard forward to a bow cleat and added a lower line on the eye for the spinnaker pole (I can't remember its name.....) to the bow roller. Similar lines taken aft would support your mast while the backstay was removed.
Of course unstepping the mast would allow for a whole lot of projects to be accomplished with the mast on supports in front of you. Cost higher, but risk lower. I think measuring the new backstay correctly would be a challenge. Also, is the backstay split? Depending on what/how much you are changing you could keep some of the rigging of the backstay intact while you work on what is changed.
Anyway, if the mast is kept in place I would suggest using several lines led aft to compensate for the removal of the backstay. You could even add a line at the spreaders as you (or some other lucky person) ascends the mast to do the work at the top.
Best Wishes and Be Careful! Phil
If the turnbuckle is all that is being replaced, I would attach a line or two to the backstay and to the aft cleats and remove the turnbuckle with no real fear of the mast coming down.
