We have spent the past couple of days trying to get some time in the 26s in some heavier winds...which we succeeded in finding! Today we were met with a potential disastrous and deadly situation. We were under a reefed main and full genoa. We were still in the River so there were no waves and winds around 15, gusting to 20-22. As we changed to a starboard tack we were met with a gust, she heeled over and started accelerating. Suddenly there was a loud snap that shook everything. I released the main and was asking Kathy what snapped. Suddenly she said the roller furling in not attached. My eyes bulged as I looked forward to find that a small 3/16" line was the only thing holding the rigging up...the genoa was still powered up. I gave the order to start the motor and turn us downwind. The furler would not work. I ran forward and physically turned the furler and wound the genoa up and tied it off. I used the jib halyard as a forestay and pulled it as hard as I could and cleated it off. In the meantime, Kathy had dropped the main. This whole event took about a minute or two...but seemed really fast. Afterwards...I just sort of collapsed against Kathy as we motored slowly back to The Steel Magnolia.
The pin in question... This was a 1/4" pin with the spring ball retainer on the end. The original owner had a couple of loose ones and a new one in the bag; all of this was in a ziplock bag marked "pins for Jib and Stays." Once back at the dock I pulled out the bag and to my shock...the one that was still bagged up was something you would buy at the hardware store! I almost croaked! We headed over to west marine and purchased a 3,000 lb working load pin. We came home and was finally able to get it in. I will be looking at ALL the pins and hardware to make sure there is not some more hardware store junk holding things together.
The little string... Since we were having problems getting the forestay attached when stepping the mast, I used a piece of the 3/16" line I had recently purchased to thread through the base fitting on the furling and make a loop about 2' long. While on the trailer, I could use a ratchet strap from the trailer to this loop and use it to pull downward on the line to help position the furler so I could pin it. The small line basically comes down each side of the bow of the boat. I have been just wrapping it around the chainplate fitting just to keep it out of the way. Fortunately, when things snapped the line bound itself to the fitting and held everything in place...only allowing about 4 inches of slack. This tiny line was rated at 1,200 lbs breaking strength.
We are so blessed that everything happened just as it did...and very thankful for that tiny little line that potentially saved our lives.
Just wanted to share this in hopes that another newbie doesn't just assume that the previous owner didn't cut corners on parts that carry a critical load.
The pin in question... This was a 1/4" pin with the spring ball retainer on the end. The original owner had a couple of loose ones and a new one in the bag; all of this was in a ziplock bag marked "pins for Jib and Stays." Once back at the dock I pulled out the bag and to my shock...the one that was still bagged up was something you would buy at the hardware store! I almost croaked! We headed over to west marine and purchased a 3,000 lb working load pin. We came home and was finally able to get it in. I will be looking at ALL the pins and hardware to make sure there is not some more hardware store junk holding things together.
The little string... Since we were having problems getting the forestay attached when stepping the mast, I used a piece of the 3/16" line I had recently purchased to thread through the base fitting on the furling and make a loop about 2' long. While on the trailer, I could use a ratchet strap from the trailer to this loop and use it to pull downward on the line to help position the furler so I could pin it. The small line basically comes down each side of the bow of the boat. I have been just wrapping it around the chainplate fitting just to keep it out of the way. Fortunately, when things snapped the line bound itself to the fitting and held everything in place...only allowing about 4 inches of slack. This tiny line was rated at 1,200 lbs breaking strength.
We are so blessed that everything happened just as it did...and very thankful for that tiny little line that potentially saved our lives.
Just wanted to share this in hopes that another newbie doesn't just assume that the previous owner didn't cut corners on parts that carry a critical load.
