Scared myself - broken forestay

[Valerieflyer]

This past Sunday I wnt up to the lake with my first mate Wiley (brown dog) and intended to just put the new Sailor's Tailor sail cover on the boat. But, while at the boat decided to go out and sail a bit. The wind was blowing hard from the South 20-25 mph. The marina and finger of the lake I'm based at is well protected so I knew that if it got too rough I could always turn around. I got about a half mile from the marina with the jib partially furled when there was a pop and the jib started swinging around madly. The cdi furler drum was banging into bow pulpit and whipping all over the place. I've never had a rigging breakage (been sailing about a year) My first thought was that the mast was going to come down on my head and then I realized the lower shrouds should hold it up as long as the load was not too much.

The motor started on the second pull thank God. I was able to get the boat back to the marina where the swinging around sail got caught in a tree. I was able to put the motor in reverse, go to the foredeck - roll up the rest of the sail and unhook from the tree. Very glad to get the boat back in it's slip.

I had installed one of those quickpins in the stem fitting where the lower end of the forestay attaches. This is the type of pin that has a button in the middle that you depress. I found the pin but the button and most of the parts were no where to be found. I will never use one of those pins again. We have sailed in some strong winds and I guess it was just too much. The fitting at the bottom of the CDI furling drum was bent too. Now I have gone back to a shackle that is screwed through.

This could have been really bad if I had more sail out and been in the main part of the lake.

Valerie
Catalina 22
"Dry Humor"
Eagle Mountain Lake
DFW area Texas

 

[nightowle]

Indeed, scary stuff. You handled it well. All the while looking searchingly at your first mate for some help, right?

 

[brockangelo]

Oh wow that’s scary stuff. Mind posting a photo of the exact pin you had so we can get a look at it?
Just yesterday I installed the Bimini quick release pins on my shrouds.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Wow thats crazy! Im glad you made it back with out any more damage. I'd also love to see a pic of the hardware that failed

 

[brockangelo]

I'm guessing it is this one from CD

 

[brockangelo]

intended to just put the new Sailor's Tailor sail cover on the boat

Would love to see the Sailor's Tailor cover if you ended up getting that installed.

 

[AaronD]

Wow! Glad you made it back with mast intact, and thanks for sharing!

Breezy's previous owner used ball-lock quick pins for the forestay and forward shrouds, and we continued that for a couple years, until - thinking of trusting the mast to a hollow pin - I let my paranoia take over, and I switched to solid clevis pins with cotter rings. Not quite as fast the ball-lock pins, but I trust them more (and the rings are still pretty quick - much faster than clevis pins).

Your account motivated me to rethink the "Forestay Failure" entry in my homegrown book of procedures; I see it calls for securing a spare halyard to the bow to support the mast. Which is sensible, but would require going forward (while the furler flails around, as @Valerieflyer observed).

I normally clip the spinnaker halyard to the bow pulpit when not in use. But if I were to instead secure it to the bowsprit (or another solid attachment point) , we could tension it from the cockpit in seconds, without venturing to the bow.

 

[brockangelo]

my homegrown book of procedures

I'd be interested to see a procedure list. I have a laminator and have been thinking about putting a set of flashcards in the cockpit to step through this first season, just to get in the habit of doing things correctly.

Checklists for:
* raising the main
* raising the jib
* lowering the main
* lowering the jib
* preparing to docking
* preparing to trailer

etc.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I used PTO pins all over my 19 footer and on the mainsheet of my 25. No failures. I finally replaced the one on the main after 5 years of freshwater use when I upgraded my blocks

 

[Tedd]

I found the pin but the button and most of the parts were no where to be found. ... The fitting at the bottom of the CDI furling drum was bent too.

You might want to investigate all of that a bit more. If the pin failed first, then that could explain the damage to the fitting. But the pin wouldn't be expected to fail in that manner unless there was some axial load, which there shouldn't be. So that's worth investigating. Another possibility is that the fitting failed first, resulting in axial load on the pin (which it is not intended for). So that, too, is worth investigating.

In the end, though, I think you're wise to avoid ball-lock pins. They're great in the right application, but not for standing rigging on a sailboat. I was tempted to use them for my forestay when I first got a trailerable boat, too, but decided it was too risky. A clevis pin and locking ring is the way to go. I put lanyards on them so they won't fall overboard. I think these pins from McMaster Carr are the cat's pyjamas, but they don't seem to be available in small enough sizes to be useful on a 20-odd-foot sailboat.

 

[Valerieflyer]

I'm guessing it is this one from CD

View attachment 203714

Yes, it is exactly this pin - bought it to help speed things up when trailer sailing.

 

[Valerieflyer]

Would love to see the Sailor's Tailor cover if you ended up getting that installed.

Very happy with the fit and appears to be great quality ... which it should be for the price I did have to wait several months for it and had almost forgotten that I had ordered it when it showed up.

 

[brockangelo]

Yes, it is exactly this pin

Okay thanks for confirming. I was considering that one as well after my quick release forestay lever comes in. I'll probably still to something a little safer. Ball pins always make me nervous.

 

[Valerieflyer]

To answer questions about the rest of my rigging - the forward lower shrouds have toggle pins - they seem a lot more secure (in hindsight) than the pushbutton pin. Mains and lower aft have pins with helical lock rings. I wish I had the presence of mind to remember I have an unused halyard - maybe it was used for a hanked on jib or spinnaker that I could have attached to a cleat. When the trailer is finished being rebuilt she is going to get hauled out and rigging, keel inspected carefully - so easy to put off these maintenance items when you are having fun sailing.

Valerie

 

[Valerieflyer]

I'd be interested to see a procedure list. I have a laminator and have been thinking about putting a set of flashcards in the cockpit to step through this first season, just to get in the habit of doing things correctly.

Checklists for:
* raising the main
* raising the jib
* lowering the main
* lowering the jib
* preparing to docking
* preparing to trailer

etc.

Being a pilot - I do have a checklist - there are plenty of ways to go wrong when setting up a trailer sailor.

 

[AaronD]

I'd be interested to see a procedure list...

I'll send a copy by PM (I'd want to look through it and elide any personal information before posting it publicly).

 

[pclarksurf]

Glad you got it to the dock without any damage-- exciting for sure. The roller furling throws a bit of a wrench in the typical emergency rigging plan -- but I suppose the main halyard wrapped forward and attached at the stem plate could serve as temporary? My version sans roller furling is always the jib halyard as the emergency forestay.