Our lower shroud parted at the upper terminal on our O’Day Mariner. Very odd. Clean break right at the terminal. No cracks at the swage. No rust, no kink or bend. What would cause this? I have no idea how old the stay is as we purchased the boat used. Makes me very nervous about the remaining stays. How often do folks replace their stays?
Stay failure
- Thread starter brhoads
- Start date
Consensus on replacing standing varies between fresh and salt water. For fresh water 15-25 years and salt water 7-10 years. I would consider 15 in fresh water to be the maximum.
Regarding your boat, I would say a full replacement is a prudent suggestion.
George
Regarding your boat, I would say a full replacement is a prudent suggestion.
George
Former O'Day Mariner owner here. This isn't unique to Mariners, but I had something similar happen to me that your photo reminds me of. The cause: a combination of standing rigging that was loose and keeping the boat on a mooring.
All that bobbing at the mooring flexed the improperly-supported mast, leading to rigging failure. Nobody got hurt but I ended up buying a fresh set of stays and shrouds just to play it safe. For the Mariner about 10 years ago I think I paid about $600.
And I learned a lesson: I've kept my standing rigging sufficiently tensioned ever since.
All that bobbing at the mooring flexed the improperly-supported mast, leading to rigging failure. Nobody got hurt but I ended up buying a fresh set of stays and shrouds just to play it safe. For the Mariner about 10 years ago I think I paid about $600.
And I learned a lesson: I've kept my standing rigging sufficiently tensioned ever since.
That explanation seems plausible. My boat is on a mooring for several months. The instructions for tensioning the rig seems quite vague to me. I’ve never been sure of the difference between “just hand tight” and “taunt.” Vague to say the least. Having the Loos gauge tension settings would be helpful.
The remaining wire doesn't look corroded. I would look more to cyclic loading and work hardening. Especially since the failure occurred at the end of the swage where flexing would occur. Nevertheless it's time for new standing rigging.
But you usually have stay failures at the lower terminus due to water accumulating there. "Usually."
But you usually have stay failures at the lower terminus due to water accumulating there. "Usually."