Trouble reconnecting the forestay

[FasterHorses]

I need advice and in a hurry.....

Our '84 O'Day 39 needed to have the forestay disconnected in order to commission which is a normal practice for us. However, this year we are having more difficulty repinning the forestay to the deck plate. We have released the tension off the backstay, and have went as far as tying off the halyards to the bow pulpit in order to pull the mast forward. However, there is still 1/8" before the holes will align and the clevis pin will seat. The marina has suggested that we grind a divit in the SS to accommodate 1/8" gap, but I am shaking my head at that :naughty:. I have spoken to the PO who has suggested that there may be a kink in the forestay at the masthead and we should send someone up in a bosun's chair to sight it. Our mast is approximately 56 ft. high and finding someone small enough, (and knowledgeable enough) to hoist that high is another concern. So, before we hoist, is there another solution? Unstepping the mast at this stage is NOT an option. Could I have twisted the furler enough to have caused this when I disconnected it?

Thanks for any advice,

 

[woodster]

I need advice and in a hurry.....

Our '84 O'Day 39 needed to have the forestay disconnected in order to commission which is a normal practice for us. However, this year we are having more difficulty repinning the forestay to the deck plate. We have released the tension off the backstay, and have went as far as tying off the halyards to the bow pulpit in order to pull the mast forward. However, there is still 1/8" before the holes will align and the clevis pin will seat. The marina has suggested that we grind a divit in the SS to accommodate 1/8" gap, but I am shaking my head at that :naughty:. I have spoken to the PO who has suggested that there may be a kink in the forestay at the masthead and we should send someone up in a bosun's chair to sight it. Our mast is approximately 56 ft. high and finding someone small enough, (and knowledgeable enough) to hoist that high is another concern. So, before we hoist, is there another solution? Unstepping the mast at this stage is NOT an option. Could I have twisted the furler enough to have caused this when I disconnected it?

Thanks for any advice,

you may have twisted the the forestay cable a couple of turns thus shortening the distance from eye to eye.... take a turn one way and see if it gets shorter or longer if shorter go the other way two turns and see what happens as far as sending someone up the mast with the forestay not attached that is not a good idea and do not grind a divot for any reason ...the only other thing to do is add a set of toggle plates that have a 1 inch distance from center of hole to center of hole then remove what ever slack you have created by adjusting the turnbuckles accordingly

 

[Apex]

Check the lower stays, loosengin the rear lowers as well.
For checking the forestay, use a good quality camera, take a picture and zoom in. My original thought was a twisted cable as well. Can you loosen the turnbuckle more as well? G/L I hope to be stepping my mast in a couple weeks after rebuilding the mast step and replacing the forestay....

 

[jibes138]

Use your binoculars to see what's going on at the top of the mast.

 

[dziedzicmj]

You might have done so already, but I found that with my backstay attached (even completely loose), I wasn't able to pin the forestay. I ended up completely disconnecting the backstay (after, of course, securing the mast with the main halyard). Then I was able to pin the forestay and after that I attached the backstay again.

With the furler on, it was very difficult to put any real tension on the forestay, when I tried to attach it. You need a lot of slack, especially, if you try doing it alone.

Attaching the backstay again was easier - you have much better pull with the main halyard.

 

[Hydro Therapy]

I had that problem with my 240. I ended up loosening the turnbuckle within the roller furling. Once attached I tightened it back.

 

[colinhulse]

mast step

Check and see if the mast is seated properly in it's step.

 

[justsomeguy]

Check and see if the mast is seated properly in it's step.

This is a distinct possibility. DAMHIKT.

 

[FasterHorses]

Check and see if the mast is seated properly in it's step.

First and foremost, I want to say 'Thank you' to all of you who took the time out of our busy lives to respond with your suggestions for a solution.
Now with that being said, our mast is over 50' in length and it is keel stepped (standard on a O'Day 39), but that was NOT the problem. As long as I looked at it, I could not figure out what the problem was and the marina kept at me to let them grind it down that 1/8".
Make a long story short, as much as I would like to share all the details, it turned out to be the 2 spinnaker halyards that I (actually a fellow Skipper) ran thru the anchor roller and attached to a pair of sheets to the cockpit winches.
These two halyards were so tight that it prevented me from being able to tilt the furler drum back enough to align the pin. It came to me after a few Heinekens that I was actually pushing the drum against the halyards... So, I repositioned the halyards to the toe rails and voila!!!! The pin aligned easy as pie!!!!
Now on to the next task!!!!