A new wotsit

[Norman_E]

I just made this stainless fabrication for my boat. It still needs to be taken apart for final polishing and a couple of washers and nuts replaced with stainless.
Now, can anyone work out what it is for, and where it fits?

 

[Topcat47]

Imressive but Gawd knows wot its for......

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Twizzle rig?

 

[Gordonmc]

Cunningham?
It looks as though it goes onto a mast track... the shackles take a bit of rope/webbing through a cringle, the roller gubbins on the right is for a downhaul.
Or, probably nothing to do with any of that.
Bottle opener? Far more useful.

 

[stevebrassett]

[ QUOTE ]
I just made this stainless fabrication for my boat. It still needs to be taken apart for final polishing and a couple of washers and nuts replaced with stainless.
Now, can anyone work out what it is for, and where it fits?


[/ QUOTE ]Why are you asking us? You made it! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Norman_E]

[ QUOTE ]

It looks as though it goes onto a mast track...

[/ QUOTE ]

That bit is correct, but not for a cunningham.

It was a bit unfair of me to ask you to guess its purpose. In fact it is designed to fit into the mast track below the boom, and above a winch fitted to the back of the mast. The piece that looks like a roller is in fact fixed and takes the shackle on the end of a block. This block reverses the single line reefing line which comes down from the boom end and up to a block attached to the sail luff. The two shackles take that line (for the first reef) and the luffline for the twin line second reef to prevent the sail being pulled away from the mast.

This photo shows the set up on test with the block that this fitting will hold simply tied on with an odd end of rope.

 

[richardabeattie]

Baffled. Please post again when it's in place!

 

[Norman_E]

That will be after I return from Turkey at the end of June.
The mast slot between the boom and winch is hidden in the picture, but the fitting will go in to it by putting the four little cranked legs in first, then putting the main bar in between them, and bolting it all together. The length of the fitting is such that it will fill the gap between the boom fitting and the table holding the winch, thus preventing any up and down movement.
The lower of the blocks in the second picture will fit onto the part that looks like a roller in the first photo. The two 10mm shackles are at the top end of the fitting. I hope that clarifies things.

 

[simonfraser]

i wouldn't want it on my boat if you're going to be pulling on it with any kind of force, it being only supported on one side of the shackle / roller . . . .

 

[Norman_E]

I worked it out very carefully, and the loads involved are well within its capabilities. The sail would tear at the reefing points well before that fitting failed.