Demountable Forestay

[anniebray]

I have just had one supplied & fitted by professional riggers which was completed in my absence yesterday. I had previously installed a U-bolt on the foredeck (suitably reinforced) & another light duty one for "parking" on the side deck by the shroud chain plates. The riggers have cut the stay to length with the Highfield lever at the parking position & will be supplying an additional compensator (300-450 long) for when connected to the foredeck. I had expected that the stay would be made to length with the lever connected to the foredeck & that when in the parked position I would need to devise a method to take in the slack perhaps involving bungy cord & rolling hitches. The primary purpose of the stay was for rigging a Storm Jib which I purchased last year. Have not yet had chance to check the fit eg Luff length but I am concerned as to whether the Tack will be too high above deck. Would be very grateful for your expert opinions.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Good to have the tack above deck level in horrid weather as it helps stop breaking waves smacking into the sail.

 

[jwilson]

I have just had one supplied & fitted by professional riggers which was completed in my absence yesterday. I had previously installed a U-bolt on the foredeck (suitably reinforced) & another light duty one for "parking" on the side deck by the shroud chain plates. The riggers have cut the stay to length with the Highfield lever at the parking position & will be supplying an additional compensator (300-450 long) for when connected to the foredeck. I had expected that the stay would be made to length with the lever connected to the foredeck & that when in the parked position I would need to devise a method to take in the slack perhaps involving bungy cord & rolling hitches. The primary purpose of the stay was for rigging a Storm Jib which I purchased last year. Have not yet had chance to check the fit eg Luff length but I am concerned as to whether the Tack will be too high above deck. Would be very grateful for your expert opinions.

I deliberately made my inner removable forestay the length to go straight to the "parking" position, with a removable tackle taking up the approx one metre to the in-use position. I preferred the blocks and tackle rig to a highfield lever as it is cheaper and also can have other uses.

The tack of a storm jib should be well up off the deck - think of the weight and shock loads of a big dollop (cubic metre plus maybe) of water hitting the sail going to windward.

The usual setup does however seem to be have excess wire to lose (inevitably bending it) when parked, which seems bad for the wire.

 

[LadyInBed]

How you describe it is how it is often done, and how I did mine.

 

[prv]

When I've encountered this kind of stay, it's always been sized for the in-use position and too long for the parked one. The improvised stowage arrangement has rarely been satisfactory, and since it spends far longer in this position, I think I'd prefer the extension arrangement you describe. The height of the tack I don't think is a problem, assuming it's only a foot or two - you're not trying to maximise the sail area in the foretriangle!

Pete

 

[anniebray]

Thanks everyone for your most helpful replies. I can now appreciate that what I have is in fact the best arrangement. On Monday I'll be back down at the boat with my Storm Jib & if the winds have sufficiently dropped I'll be able to see how it fits. May have to modify the parking position because I think there is chafing on the spreaders & also work out Jib sheeting & securing the tack.

 

[rwoofer]

Had it that way on both my last boats. In each case I had storm jib made with the first hank quite high up which gave me the option lowering the tack. Never did though.

 

[vyv_cox]

Mine is the same as yours. I have a pelican hook on the forestay, tensioned off normally in the parking position. I have to tie the ring in place as the genoa sheets sometimes displace it and the forestay flies off on its own. The short adaptor piece in my case has a bottle-screw with a side arm for tensioning.

The storm jib can be attached at any height you like - just add a strop to the tack with a shackle at the lower end to attach to your U-bolt. I find the bottlescrew, pelican hook etc don't impede the sail at all.

 

[Swagman]

I think you've got the right set up too.
We had one on a past boat which was the longer length - and it was always a problem when in the stored position. I never ever though to get it shortened - silly eh?
JOHN