Forestay/cutter stay

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tangomoon

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I thought about putting an inner forestay attached to the mast alongside the forestay (there's room and a bolt there to take it) then down to the deck just behind the anchor locker. Chainplate would run up the back of the anchor locker and bolted trough to the bow cabin. I think this would be a good simple arrangement. Anybody see any problems?
 
If the newinner stay is attached to the mast at the same point as the existing fore stay, then I expect you would have great difficulty tacking your jib. However if the new innere stay is fixed to the mast so that it is parrallel to the existing forestay, which would be more usual, then you would need to stop the mast bending forward at this point. On my boat which is a cutter rigged Ebbtide 33. There is fitted a triatic stay which resists these forward loads.
 
Yes see your point. I should have said it will be detachable. Another question springs to mind: Can I use purchase to get the tension or is Highfield (expensive) lever the best bet. Thanks for your reply
 
You can use either a purchase or a highfield lever to acheive the tension you need. I would prefer a highfield lever as I use one for my main fore stay to ease mast lowering. I don't know what facilities you have but a highfield lever is fairly easy to make with plates of SS and bolts. A tackle should have at least 8to1 with a 4to1 purchase on a 2to 1 wire. You need to get the new forestay tight so take the load off the permanent forestay. olewill
 
I assume this is for a storm jib. It is fairly common to fix these a few inches below the masthead forestay fitting on masthead rigs, without worrying about being slightly out of line with the supporting backstay. Lots of high quality yachts have this as fitted when new, often called a Solent stay.

If it is for a storm jib it does not need to be able to be set up so tight as to take the tension off the forestay, just tight enough to set the sail, hene a tackle will do, though a highfield lever is simpler. Personally I chose a removable tackle, as a 4:1 purchase tackle has other uses, and a highfield lever is a big bit of ironmongery to be left lashed back to the shrouds when it is (probably 99.999% of the time) unused.

After consultation with rigger and surveyor, I put the bottom lower end of my removable inner forestay on the aft end of the existing bow roller/forestay fitting, about six inches back from the real forestay, on the basis that this fitting was already built to take the stresses of forestay and anchoring, and the anchor locker back bulkhead was of unknown structural integrity.
 
I had a similar set-up but using a highfield lever. To avoid the big chunk of ironwork at the shrouds my highfield lever and a short length of the forestay was detachable (clevis pin) at an eye in the forestay. The lower section could be completely removed or folded back so the stay was short enough to stow at the mast base. This was on a 32' Jeanneau.
 
In case it's a useful idea for you; we had a fitting welded up which is a stainless bar with a 4cm x 20 cm plate across one end. We drilled up through the stem, and through the deck. The plate rests on the outside of the stem spreading the load, and the bar is in line with the inner forestay. The stay attaches to the top of the bar. No load is taken on the deck or bulkhead, it all goes down to the stem.
 
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