Seajet
...
Agreed worth looking at, but 3mm standing rigging seems a bit inadequate, I found 4mm stretched on my moderately rigged but reasonably hard sailed 22' and 5mm is much better.
Forestay help
- Thread starter suffolktim
- Start date
suffolktim
Active Member
Wow...lots more advice...love it - its great to know theres a forum that brings together lots of opinions and gives everyone a chance to offer their ideas. When I bring the mast down for the winter I will seriously consider raising the height of the forestay to mast attachment point. The mast step is definately good and strong, part of the centreboard casing below the deck, and there is no compression.
I was in the chandlery this afternoon buying eye nuts to go on the end of the eyebolts so I could carry out the plan I had settled on, and showing pics to one of the guys in there, when guess what... he also came up with an alternative idea!! (there really cant be many left!)...
He suggested that, as I am not using the bow roller for anchoring, I can effectively turn it into a very short bowsprit! He suggested, as many others have, that I should start by making sure that the bow roller is really well backed with plastic chopping board/glassed ply or whatever...then knocking the lower pin out that holds the roller in place, removing the black plastic roller completely, and putting a bolt in its place. He suggested that I then add a wire strop or dyneema lashing from the new lower bolt on the roller, bring it down to the eyebolt located half way down the bow on the outside, and shackle the forestay down to the same bolt on the roller. The tensioned strop leading down to the eyebolt will stop any potential lifting and any leverage issues, and I can still use the fitting for raising/lowering the mast.
Even better news is that I only needed to buy a bolt, a few metres of 4mm dyneema (I chose Lyros magic gold), and to sneak the spare chopping board out of the kitchen without the missus noticing. Nice cheap job!
What do people think of that?!
A few pics of the mentioned lower eyebolt half way down the bow (will be turned to a vertical position so rope/strop wont slip under tension).
I was in the chandlery this afternoon buying eye nuts to go on the end of the eyebolts so I could carry out the plan I had settled on, and showing pics to one of the guys in there, when guess what... he also came up with an alternative idea!! (there really cant be many left!)...
He suggested that, as I am not using the bow roller for anchoring, I can effectively turn it into a very short bowsprit! He suggested, as many others have, that I should start by making sure that the bow roller is really well backed with plastic chopping board/glassed ply or whatever...then knocking the lower pin out that holds the roller in place, removing the black plastic roller completely, and putting a bolt in its place. He suggested that I then add a wire strop or dyneema lashing from the new lower bolt on the roller, bring it down to the eyebolt located half way down the bow on the outside, and shackle the forestay down to the same bolt on the roller. The tensioned strop leading down to the eyebolt will stop any potential lifting and any leverage issues, and I can still use the fitting for raising/lowering the mast.
Even better news is that I only needed to buy a bolt, a few metres of 4mm dyneema (I chose Lyros magic gold), and to sneak the spare chopping board out of the kitchen without the missus noticing. Nice cheap job!
What do people think of that?!
A few pics of the mentioned lower eyebolt half way down the bow (will be turned to a vertical position so rope/strop wont slip under tension).
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PuffTheMagicDragon
Well-Known Member
One thing to consider for the 'new' solution. The bow roller appears to be a casting. Examine it carefully to ensure that it is up to strength. If it snaps when used with an anchor there's no big deal because you'll still be secure; OTOH, if it fails with the forestay attached to it the result could be quite spectacular.
suffolktim
Active Member
Hey, yep - thought the same. I will be bringing a "safety line" down from the forestay loop to the same spot as the strop on the outside bow eyebolt, so hoefully it would hold on that. I am going to check and beef up the backing on the eyebolt before I use it to, if it needs it.
Seajet
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All the fixes I and others have suggested, as far as I recall have kept the cast alloy bow roller seperate fro the roller.
I'll just add, this thread must be hundreds of hours ' brain counts ' more than the original design input .
I'll just add, this thread must be hundreds of hours ' brain counts ' more than the original design input .
PeteCooper
Well-Known Member
I would suggest that to tension anything, be it wire or dyneema, between the bow fitting and the lower eye you need some kind of bottlescrew to get enough tension to help support the foresaty. If the tensioner and the shroud are attached to the same cross pin in the fitting then it should work, but obviously you won't have a bow roller should you need to anchor.
anoccasionalyachtsman
Well-Known Member
Tim, can I suggest, for the third or fourth time, that you just get the existing forestay shortened. It probably won't cost a fiver.If the previous owner had fitted one that was 6" too long, would you now be extending the bow to make it fit? How about six feet too long?
VicS
Well-Known Member
ITYWF that if you read suffolktim's earlier replies he has said that it cannot be shortened, although he does not say why not. Presumably because of the length of the furling spar.
anoccasionalyachtsman
Well-Known Member
Now you mention it Vic, I do remember, but had dismissed that as a 5 minute job with a hacksaw.
Seajet
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That would shorten it all right, about as much use a sawing your arm off, but definitely shorter.
anoccasionalyachtsman
Well-Known Member
My thinking is that if the furler is correctly assembled and installed and yet still too long then either it was incorrectly ordered or is from a different boat. Almost every system that I've come across is assembled from lengths of light extrusion and very easy to shorten.
Seajet
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The furler foil can easily be cut to any length, but shortening a swaged hard eye end of the internal ( in this case ) forestay wire just a couple of inches is impossible due to to the length of wire required to go around the hard eye.
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anoccasionalyachtsman
Well-Known Member
Geometry time. Should have done this earlier really.
Scaling from that photograph of the boat sailing, and correcting for the bow up trim.
The mast rake is in the region of 630mm.
Current forestay is approx 5,570mm
To pull the mast to vertical using the existing attachment needs the forestay shortened by 190mm.
To pull the mast to vertical using the existing stay needs a bowsprit of 525mm if raked up with the local angle of the foredeck, about 75mm less if the sprit is level.
Easy enough to check these figures (and best you do, I may have made a horrible mistake). Loosen the shrouds, pull the mast to vertical with the jib halyard, then measure how much you have to ease it for it to fall back to the present position.
I wouldn't actually go for vertical 'cos I think that one or two mast diameters of rake looks better - but you'll need to experiment to adjust for some weather helm. I'd definitely fit one of the multi hole fittings that someone linked to above.
Hope that helps.
Scaling from that photograph of the boat sailing, and correcting for the bow up trim.
The mast rake is in the region of 630mm.
Current forestay is approx 5,570mm
To pull the mast to vertical using the existing attachment needs the forestay shortened by 190mm.
To pull the mast to vertical using the existing stay needs a bowsprit of 525mm if raked up with the local angle of the foredeck, about 75mm less if the sprit is level.
Easy enough to check these figures (and best you do, I may have made a horrible mistake). Loosen the shrouds, pull the mast to vertical with the jib halyard, then measure how much you have to ease it for it to fall back to the present position.
I wouldn't actually go for vertical 'cos I think that one or two mast diameters of rake looks better - but you'll need to experiment to adjust for some weather helm. I'd definitely fit one of the multi hole fittings that someone linked to above.
Hope that helps.
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