Jackstays - material??

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sparkie

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Hi all, there was a recent thread about jackstays, which I'm thinking of fitting next year, and much comment and dire warnings about rotting of the material, thread etc. by UV. I'm puzzled by this, as I always assumed that webbing and rope were both made from polyester, and I've some rope on my boat that must be 20 years old, always outside, and still appears to be as strong as ever. Still hoists the big tan baggy things anyway. Am I wrong in my assumption, and if so is it possible to get webbing made from polyester and avoid the rot??

Sparkie
 
Polyester does degrade in sunlight - albeit more slowly than nylon derivatives. The jackstays may take high shockloadings across edges on the leash carabiners. I would replace them every couple of years even if they look good
 
The jackstays on my old boat were wire - as in the same stuff used for shrouds etc. You just don't need it to be as heavy duty as the rigging, and obviously, it's not affected by UV
Just a thought..........
 
Yes I'd probably avoid wire for that reason, although the coachroof on mine is pretty much a no-go area anyway due to other obstructions.

Sparkie
 
We bought crane strops from a local base that makes them up in Suffolk. (They do lots of industrial chain and rope and stuff and there'll be one in most localities I'd've thought). Some enormously high breaking strain and shock load tolerance and about £14 for a pair for a 10m. They come with a very strong eye at each end.

We have installed heavily backed through-bolted folding eyes at each end of the deck. At the forward end, the strop goes through the folding eye and through itself. We then eyespliced strong line into the loop at the other end. That line goes through the other pad eye and is very strongly seized back onto itself. A strong seizing is said to be stronger than a knot, and certainly manages better with the fact that it is not under tension. It's also flatter and neater on the deck.

This means we can take the jackstays off when the boat is not in commission (which is actually extremely rare!) extending the life of the strops. Even so, we plan to replace them after three seasons (they've done two).

The only disadvatnage is that the width of the strop is slightly too big for the clips on some of our safety lines and that makes it fiddly to move along them at times. Or making sure you've put the right tethers on if you go forward/aft (we're a centre cockpit boat).

Also, these strops must be colour coded according to breaking strain, which means they're purple, matching absolutely nothing else on board. But that's a small price to pay for their strength, price and convenience.
 
Wire jackstays subject eyebolts or eyes at ends to truly awesome shock loads if subjected to someone (or in the case I remember) goes overboard. Jackstays held but eyebolts distorted and almost pulled through deck despite solid-looking backing pads.

For that resaon I prefer webbing, much more elasticity, but take off in winter and keep an eye on condition. After 2 years summers use i think mine are OK for another year, but will probably replace next year anyway.
 
Hi Abigail, yes we have a local chain and lifting equipment firm, not thought of that, will be worth having a word.

Cheers

Sparkie
 
Be just as concerned about the stitching material. Is that UV stable?

I tape over my stitching each year when I refit them. Prior to taping they get an annual visual check.

Oh yes, I replace them every 3 years anyway.
 
Webbing jackstays are one of those items that only get used in anger (ie save you from going over the side) once in a blue moon. So I'd not go for savings here - get properly made up jackstays to the right length for your boat, and be nice to them - stow them when the boat is not in use.

PWG
 
The crane strops have a bonus of actually being cheap. Fact is they are fantastically strong and in particular have extremely well sewn loops on the ends - as pointed out above sewing is an important weak point. This quality supports extremely effective attachment to the boat itself.

You can get them made up to the right length (at significant additional cost), but you still have to fix them on somehow. After a lot of consideration we chose the method described above, but you could alternatively use shackles etc. We didn't not least because of trip hazards on our already rather overcrowded aft deck.

They provide a rare example of a better product also being a good price. Perhaps it's because nobody using the word marine or chandlery has to be involved in their supply.
 
John Teire in Liverpool will make them for you, and they come certificated. Cost is regular industrial price not inflated yacht markup prices. They also do rope and chain.
 
Thanks for that BW, just over the water. Will look them up.

Thanks to all, think I'm convinced now that they need to be quite a bit more robust than I'd first thought, and properly maintained............

Sparkie
 
My last boat (Contessa 28 - wonderful sailer - came with plastic covered jackstays. I decided to swap them for webbing. Starboard side wire stay released aft , carried forward and parted in centre under zero strain. Never trust plastic covered ss. wire. I'm about to change the guard wires on my Beneteau 311 for uncovered ss. Anybody know where I can source grommets for the stanchions to reduce wear?
 
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Anybody know where I can source grommets for the stanchions to reduce wear?

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I would sugest that you cover the ss wire at the stanchions using adhesive coated heat shrink tuning. It is readily available in a choice of colours.

Iain
 
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