stevie69p
Well-Known Member
I am in the process of renewing all of the standing rigging on my Halmatic 30. The existing Facnor headsail furling system was close to impossible to use, and had caused the forestay to unravel due to a badly worn top swivel, which is only available as a replacement unit at 400 odd quid. So I have bought a Plastimo 811-S system to replace it with.
Now, as a slight prelude to the advice I am going to be asking for, it seems that Plastimo have updated the system. Prior to purchase, I had downloaded the online version of the manual from Plastimo, although the only version they have online is for the 811-T, which has a twin groove foil for 2 headsails, or for bypassing the furler for racing, etc., but I reckoned the bare bones of the system would be the same other than that. However, there are some differences in what I have received.
First difference spotted is that it now comes with lengths of PVC sleeving which serves a dual purpose of clipping round the forestay wire, and also providing the slot for the sail bolt rope to go into (think figure of 8 type of extrusion. This seems to do away with the previous plastic inserts which were placed at each join in the aluminium foil sections, giving an area for the wire of the forestay to meet with the foil. So, now that is the whole length of the forestay wire. Seems sensible...
At the lower drum, the bearing carrier assembly has been machined in such a way that the supplied chain plates can be fitted to one pair of flat surfaces or the other, which allows the chain plate width spacing to be altered to suit mounting to one's boat.
Now to the advice part...
My boat's forestay is fitted with a 1/2" UNF bottle screw with a toggle that attaches to the tang on the fore deck at the stem head. The chain plates supplied with the 811-S have 5 sets of holes to allow for adjustment of the forestay length on boats that don't have a bottle screw, but instead just have an eye at the lower end. The system is meant to provide the ability to be used with either type of forestay, but the set screw and nut they provide, is M14 x 1.5 (to suit the 14mm hole in their chain plates). This M14 set screw is too wide to fit through the slot in my bottle screw. The slot will only accept a M8 set screw or bolt. I rang the supplier and they suggested fitting the Plastimo chain plates right down at the fore deck, but a) this would need an extra long clevis pin to go through the chain plates plus toggle fitting, and b) the furling drum would be sitting too low (and even with the chain plates removed for bottle screw adjustment, the drum wouldn't be able to be lifted high enough to clear the bottle screw.
What I propose to do is to use a M8 bolt plus large penny washers either side of the chain plates and go through the lower slot in the bottle screw thus, when the sail is hoisted, the body of the bolt will bear against the metal at the top of the lower slot in the bottle screw. Since the forestay is providing the tension for the mast, in my mind all this M8 set bolt will be doing is working against the sail halyard tension. This will also allow the chain plates to be removed, the halyard attached to the tack point on the drum, and lifted up the forestay, or even just supported at its' normal position to allow adjustment of the bottle screw and access to split pins, etc.
What do forum members think of this set up? Is there an alternative way that I am missing?
Now, as a slight prelude to the advice I am going to be asking for, it seems that Plastimo have updated the system. Prior to purchase, I had downloaded the online version of the manual from Plastimo, although the only version they have online is for the 811-T, which has a twin groove foil for 2 headsails, or for bypassing the furler for racing, etc., but I reckoned the bare bones of the system would be the same other than that. However, there are some differences in what I have received.
First difference spotted is that it now comes with lengths of PVC sleeving which serves a dual purpose of clipping round the forestay wire, and also providing the slot for the sail bolt rope to go into (think figure of 8 type of extrusion. This seems to do away with the previous plastic inserts which were placed at each join in the aluminium foil sections, giving an area for the wire of the forestay to meet with the foil. So, now that is the whole length of the forestay wire. Seems sensible...
At the lower drum, the bearing carrier assembly has been machined in such a way that the supplied chain plates can be fitted to one pair of flat surfaces or the other, which allows the chain plate width spacing to be altered to suit mounting to one's boat.
Now to the advice part...
My boat's forestay is fitted with a 1/2" UNF bottle screw with a toggle that attaches to the tang on the fore deck at the stem head. The chain plates supplied with the 811-S have 5 sets of holes to allow for adjustment of the forestay length on boats that don't have a bottle screw, but instead just have an eye at the lower end. The system is meant to provide the ability to be used with either type of forestay, but the set screw and nut they provide, is M14 x 1.5 (to suit the 14mm hole in their chain plates). This M14 set screw is too wide to fit through the slot in my bottle screw. The slot will only accept a M8 set screw or bolt. I rang the supplier and they suggested fitting the Plastimo chain plates right down at the fore deck, but a) this would need an extra long clevis pin to go through the chain plates plus toggle fitting, and b) the furling drum would be sitting too low (and even with the chain plates removed for bottle screw adjustment, the drum wouldn't be able to be lifted high enough to clear the bottle screw.
What I propose to do is to use a M8 bolt plus large penny washers either side of the chain plates and go through the lower slot in the bottle screw thus, when the sail is hoisted, the body of the bolt will bear against the metal at the top of the lower slot in the bottle screw. Since the forestay is providing the tension for the mast, in my mind all this M8 set bolt will be doing is working against the sail halyard tension. This will also allow the chain plates to be removed, the halyard attached to the tack point on the drum, and lifted up the forestay, or even just supported at its' normal position to allow adjustment of the bottle screw and access to split pins, etc.
What do forum members think of this set up? Is there an alternative way that I am missing?