Rigging issue
- Thread starter PabloPicasso
- Start date
neil_s
Well-known member
Corrosion of the inner strands?
RunAgroundHard
Well-known member
The two strands that are slightly misshapen look as if they have been pulled out of the lay.
The metal may have deformed. I would plan to replace.
It looks like it has been unwound, then rewound and the misplaced strands have not wound back in. Below the misplaced strands the lay looks tighter compared to above the misplaced strands.
The metal may have deformed. I would plan to replace.
It looks like it has been unwound, then rewound and the misplaced strands have not wound back in. Below the misplaced strands the lay looks tighter compared to above the misplaced strands.
vyv_cox
Well-known member
Is this something new? Not unusual to see this in newly swaged fittings but I would be concerned if it had developed in an old swage.
PabloPicasso
Well-known member
Can you expand on those concerns? What do you think might be happening?
Mast will be down for the winter come October.
MontyMariner
Well-known member
Could be that the wire got bent the last time the mast was down.
Boathook
Well-known member
If it was mine it be be sorted out very quickly, especially if the boat was being used.
veshengro
Well-known member
Looks to me as if the stay has been kinked in the past and had weight (tensioning) applied before it was noticed. Running the kink out and re-tensioning doesn't always get the lay of the wire to reform, if the bottle screw has been tightened too much when the wire is kinked.
PabloPicasso
Well-known member
So not an immediatly threatening issue?
William_H
Well-known member
OP should not take the advice given here seriously in terms of likely threat to loss of mast. If the stay is older than say15 years then yes it should be replaced. Not so difficult if he can get up the mast and remove the top connection of the stay so remove it to get a replacement. Mast should be ok left standing with just a halyard used as a substitute stay. If he wants to continue sailing with that stay it could be paralleled with a halyard or similar to take load if the stay let go while sailing. What really matters is the sense of confidence or concern he will have while sailing if he just ignores it. Yes stays do let go without warning often resulting in mast coming down. ol'will
Daydream believer
Well-known member
Normally one might see that on a furling forestay. But it might happen when a shroud has been poorly tensioned & one side of a bottlescrew has been allowed to rotate causing the wire to unravel at that point.
It could be a result of a kink if it had been disconnected for some reason - as suggested above.
But will it lead it failure? Depends what shroud it is on. ie lowers fore & aft with not a great tension,or upper supporting the mast head, with 20% tension. It may be an inner forestay, lower down the mast.That is not going to be a serious threat. OP does not say.
Personally I would look at replacing ASAP if it is a furling forestay, or a major shroud. I would also take William H's advice #10 about changing the rigging if it is 15 years old anyway. I change mine at 10 years
One has to look at what sailing one is doing. If one is just pottering round the estuary in F3 at odd weekends, one could get away with it until the winter. If one is going cross channel for a couple of weeks, with the chance of hitting F6, then it is a no no.
It could be a result of a kink if it had been disconnected for some reason - as suggested above.
But will it lead it failure? Depends what shroud it is on. ie lowers fore & aft with not a great tension,or upper supporting the mast head, with 20% tension. It may be an inner forestay, lower down the mast.That is not going to be a serious threat. OP does not say.
Personally I would look at replacing ASAP if it is a furling forestay, or a major shroud. I would also take William H's advice #10 about changing the rigging if it is 15 years old anyway. I change mine at 10 years
One has to look at what sailing one is doing. If one is just pottering round the estuary in F3 at odd weekends, one could get away with it until the winter. If one is going cross channel for a couple of weeks, with the chance of hitting F6, then it is a no no.
Last edited:
Refueler
Well-known member
That is the most likely scenario .... not uncommon for a stay to be 'kinked' or caught while raising a mast ... and when stay starts to take tension - it does that.
Its very difficult and usually near impossible to get the strands to re-lay uniformly. As to replacement .... that's up to you ....
PabloPicasso
Well-known member
Ok. Wait until mast down in October it is.
It is a lower starboard inner shroud.
It is a lower starboard inner shroud.
William_H
Well-known member
OK your decision, and I would respect that. However don't imagine lower shrouds are not important. They hold the middle of the mast (or bottom third) in column. The load on the mast down wards especially from forestay is huge and can if the mast is allowed to buckle (sideways) and get out of column and snap the mast off very quickly. I lost mast a long time ago when swept back spreader on fractional rig lost it's sweep back. This allowed mast middle to move aft out of column and it crumpled .
Ok sounds like your rig has lower and upper inner shrouds plus cap shrouds. (2 sets of spreaders) So may survive shroud failure but this depends on how robust the mast is and how hard you are sailing. ol'will
peter gibbs
Active member
You have to replace this , the integral strength of the lay has been compromised. Rust is evident. But it is highly unlikely to fail short term under normal conditions - the core is likely good for a short while.
It will be easy to detatch at the top and order like for like replacement..The bottlescrew is likely still good, but if turning it proves stiff, the thread may be galling. Replace. Be sure to capture the exact length between bearing points - use tape markers. The mast will stand OK if halyards are used to secure it. I've done this personally - just needs careful planning.
