shorten a forestay

AIDY

AIDY

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19 Jan 2004
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Muckle Flugga
www.ybw.com
whats involved in shortening my forestay / furlex reefing gear 98 vintage ? I'm at the bottom of the screw thread now for making it tighter and it's still slack even with loads of backstay and halyard tension.

a job for me or the rigger ?
 
Depends on the type of fitting on the lower end. I have had two boats with Furlex systems, both had a Norseman fitting at the lower end of the forestay. In this case it's a job that most people could do.

If the end is swaged you will probably need to replace the forestay, as the swaging cannot be done in situ, so it's not worth putting a used one with one new end back in place.

Taking the old one down only requires that it is released, together with the furling gear, from the masthead. This is not difficult but not everybody wants to work up there.
 
The latest ones use a Norseman-type fitting, and I daresay yours does, too. If so, the stay can be shortened, by a minumum of about 50mm. The job probably can be done in situ although it'd be a fiddle -- unless the foil itself needs shortening, in which case the lot has to come down, since any shortening must be done to the top section. The stay and foil can be removed and replaced with the mast up, although Furlex urge against it. Either way, if you're not familiar with these fittings, I'd suggest it's best to get in a pro.

Has the stay always been slack? How old is it? If it's as old as the furling gear, it's not long off renewal, anyway. Many insurers insist on 10 years for masthead rig, 7 or 8 for fractional.
 
thanks for the replies it'a a fractional rig

and the bottom of the furlex looks like this

Image1.jpg
 
I've done this twice and contrary to other opinions here I found it a fiddly, time-consuming job and I would do almost anything to avoid doing it again. The kit is good but over-engineered and not user friendly.

I reckon a fractional set-up would be marginally easier than masthead
 
Furlex bottom junction

The main problem is that you cant re-use the wire end as the strands have been bent and squashed. As a previous poster said there's a minimum loss of length. You canre use the fitting but you need to get a new cone fitting. That gets deformed as well. Furlex (at least the present model) does give excellent instuctions and my kit cme with some loctite sealant too.
You may need to compensate for an excessive loss of length by using a suitable extension piece. It sounds silly but it may be the only way.
 
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