Posted by JoanJohn@… (JoanJohn@…)
Hi guys -
I have a Freedom 45 and my thirteen yo forestay broke without any visible signs of corrosion where it went into the swaged fitting. We are offshore overnight between Charleston and Southport, NC just last week. There were only four “shiny” breaks of the 19 strands. I guess the others went a few at a time over some period of time. We ran the jib back up as a “drifter” after I secured the stay.
Free standing rigging is just that - no stays required. The forestay (standing, not “running rigging”) is not essential to the standing rigging. In fact, I feel that it is detrimental to the rig when motoring in seas and the mast flexes fore and aft and “jerks” on the stay. I am having running back stays installed this winter (for other rerasons as well), and will be glad to have some fore-and-aft stability where ithe forestay is concerned.
Hall Rigging made a new one and sent it within four days.
I hope this opinion helps.
John Ernst
Hertford, NC
Posted by George E. Herchenroether (g.herk@…>)
GLORY had the
same experience last summer in Maine. Paul Dennis and Hall had me good to go in no
time.
I rigged a
running jibstay as we had 200 miles to go, but I think it was more for my
imagination than anything. The real downside is the loss of the
jib. But I
wonder if I could have used the gennaker.
Herk and Milly
GLORY, F45-28
George
E. Herchenroether
4
Bush St
Newport, RI 02840
401.847.2028
401.338.5329
mobile
Posted by rick_simonds (rick_simonds@…>)
“…my thirteen yo forestay broke without any visible signs of
corrosion where it went into the swaged fitting…”
A suggestion I heard, that I’ve done, and seems to be working:
Put a toggle in the stay, top and bottom, 90 degrees to the existing
clevis pins. It allows the stay to swivel in any direction.
As the jib stay was originally set up on my F32, the stay could swivel
fore and aft but not athwartships. The stay always had an un-fair
sideways load on the wire when the sail was up. The maximum stress is
right where the wire enters the end fitting and that’s where mine
broke. Installing a toggle allows the stay to pivot sideways and line
up to the force. It makes the stress go down the center of the wire
instead of bending the entrance to wire at the end fitting.