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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Broken Forestay

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Jmurfy
Navigator

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USA
176 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/24/2005 : 00:19:33

My forestay above my roller furling just broke and I,ve only owned the boat for 2 weeks! I'm a new owner (1st sailboatboat)and want to get through the rest of this season which will only be for another 6 weeks. Is there any way to repair this without taking down the mast or should I now replace all the standing rigging while the boats in the water? Any thoughts and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2005 : 00:48:41

You will either have to drop the mast or have someone climb up there in a bosun's chair or rent a cherry picker (very expensive). With the headstay broken, I would NOT send someone up in a bosun's chair. Dropping the mast is your only realistic alternative. If the standing rigging is more than 10 years old or if there are any signs of discoloration at the point where the wire enters the swage fittings, you should replace all the rigging with new.

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Bruce Baker
Captain

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USA
402 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2005 : 09:33:02

I broke my brand new forestay just above the roller furler due to "halyard wrap". If your roller furler wraps your jib halyard around the forestay, it can cause the forestay to become un-wrapped and break--wire by wire. There is a piece of hardware that changes the halyard angle to prevent halyard wrap. Just in case this is part of your problem.

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Scooter
Navigator

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USA
228 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2005 : 14:17:45

Do you have any more information about this? Can you "see" if the halyard is wrapping? I'm not in front of the boat but where did you get this piece?

Was it normal to wrap the halyard or was it setup wrong? I have what looks like an original furler but I just replaced all my standing rigging and want to avoid disaster if possible.

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ronrryan
Admiral

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USA
561 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2005 : 21:24:49

Somewhere in the Tech Tips is a posting by an owner who showed how the CDI FF4 furler upper assembly, IF located below the swaging at the upper end of the headstay by an appreciable amount, can place an unfair strain on the headstay wire which can result in its failure. Is this a possibility? Is yours a CDI unit? If so, he shows (all this in drawings, as I recall) a method of avoiding the problem. Fair winds, ron srsk Orion #2343 in SW FL

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Bruce Baker
Captain

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USA
402 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2005 : 08:50:09

In answer to your questions about halyard wrap: yes, you can see if the halyard is wrapping around the forestay, and yes, it was set up wrong. The halyard should approach the roller furler at an angle, not straight down. I don't know what the piece of hardware is called, but it's a little roller that attaches to the mast and induces a proper angle from halyard to roller furler.

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thaind
Navigator

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Canada
145 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2005 : 09:29:29

When I bent the lower swaged fitting on my port shroud I found that I could cut it off and replace it with an overlength screw on fitting. It worked perfectly, but if done in your case it might add 6" of reinforcement to the area that you are concerned about.

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Dave Laux
Captain

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318 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2005 : 20:08:33

What furler do you have and what does the stay look like where it broke? Is it worn, fatigued, or unlayed? Dave

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Scooter
Navigator

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USA
228 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2005 : 10:55:28

I can't find the "Tech Tip" referenced above. I am interested to know more about "unwrapping" the forestay. I thiink I understand the principal but would like to see more.

Anybody know the link to that tech tip?

Edited by - on

crcalhoon
Captain

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USA
303 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2005 : 17:13:35

Derek, I just read your post, and I have a similar situation with a bent stud. Could you go into a little more detail on how you fixed it and with what. I am concerned about maintaining the correct length after the repair. Thanks

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thaind
Navigator

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Canada
145 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2005 : 23:31:06

Sta-lok makes a mechanical connector that has an extended neck that is designed to mantain the same overal length as the original swaged connector. You simply snip off the shroud at the bent swaged connector, slide on the sleive, spread the cable wires around and through the wedge, and then screw in the new threaded section. It is quick and simple, but when you find one the cost may approach a new shroud.

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ronrryan
Admiral

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USA
561 Posts

Response Posted - 08/29/2005 : 16:08:07

The Tech Tip is listed under "Windblown" and is a drawing of the problem, but I believe it pertains only to CDI furlers, inasmuch as they have no upper halyard leading aloft of the upper swivel. But I could be wrong, am not a rigger by trade, Good luck, Ron Orion srsk SW FL

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dhunt
1st Mate

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USA
83 Posts

Response Posted - 08/29/2005 : 21:31:23

Mr Murfy - I lurk around here quite a bit and when Dave Laux asks you a clarifying question, you would be well served to answer him - he is a rare resource of practical knowledge . . .

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JoergK
Navigator

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USA
140 Posts

Response Posted - 08/30/2005 : 17:39:44

The halyard wrap can be avoided by running the halyard through a fairlead that is screwed to the mast, somewhere below the masthead. The exact position of the fairlead is the point which induces the halyard to attach to the top of the furler at an angle of approximately 15 degrees vs. the forestay.
If you ever loose the forestay due to a wrap, immediately bring the topping lift, or a spare halyard, or maybe the main halyard (after lowering the main) foreward and use it as an emergency stay.

Edited by - on

Jmurfy
Navigator

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USA
176 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2005 : 13:10:50

Thanks to everyone for their insights about halyard wrap and my broken forestay. I had to replace my forestay that broke due to fatigue/halyard wrap from my Hood roller furling. Ultimately I had to bring my boat (My Joy) to a boatyard and have a rigger service it. Being a "do it yourselfer" I was frustrated with myself for not having the knowledge to do it on my own. I'm a 1st time owner and am on that first huge learning curve. Hopefully by next year I'll feel comfortable taking the mast down and replacing rigging and making repairs on my own. I need to find somebody in the Chicago area with Catalina 25 or equivlent knowledge that I can bounce ideas off and help learn/share maintenance tasks with.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2005 : 13:35:02

One of the beauties of sailing is the tolerances of most repairs are pretty gross. It really doesn't take as much experience as it does care and love. You will probably find that you will do most repairs better than a boat yard would simply because you love the boat. Don't be afraid to tackle things.
CAVEAT: you might ask here before using drills, saws, or explosives!

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.