Association Forum - Proper angle for lower shroud swage fitting?

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
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.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

Proper angle for lower shroud swage fitting?

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

Member Avatar

2272 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/20/2011 : 14:14:50

A year ago when I purchased my C250, the surveyor was not pleased with the attachment of the lower shrouds to the mast:

<center>

</center>

In his survey report he noted "Lower shrouds do not have fair lead to mast." I protested mildly, because there were several other C250s and other model Catalinas in the yard with exactly the same issue. It appeared that the swage fittings come from the Catalina factory that way.

Since then I have seen some Catalinas with more "straight" swage fittings, but also many others that are curved just like mine. I do not think it is an issue, and if I were to buy new standing rigging from Catalina I have a funny feeling I'd get exactly the same thing.

However, I am in the process of changing my insurance to BoatUS, and sure enough they expressed some concern over this from the survey report. This is the only item from the survey that I did not address in the past year, because I did not think it was an issue.

Now that I have dropped the mast for the winter I was able to inspect the swage fitting, and it looks pristine to my untrained (but picky) eye. There is no sign of any cracking or other signs of stress in the swage or the cable.

I have a feeling that if I hired someone I could get a multitude of opinions, so I thought I'd seek your free advice from your experience with these boats. Does your C250's lower shroud look like this, or is it more straight? Have you ever seen an issue with this? Has your surveyor or insurance company ever expressed concern?

FWIW, the upper shroud swage fittings have exactly the same bend. Apparently it was too high up for the surveyor to notice it.

Rick S., Swarthmore, PA
PO of Take Five, 1998 Catalina 250WK #348 (relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor)
New owner of 2001 Catalina 34MkII #1535 Breakin' Away (at Rock Hall Landing Marina)

Edited by - TakeFive on 03/23/2011 10:46:09

djbano
1st Mate

Members Avatar

67 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2011 : 10:59:29

My uppers and lowers look like that as well. I plan on examining the swages very carefully before stepping the spar this year. When I first got the boat and looked at the way the shrouds "attach" to the mast it made me a little uneasy. I haven't seen any stories on the web of someone losing a mast on a C250 due to the design.

Edited by - on

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2011 : 13:45:53

Looks like a cost cutting measure during production. On the C25 the swage fittings are straight, however, they are attached to the mast with plates or "tangs" that are bent. Probably not structural, but it doesn't look just right.

Edited by - on

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

2272 Posts

Response Posted - 03/23/2011 : 15:09:21

I am not sure that curved swage terminals would be any cheaper than straight ones. I'm sure that Catalina buys these from a common fabricator.

Since posting my message, I have done a little more research on this, and I have a hypothesis. First, most of the swage t-terminals that I found on google are curved just like mine:
<center>

</center>

If you extend the centerline of the neck to the "t" part, the centerline should intersect with the point where the "t" contacts the hole in the mast. When this happens, the neck and cable will align properly and the cable will extend directly out from the neck. This is the way that it is "supposed" to be, and the purpose of the curve is obviously to give the neck some room to pivot about the contact point for shrouds at different angles (depending on upper/lower, and the beam of the boat).

So what is different about my boat (and some of your boats)? My hypothesis is that the newer boats have stainless steel "liners" riveted into the mast hole to prevent the softer aluminum extrusion (which is a rather light gauge as masts go) from gouging over the years of use. But this "liner" is significantly thicker than the extrusion, and it also makes the hole smaller, and therefore moves the t-terminal's point of contact so that it does not align with the centerline of the "neck." As a result, the whole thing is slightly out of alignment with the shroud. But the benefit is less wear on the mast.

I think this is why I've seen so many newer Catalinas with this "problem." Since I have yet to hear about a rig failure that was caused by this specific issue, I'm not going to worry about it - though I will inspect closely for wear annually when I drop the mast.

The insurance company issued my policy based on my argument that it comes from the factory this way.

Edited by - TakeFive on 03/24/2011 06:44:39

Tradewind
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
531 Posts

Response Posted - 03/24/2011 : 06:01:13

I agree with the surveyor, it is not correct or proper. Think about the mechanics of it, the uneven stress. I noticed it when I surveyed my boat before I bought it, it's a concern and I monitor the fitting often. Can't understand why the factory would let something like this be put on their boats, I'm sure the 355 and 375 are not rigged like that.

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
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.