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.
In the process of inspecting my standing rigging for the coming season, I discovered that the turnbuckle lower for the starboard upper shroud had bent. I presume this was from improper tuning, am I correct? I also found that the forestay swaged end turnbuckle threads were badly galled. I replaced them with new equipment, but learned a good lesson to inspect the rigging and properly lubricate the turnbuckles! I think the forestay turnbuckle could have come apart with any significant loading under sail...
The bolt was probably bent when the mast was raised. When the mast is raised, you have to pay close attention to how the connectors are aligned. If you start to raise the mast with the stays lying on the deck, then they will often come up cockeyed instead of being aligned so that they are pointing upwards. The way I used to make sure they were aligned pointing upwards was to tie the stays to the lifelines with a thin rubber band before raising the mast. As the mast is raised, the stays become taut, and the rubber bands break. By the time the rubber bands break, the mast is already beyond the point where the bolts can be bent.
As is often the case when you get advice on the forum, I learned this the hard way.
Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind" previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22 Past Commodore
Yup--mast raising is almost always the culprit for bent toggles. How old is the rigging? Are the turnbuckles closed (tubular stainless) or open-body (bronze, with the ends of the threaded studs visible)? If the former (like Catalina originals), it's probably time to replace the rigging. Catalina Direct sells full stay/shroud kits with open-body bronze turnbuckles--the only kind to have. One reason is galling (they don't)... another is being able to see where the studs are in the turnbuckle body... another is being able to lock the turnbuckle from turning, with a cotter pin through the stud rather than a lock-nut that only needs to loosen a tiny bit to be useless.
A rigger might be able to give you a better deal than CD--mine couldn't, said to buy the CD kit, and installed it, saying it fit like a glove. (He made rigging for boats up to SORC racers and world cruisers.)
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
There you go! 34 years? Salt water... Borrowed time. (Ever seen a mast come down?)
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Thank you for all the responses. Yes, the rigging is all being replaced - which was one of the main reasons for bringing down the mast. I'm not sure if the rigging is original equipment or not, but I would say it is at least 10 - 15 years old. I bought the boat last summer and have spent a lot of time replacing original equipment.
It did have the barrel-type turnbuckles. The wire looked ok, but the turnbuckles looked shady to me. Once I took them apart, I found that I had reason to be suspicious.
While the mast was down, I also replaced the halyards, new aluminum/ball bearing sheaves, new LED anchor & masthead lighting, wiring, VHF antenna, and a new Windex.
I just always liked that name! Actually, I'm just down the Ho Chi Minh Trail a piece from you.
Good judgement on the rigging... The wire can look fine, but down inside the swages where oxygen is scarce and contaminates collect, there can be "crevice corrosion" that causes the wire to part and come out of the swage. About the only way to detect that is x-ray, which is tough to justify for a 25' boat. In a saltwater environment, conventional wisdom is 15 years, although people commonly go longer... You'll feel very secure with the new wire and bronze open-body turnbuckles.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
West Marine LED 2nm "all round" Navigation/Pole Light (anchor light). I modified it by cutting off the plastic base and inserting it into the CD mount. I secured it with a drilled/tapped 10x32 machine screw and waterproofed the joint with 3M UV resistant silicone sealant.
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Dave, Haha- it's all in the name. I actually spent some time (served time) in Djibouti. It's a real vacation spot... a hidden gem really.
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.