Top 10 points of failure?

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Ping, it was in the clevis pin at the bottom of the rigging screw on the starboard lower shroud. We'd been sailing close hauled on port for some 36 hours, running from a decaying East coast low that had caught us around 50 miles N of Lord Howe. Had a knockdown and a near knockdown, the latter sheared off our windvane rudder. At that point we aborted the voyage from Sydney to New Cal and headed for Moreton Bay where we intended to build a new rudder. We were knackered from around 5 days of severe wx, so when we heard the evening f/c saying that by midnight the winds (still around 30-35 and noserly) would abate we hove to on starboard, 2 reefs and the staysail. All was well for a couple of hours, then the mast fell down. Came on deck, found no broken bits (other than the mast), but that pesky clevis rolling about the deck. Dunno how it happened, but happen it did! Bloody expensive split pin, it was!


Jim

Ouch!

My little story... some things on a boat you just accept and if they still seem to be doing the job and that's how it is shown in the book of instructions you just let it be.....

So it came to pass that while in Bora Bora bound west I went aloft to check things. About a year and 7000 miles since the mast was last out of the boat.

Now, the Selden furler / forestay business is attached to the top of the mast as shown in the pic ( from a Selden guide) ... clevis pin secured with a cotter/split pin... nothing else ... no washer... just as shown..

On inspection I found that one 'leg' of the split pin was missing..... entire rig relying on a one-legged split pin. I think with the forestay you can get a bit of transverse loading at the pin....

So I replaced it.. not that easy as the split pin was under load and I had to give a ' technical tap' to the clevis pin to drive it a milli-whatsit back in.

In Tonga a cupla thousand miles and a few weeks later I went aloft again and found that once more I had a one legged split pin....

When the rig was out of the boat in NZ I had the clevis pin replaced with what I suppose is an over length threaded clevis pin aka a bolt with a split pin securing the nut... I sleep better now....

[El Pinguino]

And also... a sister ship blog .... check the two toggle pix.. its enough to make a bloke buy a motor boat ...

https://yachtcamomile.co.uk/job-list/blue-water-re-rig/

[JPA Cate]

El Ping,

Pretty scary pics. Imo, ultimately he made a wise decision, Mr. Chamomile.

Ann

[captmikem]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

running from a decaying East coast low that had caught us around 50 miles N of Lord Howe.At that point we aborted the voyage from Sydney to New Cal and headed for Moreton Bay where we intended to build a new rudder. We were knackered from around 5 days of severe wx,

Jim

Jim,
What month was that? In 96 (will have to look at my log to find the date) I was sailing from Auckland to Sydney, wx came up and I was hove to for a couple of days or so, thought about going into Lord Howe, in fact I went around and took a look, but it was night and really to rough to try, couldn't lay Sidney so I went to Brissy. (where I was too tall or too deep, so went back out and up to Mooloolaba). But that was some just miserable wx, and took a while to let up.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, that was a piece of bad wx and even hove to it was like being in a washing meachine, seas from every direction. Seemed to last forever. A split ring... Lot of damage. Kind of surprise you can do without.

M

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by captmikem

Jim,
What month was that? In 96 (will have to look at my log to find the date) I was sailing from Auckland to Sydney, wx came up and I was hove to for a couple of days or so, thought about going into Lord Howe, in fact I went around and took a look, but it was night and really to rough to try, couldn't lay Sidney so I went to Brissy. (where I was too tall or too deep, so went back out and up to Mooloolaba). But that was some just miserable wx, and took a while to let up.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, that was a piece of bad wx and even hove to it was like being in a washing meachine, seas from every direction. Seemed to last forever. A split ring... Lot of damage. Kind of surprise you can do without.

M

IIRC, it was June 27 1996 when we lost the mast, so the bad wx must have begun around the 23rd or so. Long time ago, and the logs are buried somewhere on board.

It was pretty crappy wx for sure, and the chaotic seas were, as you say, pretty damn disorganized. Worst sea conditions we have ever encountered, but not the strongest winds... 50-55 sustained for what seemed like a month. Hope never to see the like again.

Some time later I was chatting with a Met office chap about it. He remembered the storm, and told us that two of the four models they consulted showed the ECL forming, the other two diid not. Unfortunately for us, the four day MSLs that we consulted (no internet wx back then) were based on one that did not.

And fwiw, it wasn't a split ring, but a proper split pin (cotter pin to us Yanks). We don't use the rings because they are far too easy to snag and pull out. It seems that the same is possible with split pins too! No idea how it was withdrawn, but the evidence is pretty damning that it was!

Jim

[barnakiel]

These are exactly the style of toggle I have seen fail at least twice.

Who makes them?

When I got our new top shrouds last time from the rigger I asked for a different style AND YET I got these.

Or is it all (----) made in China and we can no longer get quality toggles (unless we have them machined from some old Sandvik supply)?

I will have a look at ours again. Maybe I can get something different. I can afford new lower studs allright but can I afford an new rig?

Oh my.

Cheers,
b.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Dunno how it happened, but happen it did! Bloody expensive split pin, it was! Jim

Lets blame Rod or Olin Stephens. They are the ones who said the legs should only be split 30 deg.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Guy

Lets blame Rod or Olin Stephens. They are the ones who said the legs should only be split 30 deg.

Ya know, considering how difficult it can be to remove split pins when you want them out, accidental extraction seems nigh unto impossible. I've been fretting about that pin for over twenty years now...

Jim

[model 10]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I've been fretting about that pin for over twenty years now...Jim

You must be out of ideas. In my rigging there are 2 sizes of holes in 1/2" clevis pins. One takes a bigger Cotter pin than the other. If you had a big hole clevis pin and and a too smalll split pin, bent to only 30 deg, it could work itself out. Nothing gets more tight. Pretty far fetched, but in aviation we bend the tails all the way around

[David M]

In my experience, the greatest cost of operating a boat are all the things that constantly nickel and dime you. That category alone is well over $5000 per year.

Can that be a category unto itself?