Improve my headstay?

[greenlantern]

This photo is the headstay and roller reefing drum on my 27 foot boat when I bought it this year.... doesn't look right somehow. Anyway I want to replace the studs on the stem head and drum at least, so maybe a good time to modify and improve the mounting?


What does this need?

[nuku34]

Greenlantern:
The setup with the 2 sets of tangs is just a way of adjusting the forestay length. There is nothing wrong with that system. By sliding the 2 sets of tangs past each other and putting that upper clevis pin (its not a"stud") in different holes, you can lengthen or shorten the forestay (and adjust the "rake" of your mast).

Why do you want to replace the existing clevis pins? Are they cracked or badly rusted? Or is it just for peace of mind? The top one is a bit long, you could replace with a shorter one. Its probably a good idea to replace both clevis pins anyway. If either of them lets go, you have the mast come down. The bottom clevis pin should have a split pin to lock it, not a round ring.


To keep things like sails and hands from snagging on the split pin (that's what goes through the clevis pin to stop it from working its way out -kind of like a not on a bolt) people wrap tape around the whole assembly.

[greenlantern]

Yes thanks for your helpful reply! Peace of mind is the whole idea.
Now the question is how to replace the clevis pins without disrupting the mast?
I can somehow secure the forestay while swapping out the pins?

And.. So.I don't need a "toggle" in this assembly to prevent side loads? Or would this just be a new weak link..

[Brioche]

You can loosen the forestay by using a spare halyard - maybe a spinnaker halyard, forward to s secure point, winching it as tight as possible, and then releasing tension from your backstay. If you have swept spreaders, you may have to take some tension off them as well. As long as you don't have sails up, you do not need a lot of tension on the stays simply to keep the mast up, so a halyard is enough to replace the forestay while you work on it, as long as other stays are also a bit slack.

[5BTM]

Originally Posted by greenlantern

Yes thanks for your helpful reply! Peace of mind is the whole idea.
Now the question is how to replace the clevis pins without disrupting the mast?
I can somehow secure the forestay while swapping out the pins?

And.. So.I don't need a "toggle" in this assembly to prevent side loads? Or would this just be a new weak link..

Loosen the backstay and use the spinnaker halyard as a forestay. That should give you enough slack.

If you don't have a spare halyard a ratcheting cargo strap, one end wrapped around the genoa the other attached to the bow.

[5BTM]

"The bottom clevis pin should have a split pin to lock it, not a round ring."

Why?

[ItDepends]

Originally Posted by greenlantern

Yes thanks for your helpful reply! Peace of mind is the whole idea.
Now the question is how to replace the clevis pins without disrupting the mast?
I can somehow secure the forestay while swapping out the pins?

And.. So.I don't need a "toggle" in this assembly to prevent side loads? Or would this just be a new weak link..

Assuming there is not one hidden up under the drum in the photo, Yes! you DO need to toggle this assemble for side loads.

See, you know more than you think you do

[ItDepends]

Originally Posted by 5BTM

"The bottom clevis pin should have a split pin to lock it, not a round ring."

Why?

Round rings are for none life-critical applications which need to be frequently disassembled or adjusted easily without the need for tools. That should tell you something right there...

Round rings have an annoying tendency to come undone all by themselves. That kind of sucks when it is on the headstay and the mast comes down into the cockpit.

[nuku34]

In reply to ItDepends: I personally don't think the OP needs a toggle at the point where the forestay attaches to the stem piece. There's enough "slop" in the double tang assembly to account for side loads.

However, if the OP thinks that a toggle is necessary, he's going to have to shorten the double tang assembly to take up th length of the toggle. Why?
If you look closely at his photo, you will see that the double tang adjuster is already at its minimum length. So that means cutting a few cm off all four tangs so the toggle can be added without lengthening the overall length of the forestay thus changing the mast rake.

Can be done, but cutting the 2 tangs on the furler with a hacksaw will be a PITA. I don't think the OP will want to take the whole furler down to do this. It could be done with the furler hanging off the mast, but I don't know how handy our OP is.


Also, we are all assuming that the mast rake is correct. In fact, it may not be. If I were the OP, having bought a boat with unknown history, I'd take it out sailing on a hard beat in various winds and see how the helm balance is. If there a bit of weather helm, fine. Then clean up the forestay attachment, maybe adding a toggle and cutting the tangs shorter to compensate.
However, it MAY turn out that there is lee helm and the mast needs to be raked aft. In that case, adding a toggle will solve 2 problems. All this assumes that the OP actually understands what lee and weather helm is all about.

[Jamme]

It seems as PO used the bottom hole of the original stay adjuster (some rust evidencing where the pin was), then added a second adjuster / tang to have three holes more to extend the stay. I’d be curious to understand the reason for this extension. Is the mast plumb? How does it look like when seeing the boat laterally from a distance?
Fair winds and congrats on the purchase.

[stormalong]

Looking at that photo it seems to me that the clevis pins are under size for the holes they go through. If that is true they should be replaced with the proper diameter pins. The pins are point loaded and are therefore much weaker. A clevis pin should fill the hole it goes through with very little clearance.

If any piece of standing rigging needs a toggle the forestay is it. The forestay has a lot of side loading and it needs to be able to move. Not allowing it to move means metal flexing and metal fatigue.

So my advise would be:
Replace the clevis pins.
Remove those chainplate extensions and put a toggle in it's place.
Carefully inspect the holes where the clevis pins go through for deformation (elongation).

[greenlantern]

Great advice for my forstay... The boat sails perfectly balanced on almost all points of sail. I will keep the rake as is - this was a good insight. There is some lateral play on this assembly and I am going to go with this for now Adding a toggle is beyond my capability but it will go on the list for the full pro re-rigging in the future. Excellent advice about clevis pin size, i will get bigger pins. I am going to use a halyard to stabilize the mast during this operation. And I think I can insert a screwdriver as a drift pin in the tang holes to fix the position for the top pin replacement

[Eric50]

Hi everybody,

I agree with the clevis pin maintenance / replacement and the side load freedom to be assessed and improved if necessary.