[Rhodes22-list] Forestay Wire Size Upgrade

Mon Jun 2 16:14:26 EDT 2003

Bob,

You would have to drill out both the furling drum & the bearing assembly at
the top of the furling tube to fit the new larger wire size.  You may have
1/4" OD wire in your forestay, but are you certain you are not looking at
the OD of one of the terminals?  The 5/32" OD wire which is rigged @ the
factory is plenty strong enough, so you certainly don't need to supersize
from 1/4" OD!  As I said in my earlier post, I suspect you may have somehow
kinked the forestay at some point, thus speeding its demise.  Larger
diameter wire will not help if there is some flaw in your trailering or mast
stepping procedures that causes the forestay to get  kinked.  Stainless
steel wire rope does NOT tolerate being kinked, not even once!  Take a close
look at how you do those two operations & I bet you will solve the failure
mystery.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Keller" <r22yankeeclipper at hotmail.com>
To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2003 11:19 AM
Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Forestay Wire Size Upgrade

> Roger & Rummy,
> Could I super-size the stay by drilling a larger hole in the roller furler
> drums?  Or would it be better to leave well enough alone and keep the size
> the same.  I thought that I had 1/4" wire, but you (Roger) said that you
> increased the size up to 3/16"  I'm confused (as usual).
> Bob K
>
>
> >From: "John Tonjes" <johntonjes at earthlink.net>
> >Reply-To: johntonjes at earthlink.net,The Rhodes 22 mail list
> ><rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Forestay Wire Size Upgrade
> >Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2003 08:54:33 -0400
> >
> >Roger,
> >Thank you. We tried to convince Captain Bob that the wire broke due to
> >operator error and you helped to reinforce our opinions. Sometimes it's
> >hardest to see the forest through the trees.
> >
> >Rummy
> >
> >
> > > [Original Message]
> > > From: Roger Pihlaja <cen09402 at centurytel.net>
> > > To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> > > Date: 6/2/2003 7:43:57 AM
> > > Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Forestay Wire Size Upgrade
> > >
> > > Bob,
> > >
> > > When I upgraded my roller furler from the stock GBI unit to a Harken
> >Unit
> >0,
> > > I increased the forestay wire size from 5/32" OD up to 3/16" OD.  I
made
> > > this upgrade because 3/16" OD was the largest wire size that would fit
> >the
> > > Harken Unit 0 and the differences in cost, weight, & windage were
> > > negligible.  There was a significant upgrade in safety margin as the
max
> > > tensile breaking strength was increased by about 35%.  Just make
certain
> >the
> > > end fittings use the same size pins as you have now.  Before you make
> >this
> > > change in wire size, be certain your OEM roller furler can handle it.
> >My
> > > guess is that it will not be able to work with the larger wire OD.
> >There
> > > probably won't be sufficient clearance for the mechanism to turn
easily.
> > >
> > > It is rare that a wire rope will simply fail W/O any warning in the
> >middle
> > > of its length, especially in light air.  Most the time, progressive
wire
> > > rope degradation or imminent failure can be detected by inspecting the
> >wire
> > > visually & running your hand or a cloth along it.  Single strand
> >failures
> >in
> > > a wire rope usually show up as curled "meat hooks" that you will feel
> >with
> > > your hand or will snag a rag.
> > >
> > > It is especially important to inspect the fittings at the ends of the
> >wire
> > > rope.  Look for tiny cracks &/or discoloration (usually rust or black
in
> > > color) in the fitting or the wire near the fitting.  If you see any
> >cracks
> > > or discoloration; then, immediately take the piece to a rigging shop
or
> >just
> > > simply replace it.
> > >
> > > Your post implies you suspect your forestay was somehow getting
> >repeatedly
> > > kinked just below the bottom of the furling drum as a result of the
> > > trailering process.  If this is the case; then, you need to change
your
> > > trailering &/or mast stepping procedures.  In thousands of trailering
> >miles
> > > & dozens of mast steps since 1987, my forestay has never been kinked
as
> >a
> > > result of trailering or mast stepping.  If your forestay was getting
> > > repeatedly kinked in the same spot, this would be very bad for the
wire.
> > > Upgading to a larger wire size will do little to fix this problem.
> > > Stainless steel wire rope is not very tolerant of kinks.  So, if your
> > > trailering &/or mast stepping procedures are causing the forestay to
be
> > > kinked; then, figure out some other way accomplish the same task W/O
> >kinking
> > > the wire.
> > >
> > > Good luck, Bob!
> > >
> > > Roger Pihlaja
> > > S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> > >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Bob Keller" <r22yankeeclipper at hotmail.com>
> > > To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> > > Sent: Sunday, June 01, 2003 11:32 PM
> > > Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Frigging Rigging
> > >
> > >
> > > > While sailing today on a rather calm day on Lake Hartwell, my latest
> > > > calamity was that my forestay broke.  Yep, it broke off right at the
> > > bottom
> > > > of the furler drum.  Could have been worse because Roger R shinnied
up
> >the
> > > > mast (amazing thing to see) and tied a line just above the spreaders
> >which
> > > > we secured to the bow cleat to keep the mast from going too far.
> > > Meanwhile,
> > > > Rummy was mixing drinks below, oblivious to the goings-on up above.
> >We
> > > > motored back from Big Water and dropped the mast.
> > > >
> > > > Looks like the forestay was bent too many times, possibly from
> >trailering,
> > > > and it finally gave way.
> > > >
> > > > It was recommended to me to upsize the forestay to 5/16" (by the
same
> > > people
> > > > who told me to pull my diamondboard  down all the way unti lit is
> > > > perpendicular to the boat!).  Does anyone have experience or
knowledge
> >of
> > > > using a slightly larger stay?  Any problems to be aware of?  Sounds
> >like a
> > > > good idea to me, but I wanted to check the list to see if anyone has
> >done
> > > > this before?  Thanks.
> > > > Bob K
> > > > s/v Yankee Clipper
> > > >
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