"Gordon" wrote in message
m...

Zac's forestay snapped 10 foot above deck. Anyone care to venture why it
snapped at that point?
This was new rigging and inside a roller furling.
Gordon


Ha ha ha! Told y'all so. The boy doesn't have a suitable boat and he doesn't
know what he's doing.

It's very easy to figure out why it broke ten foot above deck. Wind the
damned sail up and that's where the clue and sheets end up. Any rocking and
rolling of the boat creates a stress point right there. Stainless steel work
hardens and crystallizes when bent back and forth. Now, we all know how much
Zac motors - he's always relying on his motor and we've heard how rough the
seas have been a lot of the time when the wind was down and his was motoring
along rolling from gunwale to gunwale. Each and every time the sheets yank
on the headstay ten feet up where the clew wraps.

I've been telling you people for too many years to count that roll-up sails
are unseamanlike. This is just further proof. He was stupid to go to sea
with anything other than a selection of 6-8 reliable hank-on headsails for
any and all conditions of wind.

I hope this helps.

Wilbur Hubbard

"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote

It's very easy to figure out why it broke ten foot above deck. Wind the
damned sail up and that's where the clue and sheets end up. Any rocking
and rolling of the boat creates a stress point right there. Stainless
steel work hardens and crystallizes when bent back and forth.

This quite a plausible proposition on the face of it. I don't put much
tension on my sheets when stowing and this is probably a good reason to
continue that practice. I rely on either multiple rolls and/or a sail tie.

I've never heard of a headstay failure at this point though. Has anyone
else?

--
Roger Long

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
troll sh*t removed
This quite a plausible proposition on the face of it. I don't put much
tension on my sheets when stowing and this is probably a good reason to
continue that practice. I rely on either multiple rolls and/or a sail
tie.

I've never heard of a headstay failure at this point though. Has anyone
else?

If you've got a furler, then putting a "lot of tension" on the sheets will
make it virtually impossible to furl the sail. At least that's my
experience. In fact, more than a light hand on one or both sheets makes it
extremely difficult. I doubt that was the problem. I don't find it plausable
at all. I just looked, and according to the reports the forestay separated
at the chainplate at the bow not 10 feet up... not sure where that came
from? That was the report Nov. 6th.

Also, he's sailing a cutter rig, so no major rigging failure.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

I think he was talking about retensioning the sheets after everything is
furled. I've seen people do this. With enough tension, there could be
pressure of the foils on the stay at the point where the sheets come off the
wrap.

Thinking about it since, I can't believe it would be an issue on a new rig.

--
Roger Long

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
I think he was talking about retensioning the sheets after everything is
furled. I've seen people do this. With enough tension, there could be
pressure of the foils on the stay at the point where the sheets come off
the wrap.

Thinking about it since, I can't believe it would be an issue on a new
rig.

--
Roger Long



Perhaps, but it appears to have failed at the chainplate at the bow.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
I think he was talking about retensioning the sheets after everything is
furled. I've seen people do this. With enough tension, there could be
pressure of the foils on the stay at the point where the sheets come off
the wrap.

Thinking about it since, I can't believe it would be an issue on a new
rig.

--
Roger Long



FYI...
http://www.yachtingmonthly.com//auto...539ymnews.html

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

In article ,
"Roger Long" wrote:

I think he was talking about retensioning the sheets after everything is
furled. I've seen people do this. With enough tension, there could be
pressure of the foils on the stay at the point where the sheets come off the
wrap.

Thinking about it since, I can't believe it would be an issue on a new rig.

If the backstay was slacker than it should have been, and the roller
furling slide break-point wasn't bolted tightly, the result could cause
the furling slide to v-bend at that point. Then, when unfurling/furling
often, caused the break to happen.

Basically, bad installation.

--
Molesworth

"Nigel Molesworth" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Roger Long" wrote:

I think he was talking about retensioning the sheets after everything is
furled. I've seen people do this. With enough tension, there could be
pressure of the foils on the stay at the point where the sheets come off
the
wrap.

Thinking about it since, I can't believe it would be an issue on a new
rig.

If the backstay was slacker than it should have been, and the roller
furling slide break-point wasn't bolted tightly, the result could cause
the furling slide to v-bend at that point. Then, when unfurling/furling
often, caused the break to happen.

Basically, bad installation.


All roll-ups are, by definition, bad installations.

Wilbur Hubbard

On Sun, 9 Nov 2008 13:10:09 -0800, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

... I just looked, and according to the reports the forestay separated
at the chainplate at the bow not 10 feet up... not sure where that came
from? That was the report Nov. 6th.

Also, he's sailing a cutter rig, so no major rigging failure.

The lower terminal is the favorite for failures.
Closer to the water. Positioned to trap moisture.
All the same, I rerigged a sailboat where the upper stays parted
near the masthead,

Brian W

"Brian Whatcott" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 9 Nov 2008 13:10:09 -0800, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

... I just looked, and according to the reports the forestay separated
at the chainplate at the bow not 10 feet up... not sure where that came
from? That was the report Nov. 6th.

Also, he's sailing a cutter rig, so no major rigging failure.

The lower terminal is the favorite for failures.
Closer to the water. Positioned to trap moisture.
All the same, I rerigged a sailboat where the upper stays parted
near the masthead,

Brian W



Seems about right. I guess the early (or distorted) reports were a mid-stay
failure.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com