HELP! Forestay Crisis

[selahway]

Hello Brion & others,

As I write this my entire boat (Hans Christian 38 MK II) is shaking from the halyard oscillation in 19-27 knot winds here in Newport, OR at her mooring. My newly refurbished mast with new standing rigging went up two days ago without either forestay in place so two halyards are temporarily filling in. The inner forestay is supposed to be attached to a device that allows it to be released at will so that the cutter rig can be used as a sloop for ease of tacking so the stay came with only the fitting at the masthead and is installed there but loose on the deck end. The same is true for the forestay to the end of the bowsprit as it is going to have the Harken Cruising 2 roller furling system installed there. It is attached at the masthead but loose at the deck end.

I am very concerned because the rig is secure, but not tuned. Also, the halyards seem to be under tremendous strain acting as forestays. I need to get the wire ones installed, but don't know what to do from here... It is the first time rigging this boat for me and there are no photographs to assist. I do have the studs for the wire rope once they are cut.

My first goal is to get the inner forestay finished to give support to the mast and allow me to then deal with the building of the Harken system. THAT is another huge question...How to get an accurate length measurement for the foils now that the mast is vertical?

Believe it or not, I am actually an experienced sailor (this is my 12th sailboat) but I have never dealt with the stepping of such a large mast or the building/installation of a roller furling system. Any help or advise is GREATLY appreciated. MY cell is 541-231-1970 and email is joe@ebikeplus.com

Thanks... Joe

[Joe Henderson]

Dear Selahway,

Reading both your posts your predicament is sounding more and more familiar to me so you must forgive me for being blunt, but what are you doing using 7X19 for standing rigging?

I hope it was cheap, because, whatever the material, in that application it has no other virtues.

It sounds like you are spending some money, what with Harken furlers and StaLoks.

If you have indeed bought quality components it begs the following questions:-

Why have you not also bought yourself some large Felco cutters? You will not spend better money.

Who did the the athwartships rigging and the re-stepping?

Did you enlist the help of a competent rigger?

If so, he/she is the person to appeal to for help.

If not, then do so! Quickly!

This step may save you wasting money and time while you flounder through your re-rig and, as it seems from your posts, lumber yourself with the wrong materials and no adequate tools to complete the job.

And with the best will in the world, and at the risk of sounding churlish, why have you not thought this through a little better so you do not have to call for help at this late stage in the proceedings?

Regards,

Joe Henderson.

[allene]

Wow, kind of hard on the guy wouldn't you say? I think he said that this was a removable inner forestay so maybe he wanted something flexible there so he could coil it up and store it away.

The question he asked was what to do to make it through the storm. Asking someone else is apparently not a bad response.

Personally, I am thinking that good halyard line would be pretty strong. Just to throw some numbers out, 3/8 wire is about 14,000 pounds. Two 1/2 inch halyards would be about 17,000 pounds total. I would be more concerned with where they are attached than breaking the lines with no sails up.

Now, that said I think you are talking about some oscillation in the line from the wind. Perhaps you can tie a line and raise it part way up the halyard and take toward to the stern. That should change the resonant frequency and may stop the oscillations. I say this from theory, I have never tried it so take it with a grain of salt.

Allen

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
Fist, halyards will likely be strong enough to keep your mast forward, especially if assisted by the forward lowers, but it isn't a setup I would ever count on. For one thing the vector of the halyard moves its effective pull well aft. For another there is a lot of elasiticity in the rope. And for a third it just isn't as reassuringly reliable as actual standing rigging. So you might start by easing off on the backstay a bit, then putting a sling around the mast at deck, and hauling it aloft with the main halyard, with a strong, low-stretch piece of rope or wire led forward from the sling. Once the sling reaches the spreaders, lead the line forward and take up with a handy-billy or come-along. Next, put Icicle hitches on the bottom of your forestay (inner stay) if it is, as I understand it, made off aloft. Take the stay forward and tension it with a purchase as well.
The oscillations might be in part due to vortex shedding, and I believe you can find fix-it's for that problem in the archives.
Since to my knowledge you are in an area that is scant on qualified riggers, you are probably on your own there. So once you get the rig a bit more reassuringly stabilized, take a breath and be in touch again. The level of work you need to do is well outside the format of this board, so please consider at least setting up a consultation with me or some other qualified rigger on how to proceed with the rest of the rigging. As you have discovered, owning a dozen boats doesn't make you a rigger, any more than rigging a dozen boats makes you an owner.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss