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Jammed Foil
How a forestay can spin; mushroom caps. These are the shrouds, but the
forestay is the same.
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Twisted Forestay Saga!
Jan/Feb 2002...The Forestay. We
removed the rig winter 2002 in preparation for our offshore sailing trip
to Newport and Block Island, summer 2002. When the pin was removed from
the forestay, the forestay UNWOUND a lot! The yard commented on the issue
and said they have never seen this happen before. Upon inspection, we noticed that the
jib foils that slide over the forestay, seemed to be too long. The top of
this foil was pressed over the swaged end of the headstay. With this
situation, the foil seemed like it was twisting the headstay. Is that
possible? We will be taking the foils off the headstay and doing a full
inspection. Here are photos of the problem.
Jib foil, jammed...Cutter foil, spins...Jib drum...looks normal..
March 2, 2002...Forestay Solution. Rob Glebe and
I spent the morning inspecting the forestay and looking into the issue. I
wanted to know the condition of the headstay after the yard reported the
unwinding of the forestay when the pin was pulled. We started by cutting
off the rubber boot on the top of the jib foil sections. Next we disassembled
the Harken Jib furling drum and slid
the foil sections down one foot. This was possible by removing the jib
feeder and bottom most section. We are relieved to discover that the
forestay is not frayed or bird caged at
or near the swaged fitting! YAHOO....no
forestay problem! To solve the foil length problem, we cut
one inch off the pre-feeder. After cleaning and closely inspecting the
wire and end fittings, we reassembled
the Harken furler with relief.
Conclusion...What was learned...
Now I know how the forestay was twisted. The top of the forestay fits into
the masthead crane with an end fitting that is shaped like a mushroom.
This shape allowed the forestay to twist and turn from the TOP of the
wire, but the bottom of the forestay is fixed and would not rotate. Since
the yard reported that the forestay unwound when the pin was pulled, it is
obvious that the forestay was twisted. So...when the furler was last
furled and the jib taken off, the forestay was twisted, spinning the
mushroom cap. Then, the forestay pin was pulled, and the twist unwound. Conclusion...Inspect
your jib foils, and make sure that they are NOT pressed up and over the
flat swaged end.
Before................After...
End of Twisted Forestay Saga
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