Bent Stay Adjuster

c130king · Post by **c130king** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:01 pm

Beautiful day on the St. John's River. 80 degrees, winds out of the South at 7-10 knots or so. Hard to believe it is mid January. Was wearing jeans but shorts would have been more comfortable. At least 8 different boats out sailing enjoying this amazing weather.

Saw three different boats sailing dead downwind "wing and wing" (I think that is the proper term) so I gave it a try. I had it for a couple of seconds but couldn't keep the genoa filled properly on the opposite side of the boom.

Anyhow, when raising the mast today I bent a stay adjuster. I think the upper stay adjuster flopped over behind the lower stay adjuster and as the tension came on as the mast came up the upper piece of the adjuster got caught on the backside of the adjustment pin on the other stay adjuster. It bent/wrinkled and then popped free. But now there is a pretty good bend/wrinkle in it.

Sailed with it anyway...

Will it hurt anything to take that piece off and use a hammer to beat the bend/wrinkle out of it? Or I could just not worry about it but it would probably be more likely to catch on the other stay even more now that it has a bend in it.

I have seen mention of "stay covers". Anyone have a link or pictures of such a thing and is this problem what they are meant to prevent?

Thanks,
Jim

Rob Roy Macgregor · Post by **Rob Roy Macgregor** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:14 pm

You are right wing and wing. Some say goose wing. You likley need to use a whisker pole on the genoa. I was in a situation befor where we had no whisker pole, but used an extending boat hook.

Dimitri-2000X-Tampa · Post by **Dimitri-2000X-Tampa** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:23 pm

You can do it without a pole, but you need good precision in keeping your course steady once you get it. I believe you need to be about 20 degrees off of DDW and you put the main on the upwind side and the genoa on the downwind side. You can't let the course deviate more than about 10 degrees on either side and of course, the wind needs to remain constant. I guess if I was gonna do a long run like that, I would rig up a preventer. You can also use a spinnaker instead of the genoa.

Catigale · Post by **Catigale** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:46 pm

It is not as efficient but less stressful if you run the main downwind and the genny upwind..the accidental gybe of the main is the main danger and you can minimise this in the less efficient configuration of main downwind.

I have run the

pretty decently dead down wind , until I went to a beam reach and forgot about sailing in apparent wind and rounded up.

c130king · Post by **c130king** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:01 pm

I was attempting to hold directly downwind but kept the boom on the port side as I turned downwind from a starboard tack. Then I pulled the starboard genny sheet tight (loosenend the port sheet) and my partner physically moved the genny to the port side via the front hatch.

But at the time the winds were pretty light, probably 4-5 knots and I couldn't keept the genny filled.

I normally avoid downwind to avoid the accidental jibe, but the winds were pretty light and I had been jibing all day with no problems so I thought I would give it a try.

As a beginner I stick with close haul to beam reach.

But, what about the bent stay adjuster. Should I be worried?

Thanks,
Jim

Catigale · Post by **Catigale** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:14 pm

Sorry Jim - forgot to address the plate issue

You can straighten that in a vice nice and slowly - I have done this several times - I usually bent these when trailering until I got the stand up shroud tubes.

c130king · Post by **c130king** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:17 pm

Stephen,

Excellent! That was what I was hoping. Even a knucklehead like me can handle that (okay...I will get my Dad to do it...he has all the cool tools anyway...

).

What are these "stand up shroud tubes"?

Thanks,
Jim

David Mellon · Post by **David Mellon** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:24 pm

These are the shroud covers on The Yam. This is an easy install and the parts are readily available. The only downside is that you can't easily inspect the fittings.

Dimitri-2000X-Tampa · Post by **Dimitri-2000X-Tampa** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:02 pm

Do your Genny sheets always get caught on the bottom of those tubes? The stay adjusters are pretty easy to bend back. I suppose instead of the tubes, you could just tie both of them together so that they stand upright when trailering.

I don't think you can quite go DDW in a modern keelboat, although you can get pretty close with a symmetrical spin, maybe 5-10 degrees off of downwind is my guess. With an Asym, it is probably about 10-15 degrees and with a Genoa, maybe 15-20 degrees. Of course, the nice thing about a Mac is you can pull the center board up and make leeway to get pretty darn close to DDW even with the boat pointed 15-20 degrees off. I guess you aren't allowed to do this in a race with other keelboats though.

Frank C · Post by **Frank C** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:14 pm

Dimitri-2000X-Tampa wrote: ... you need to be about 20 degrees off of DDW and you put the main on the upwind side and the genoa on the downwind side. You can't let the course deviate more than about 10 degrees on either side and of course ...

Dimitri referred earlier to sailing-by-the-lee. He's right, in any sort of chop or swell, it definitely demands a preventer.
Discussed in a long thread, here.

When I first got my 26X, my dealer helped with first mast raising or two. He suggested suspending both verniers upwards with a bungee over the lifeline. After awhile, you just learn to watch them carefully - automatic.

Sailing by the Lee: causes the wind to fill the main from an extremely narrow angle,
but also enables wind to completely fill the Genoa, from almost 90 degrees-direct.

David Mellon · Post by **David Mellon** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 11:14 pm

No, Dimitr, so far my sheets haven't run afoul. My genny's clew is aft of the shrouds in use and so far the windward sheet hasn't snagged.

KayakDan · Post by **KayakDan** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:08 am

Here's a link to the WM listing for the covers
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... 65/11208/2

I use them on my boat to avoid the problem you had,as well as preventing wear on the genoa sheets

c130king · Post by **c130king** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:10 pm

Turnbuckle Boot, 1-3/4"ID x24"L Only $8.99 USD
Turnbuckle Boot, 3/4" IDX13"L Only $2.99 USD
Turnbuckle Boot, 1-1/2"ID x20"L Only $6.99 USD
Turnbuckle Boot, 1-1/8"ID X17"LOnly $4.99 USD

Which of these sizes (from the WM website) is the right one for a 2005M?

Thanks,
Jim

Harvey · Post by **Harvey** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:55 pm

I was having trouble with stay eyes twisting at the adjusters when raising the mast. I bought 1 1/2" inside diameter clear plastic tubing and installed 14" pieces over each adjuster. That made mast raising easier, and keeps the adjusters straight while trailering. Cheap, also, and provides easy access to the adjusters for inspection or adjustment.

On edit, I meant shrouds, not stays. Too long off the boat.

Frank C · Post by **Frank C** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:49 pm

c130king wrote:Turnbuckle Boot, 1-3/4"ID x24"L Only $8.99 USD
ETC.
Which of these sizes (from the WM website) is the right one for a 2005M?

Not being flip, but practical. I just hacked some foot-long sections of 3/4" PVC pipe, and slipped them on the shrouds - no caps at all. It not only saves $35 on those prices, but it also avoids another trip to We$t Marine.

Each trip avoided saves a minimum of ~150 bucks - which is their 'admission fee' right?

MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregorSailors.com

Bent Stay Adjuster

Bent Stay Adjuster