Rear Stay Question

[woodstoc]

Hi, new to sailing (other than RC - AC class boats sailing). I bought an old 16.5' O'Day Daysailor (hull number 308 I think) and refinished the boat by stripping all the paint and repairing the fiberglas, repainting, and completely sanding and refinishing the wood. I took pics as I pulled it apart and installed everything back where it belongs. Near as I can tell, its original with no modifications.

Did a test rig of the mast and rigging last weekend and figured out where the fore and side stays go, put the boom on and tried to figure out the back stay from the mast. I don't have a clue.

Did some searching and checked out the information available here and elsewhere, but couldn't find a clear pic of how the back stay attaches. The stay is really long and has no fittngs on it.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[calden]

Right -

There is no backstay. That's part of the design. If there's a line coming from the mast that's probably a topping lift. The shroud chainplates are placed well aft of the mast so as to compensate for lack of backstay.

Carlos

[woodstoc]

Thank you for your reply, Carlos. New to sailing so the terms aren't up to speed yet....Topping Lift? I have two lines that obviously are to pull up the main sail and jib, then a third that is attached to the top of the mast on the aft side.

Shroud chainplates I assume is the term for the side plates for the side stays? They are a little aft of the mast so that makes sense.

[calden]

A topping lift is just a line from the top of the mast to the end of the boom. It holds the boom up so it doesn't fall down when you drop the mainsail. My boat didn't have one, so I put one on: A little cheekblock up top, a small block at the foot of the mast, and a line with a shackle on the end. I clip the shackle to the end of the boom, and the line goes up over the block at the mast top, then down to the block at the bottom, and I pull it aftward and cleat it at the edge of the cuddy cabin, where the other cleats live. I leave it loose enough so it doesn't interfere with sailing, but tight enough so when I drop the sail the boom doesn't go "boom" on the transom.

Yes, the plates on the side are for the shrouds.

Welcome to sailing. I was in your position a year ago and now I'm thoroughly hooked on this boat and being on the water.

Carlos