I thought it may be of interest to some that one of the new set of stays I purchased from D&R Marine and installed in July failed just above the swage at the upper end of the turnbuckle. This occurred with the boat on the mooring with the sails furled under sail cover on the boom and a tear-drop sail bag on the forestay. I have contacted D&R about this and have not heard back from them but needless to say, I am not happy as the mast, sail cover, mast step casting, and tabernacle fitting were damaged. Buyer beware- I hope that D&R will make good on this failure though I have seen more negative reviews of this supplier now than when I last looked at this forum and the D&R website. When considering this upgrade, I initially considered building my own stays with Sta-Loc fittings as I have done this successfully in the past with a Cape Dory I had that had a frozen turnbuckle. The cost of six fittings is what dissuaded me on this project. Stay tuned.
James B. Lumsden
207-594-4106