Please, Everyone, Check Your Standing Rigging!

[brucybaby]

May 16, 2013 CSC Shakedown

2013MAY16_CSC SHKDWN2A.jpg (74.41 KiB) Viewed 4333 times

2013 CreekFleeet Sail Club shakedown cruise was sunny,warm, and challenging! Maybe 10 boats? Winds increased from 6 to 10-13 MPH after we all got out. Unfortunately, another Daysailer (a beautiful '65 classic) sailed by an older gentleman and his wife, was demasted (8 O) I did't see it, but heard they got in safely. I was busy hopping around, frantically fixing rigging errors mid sail. After getting the boat back on the trailer, judging from the amount of water coming from a spot in the hull (which seriously looks like it was repaired with Dryloc masonry paint, LOL), I have a little more patching to do. A truly successful shakedown. Ah, 'tis nice to live in Michigan... again!!!

[jeadstx]

I had a split ring come off a stay last summer on the Texas 200. It was the starboard stay. I noticed it swinging loose while we were on a port tack. I was lucky in that the clevis pin was lying up against the chain plate when I went to resecure it. Unfortunately, while trying to get a cotter pin to lock the clevis pin in place, my cousin who was at the helm shifted his weight to starboard and we capsized. Rigging stay attached and we didn't loose the mast. Another sailor on the event suggested tapping the split rings and cotter pins on the rigging to prevent the lose of a stay. I tape my stays now. I have the 1/8" stays from D&R Marine.

John

[brucybaby]

Yikes, sounds like you had a lucky day at the T200! Taping sounds like a good idea; an extra 'peace of mind' factor adding to the enjoyment of the experience. I gotta admit, I've been telling myself to get to the sail shoppe and pick up a supply of pins & rings for a while now ( a bit of a procrastinator ). I used double nutted bolts (stop gap fix) on all three stays during the shakedown cruise after loosing the pins one by one. I swear the darn things come alive and run away whenever I drop 'em. Once they hit the ground they're gone! Anyway, the bolts are a 'non' peace of mind factor as I'm always checking to see if they've loosened. There's nothing like a fresh fear of demasting to bring ones precaution level to that proverbial full ounce! .....plus I'd feel really, really...really feel stupid about losing a mast and possibly maiming someone (most likely myself) for the price of a ...pin!