Stay Sail on a Tartan 41?

[vtsailguy]

I have a tartan 41 with a big pad eye on the deck between head stay and mast. Could this possibly be the left over for a stay sail stay? What else can I look for to confirm this?

[Bash]

The answer, tentatively, is yes. Is it atop a bulkhead? Are there chainplates on the bulkhead?

HOWEVER, it could also be an anchor for a spinnaker afterguy. Was the boat set up for a spinny pole?

Show us a pic, and we can be more helpful. Better yet, send the pic to Tartan, and they can tell you whether it was a factory job.

[roverhi]

Look under the deck and see if there is provision for carrying the load to the hull. May be a healthy beam that goes from rail to rail and possibly with knees to fasten it to the hull or a tie rod to a glassed in floor. If it's just a padeye fastened to the deck, it's probably for a guy. There is considerable vertical loading on a staysail that will cause the deck to flex if the load is not properly supported.

The T41 is a an ideal boat to go with a true cutter/double headsail rig. You can probably fit a reefable genoa staysail and and a 100% jib on a furler and have all the sails you need for 90% of your sailing. Still would want a code zero or asym for light air offwind work.

I've lusted after the T41 since it first came out. Seemed like a perfect boat to tweak the rigging for cruising. The mast is just about amidship which screams double headsail.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by vtsailguy

I have a tartan 41 with a big pad eye on the deck between head stay and mast. Could this possibly be the left over for a stay sail stay? What else can I look for to confirm this?

Are there any tangs on the mast to accept a stay and staysail halyard block and runners? If not, the pad-eye is/was likely not intended for a staysail but rather guys which would be far less heavily loaded.

[vtsailguy]

Interesting, it has *some* under deck support. I think its for a "daisy staysail"