Bent Hardware

[Alton]

I have some bent turnbuckle bolts. I can't afford to replace them right now. How big a danger is this? I can still tighten them down. How tight is too tight?

[Ex-Calif]

What do they secure and how bent are they?

Pics would help.

[Sailmonkey]

What sort of bend are we talking here? twist from abuse, bend from hitting a dock or another boat?

[Pblais]

Ones ability to pay does not relate to the severity of the problem. If it's only a little bent it may not break quite as fast. It's as much as I would estimate. Pictures might help.

[Alton]

The bottom terminal eyes on the shroud lines. i just bought the boat two weeks ago. Today is the first time ive stepped the mast. I had to repair the keel first. I've finished all repairs on the hull this is the last thing. i hope. lol. here are photos to help. I found terminal eyes for $11 each.

[TaoJones]

Have you spoken with the previous owner to get his take on the rigging? He may have done something or had something done intentionally for some reason. Are you certain that it is now rigged the way it was previously?

Was the mast down when you bought it? If not, do you have pictures of the rigging while the mast was standing and the rigging was secured?

I'd start with a Q&A with the previous owner - he'll be your best source for detailed information on the vessel's peccadilloes.

TaoJones

[Sailmonkey]

for the size of those things......replace them. Most likely won't cause any problems, but if they did you'd be pissed about the bent mast and torn sails that could have been saved by $50 worth of turnbuckles.

[Ex-Calif]

I would replace these as soon as possible. Your boat in your profile is listed as 21 feet. The loads are not that extreme especially in lighter airs. I would sail it but not for long - personal opinion.

If this is the first time you have stepped the mast you should borrow or invest in a loos guage. This is guage that will measure the tension in your shrouds.

The procedure for setting up the mast is not too complex.

Someone recently posted a Selden guide that has the basics that will work for your boat lacking other instructions.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ide-30456.html

Good luck.

[Pblais]

I found terminal eyes for $11 each.

I would say more than a little bent.

When they get bent that much it is a structural problem. They won't break in the morning but under a big load they may fail before the wire does or it may stress the swag on the wire too much. It's not good ennough. To rebend them straight would look better but the process would weaken them even more. You really don't want to snap one of these. It sounds like a shot gun on bigger boats when they fail. Were you to be hit by it - way bad!

Looks like the boat colided with something low and it bent the toggles. Both are bent with the outboard one looking really bad. It may have been done when the rig was being taken down and stored or it happened as it was being regigged or taken down or someone just screwed up. Check out the swag's and wire too. A new set is not a huge amount of money and you'll just know it's right. These are cute boats and you should get a lot of fun out of it.

Structural stuff just needs tending to.

[Alton]

I found T-bolt with toggles for $10.99 each . I can swing 4 of those. The boat had not been sailed for three years when I bought it. The previous owner passed away. I purchased it from the daughter. So there isn't anyone to talk to. Thanks to everyone for the help.

[neilpride]

I think the last owner or some one break the mast , and all the weight from the spar bent the turnbuckles and toggles, i see this situation in the past when the mast fall overboard and all the weight is suported for the rigging, and i suspect the chainplates too, replace replace, good luck.

[Bash]

yikes. Based upon those photos, I'd bet some serious money that the previous owner never replaced the standing rigging. What year was the boat built? If the rigging is as old as the boat, you might be courting trouble. Standing rigging becomes suspect after ten years, even when it hasn't been bent. Something caused those bends to happen. Proceed with caution.

[Alton]

Noway i can replace all the rigging right now. The cables, swags, and other hardware look ok. Only the shroud eye bolts are damaged. The boat is a 1977. I'm thinking that the daughter stepped the mast down after the passing of her father. But didn't remove the shroud lines resulting in bent turnbuckle eye bolts and toggles. The mast does not mount to the keel on this boat it attaches to a plate on the fore deck with a heavy pin. The pin acts as a pivot and the mast is stepped to the rear. If the shroud lines were not disconnected the eye bolts and toggles would take the full weight of the mast and bend. My fear is that the swags were over stressed. If so, not .

[spooky alice]

I had a couple of these same bends in my turnbuckle eyes. Got that way stepping the mast up and down. I found new toggle eyes on line for $4.00 each. These things were designed for straight line pulls and bend pretty easy if sideways tension is applied.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Alton

The mast does not mount to the keel on this boat it attaches to a plate on the fore deck with a heavy pin. The pin acts as a pivot and the mast is stepped to the rear.

That sort of setup is called a "mast tabernacle." The tabernacle is something you should check closely for cracks.

30-year-old standing rigging, if that's what you've got there, needs to be replaced, no matter how good it might look at the surface. Wire shrouds and stays do not have unlimited life expectancies. The fact that you can't afford new rigging doesn't change the probability that the boat needs new rigging.