Searching for a longer toggle

[Fluffflinger]

Hi

Just replacing the standing rigging on my 1991 Fountaine Pajot Antigua and I have come up with a bit of a challenge. Boat currently ashore on Florida Georgia border.

In their own inimitable French way the tang on the mast and the seagull striker are of an oversize nature.

From edge of the hole (16mm pin) to the edge of the tang is 31mm and 20mm thick. Although we have overcome the issue for the toggles that need to attach to the mast the final piece in the jigsaw, headstay bottom end, is posing a real challenge.

The headstay is a fixed length no adjustment either end the with the furler fitted (Profurl Classic 42) their is no room to add anything other the fittings and toggles. At the bottom end we can't find a toggle that is long enough that isn't too wide to fit inside the furler.

I am intending to change the whole rig including the pin in the furler and although I could re-use the old toggle I am very unhappy about using a 26 year old component in an otherwise new rig.

Obviously I could take a grinder to the tang on the seagull striker but from what I have been told you should have twice the pin diameter from the edge of the hole to the edge of the material to maintain the full strength of said material, which by the way is aluminium not steel. I have 16mm hole and 31mm of material.

Any ideas as to where I look? Rigging company are doing their best but are coming up with no solution as yet.

In hopeful anticipation,

Richard

[Vasco]

Aren't we all.

[dlymn]

I have a fixed headstay with a roller furling system. Well not really fixed. No turnbuckle but a set of flat bars with holes; 1 bar to the furler and 2 down to the deck. They are all held together with clevis pins. they are drilled in a way that reversing them gives quite a few variations of length.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Would a link plate work? Rigging Only - Stay Extender 5/8
And is there not room for a turnbuckle in the system?

Worst case, have a bit of custom hardware built. Or you might even be able to configue something using Dyneema & deadeyes.

[zstine]

+1 on the link plate. You can easily make your own from SS bar stock and drilling a pair of holes and cutting to length.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Vasco

Aren't we all.

I see my post was anticipated.

[out42]

Coincidence as I have just ordered a new fitting to be made for the exact same point on my Outremer. Having struggled around looking for any kind of replacement that might just about do the job, I came down to the two plate solution but have had them welded up together so they can't slide in relation to each other. Total cost in 316 including the all-important bushing to make sure the clevis pin is an exact fit came to $120. I really would not be tempted to thin out the aluminium on the Seagull striker as that can come under some impressive shock loads.
I personally wouldn't use dyneema there as all sorts of lines & things run round there and although the dyneema would be strong enough, chafe would be a worry.

[Tessellate]

I'm going through similar decisions in my rerig now.

It would help if you posted a picture, but it sounds like you only need a toggle that has a pin center-to-center distance of 31mm + 8mm + 8mm (halves of two 16mm pins) = 47mm of clearance? Most 5/8"/16mm double jaw toggles will meet that requirement. The Schaefer one has 67mm C/C (center to center), which equals 51mm of clearance.

https://hardware.schaefermarine.com/...oducts_id=3623

But sounds like some toggles are too wide to fit inside the furler? If it were me I would definitely want forestay adjustability with a turnbuckle, so I would get a furler that allows a turnbuckle. I pulled up the manual for your furler, and on page 6 they show options for long link plates or a turnbuckle cylinder. Not sure whether that's still an option but might be something to consider.

Personally I would avoid thin link plates like the one others linked in a prior reply, for a forestay. The one linked from Rigging Only is a CS Johnson stay extender. It's a budget-priced part, with a thin plate thickness on a part of the rig that takes high fatigue loads in sideways and twisting directions. I had the 1/2" pin version of that exact part on my boat below the furler (installed by a prior owner) and discovered a full crack in one plate going from clevis pin to bottom. I can point you to photos on my blog if you want. If you really want a stay extender I'd go with the Schaefer ones, which are much stronger.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Is there an unsolvable reason why the headstay length can't be sorted out at it's upper end? Perhaps addressing it up there would prove easier. Even if it entailed having to tune your rig while aloft, as is commonly done on boats with discontinuous rigging.

[Elie]

Can't you simply use another of the proper length tangle attached to the existing one?. Isine same type of clevis pins?... Many years ago, I had to cut by stay to remove the furler(Goiot) , since the Norsman fitting was frozen and unmovable. Now the atray was too short, but putting two togles did the trick. By the way an hydaulic press was used to undo the cut stay from the Norsman. The cone was completely welded to the cable wires. There most be huge tension when the wind pipes.

[Fluffflinger]

Thanks for the replies, always good to know there are so many out there willing to help.

A solution has been reached. The only longer toggle that would work was too wide to fit in between the retaining forks in the furler. So I took the lower end to a machine shop and they are altering the inside of the furler to accommodate the wider toggle. This has also required having a new pin machined as this toggle has a 3/4 (19mm) pin at the upper end.

I hear what you guys say about link plates and this was discussed but the argument against using them is that they can act as a lever and can put unnecessary pressure on the cotter pin.

At least I have achieved what I set out to and that is to replace the rig in it's entirety and not to have to reuse the original 25year old toggle. That should give me peace of mind and a satisfying feeling that I have done the job properly.

Big shout to you all and also all the efforts of Tom at Rigging Only (who I unconditionally recommend to anybody looking for a company with good prices and great support).

Best

Richard