Do I need that inner forestay on my Pearson 34

[RSB333]

Last summer's cruise had us towing our inflatable all over New England. It would fit on the foredeck, except for that inner forestay that lands on deck two and a half feet ahead of the mast. I've been tempted to stow it for the offshore passages, but my rig is old and I'm not sure why it's there. Does anyone know?
RSB333

[JPA Cate]

RSB333, the short answer is yes, the rig does need the baby stay. It is not an inner forestay that you would fly a sail on, but the baby stay helps the mast stay in column when you go to windward. You will really want to clean and roll up the dinghy and stow it, either forward of the dodger, or below, when you go offshore. It's far preferable over the long term than towing it. We've done it a lot, but honestly, it's best to stow it.

Ann

[Gary Mc]

Actually a lot of boats built back in the 80s had baby stays, in many cases they are not needed. They were there to prevent your mast from pumping and potentially failing if you were going into wave action etc.

My experience has been that they were being extra careful. If you take it off your mast it may be fine but it is very dependent on the particular mast. Try it and see how it affects your mast.

[Bruce K]

Could be replaced by a pair of foward lowers. That would allow room on fordeck for dinghy.

[Sealife74]

I heard the same thing, for when Sailing tight in the breeze and into a swell!

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Gary Mc

Actually a lot of boats built back in the 80s had baby stays, in many cases they are not needed. They were there to prevent your mast from pumping and potentially failing if you were going into wave action etc.

My experience has been that they were being extra careful. If you take it off your mast it may be fine but it is very dependent on the particular mast. Try it and see how it affects your mast.

..... and if your mast buckles in the middle and falls down you will know it didn't work......


In my limited experience the baby stay works in conjunction with the lowers.... remove any one of the three and it may end in tears.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Gary Mc

Actually a lot of boats built back in the 80s had baby stays, in many cases they are not needed. They were there to prevent your mast from pumping and potentially failing if you were going into wave action etc.

My experience has been that they were being extra careful. If you take it off your mast it may be fine but it is very dependent on the particular mast. Try it and see how it affects your mast.

Why would you want to change/remove something affecting the original design of a sailboat, especially a mast stay, that the builders thought was needed?

It seems many sailors/cruisers want to modify the existing design of a sailboat and at times it decreases it's strength ...

[Chuck Hawley]

I think it's important to consider why a babystay might be used on different boats. Admittedly, this is not a race boat, but most babystays on race boats are removable because they are not required under many conditions. They will frequently have a hydraulic cylinder below decks and a quick release at the deck level so they can be removed for light air, or when gybing, etc.

I don't know where your lower shrouds attach, but if you have a pair that attach aft of your upper shrouds, I would imagine that the babystay is set up tight to create a "tripod" of support for the lower portion of the mast. The aft lowers won't allow the mast to pump forward, and the babystay keeps the mast from inverting aft. This can be very important if you're sailing with a reef, or two, and the leach tension on the main is pulling back on the aft side of the mast. Leach tension can invert the mast and bring it down. In that case, the babystay is a fundamental way to keep the mast up.

It may also be used to put some "prebend" in the last, by pulling the middle of the mast forward and preventing inversion if you have a reef or not.

In any case, there are a lot of rigs that are pretty overkill when it comes to support, and it may be that you can sail without the babystay under all but storm conditions. You may want to consider a CS Johnson hand-adjustable turnbuckle at the deck so you can remove the stay relatively easily when not needed.

Cheers

Chuck

[Cheechako]

Some Pearson 34's had a single stay on each side, is that yours? That may be why it has the baby stay.

[Don C L]

I BELIEVE the babystay was needed to allow for closer sheeting angles that those single lowers so far inboard provided. Your Pearson has single lowers, right? I have single lowers but I don't have a babystay and my mast, even though it is probably the same extrusion used for massive street lights, will "pump" and the mast will bow a little decreasing the efficiency of the main of course. Long ago I considered a removable stay for that reason. I am betting your mast may be more flexible than mine though. Adding the extra lowers would be ok I think but where to put the chainplates? If you put them out on the hull you lose that sheeting advantage. You'd have to look to see if there is a structurally sound way to mount chainplates for new lowers on the deck to some bulkheads below. The thing is I am betting the Pearson only has the single bulkhead that the shrouds are attached to now.. not sure. I think you will end up leaving it the way it is for structural and performance reasons. A good rigger will know.

[Clivevon]

Had same situation onmy boat. Replaced babystay with a pair of foward lowers to new chainplates on coachroof, so i could store dinghy on deck. Rigger said that was stronger than original rig and it has been fine for 17 years now. Go for it.

[Clivevon]

The new chaonplates on the coachroof were sited between 2 bulkheads though, (forming the forward heads on port side and oilskin locker on starboard side). You will need a rigger to look at your boat. Good luck.

[blueazimuth]

You absolutely need it!!
Inner forestays, aka baby stay, are an integral part of your rig, called for by the rig designer. Remove it at your own risk...
They were used in the 80s in place of forward lowers. I've always thought it saved the builder a few bucks by having one stay, instead of two. And it does. However, it's main purpose is to stop the mast from pumping in a chop. On my boat, it's also where the storm jib is designed to be hanked on.

It drives me CRAZY!

It's nice to have it for the storm jib, but a storm jib can be set flying, when haliyard tension is high.
But what drives me crazy is it limits the size of my dinghy... to such an extent that I'm thinking of either taking it further forward, or replacing it with forward lowers. It would be a lot of work tearing out furniture to enforce below decks and, being an aluminium boat, the welding would necessitate doing over the new paint job.
I've thought about through bolting, but that is far from ideal on a metal boat. And I'd have to recut or order a new storm jib.
But it's still a pain in the rear end: I'll have to reconsider before buying a new dinghy....
Going back to your original question, Yes, you need it.

[JPA Cate]

Just a little story, about learning curves, and I think it has a moral for the OP.....

Before we left the States the first time, in our 36 footer, a boat with single lowers and a baby stay, we re-rigged, with beautiful Nichronic (sp) wire, Sta-loks, super. Except, the wire was "too big" for the baby stay--it was lighter gauge. So, we didn't replace the baby stay, thinking it would be okay, it didn't get much loading.

What happened was that it broke, at sea, in a gale (45kn), and Jim had to go aloft in those conditions. Inevitably, he got all bruised, but we did a repair, involving sistering the broken wire with bulldog clamps, . Our assumption that it didn't get much loading was erroneous. And, the wire was shiny on the outside, powdery on the inside where it snapped. This one could have turned out very badly, we were lucky Jim wasn't hurt worse.

It is only my opinion, but, based on the above experience, I think it is important to keep the baby stay, or add forward lowers in a safe manner. I would add that I think it is especially important if the OP wants the freedom to be at sea in any weather.

Ann

[El Pinguino]

Re baby stay loadings.

Different class of boat , different style of sailing ...however...

Class of about 40 boats of which 3 have had the same documented issue.

Baby stay secured through the deck to frd bulkhead....

More here https://yachtcamomile.co.uk/job-list/chainplates/ .... my fix was rather grander than this one and more $$$

Baby stays can take a lot of load.....

Now .. lets remove the compression post because it takes up too much space in the saloon...