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Eastward ho 24 · 01-03-2019, 18:50

I just bought an ABI 192613. Forestay release lever. Well at least thats what the bag it came in says. But seems to me I spent 400$ to much for it.. Looks like a POS to me. Other then being polished and heavy. The insides all chewed up from the factory i put the pictures up ... Seems to me the clevis pins that keep the mechanism are just screws that screw in flush with no clevis pins? Is this acceptable? It's a 1/2" pin at the toggle where it attaches to the tang on deck. But the pin that the stay attaches to is bigger. And the threaded eyes that's supplied with a closed body turn buckle has no holes for cotter pins, but the turn buckle body has holes ( I'm guessing for pins) what gives with this thing. Any body have one? I fear with no cotter pins on the screws that hold all the pieces together they'll work themselves out. My plan was to attatches the lever bottom togle 1/2 to the tang on the sprit. And the threaded eyes that goes to the stay I was gonna put into a 1/2" turnbuckle but it's to big..

Eastward ho 24 · 01-03-2019, 18:53

More pics

Orion Jim · 01-03-2019, 21:48

Caveat emptor. The ABI we all remember for their quality hardware has been out of business for many years. If the item you purchased is not the item you received you may be able to return it or contact your credit card company and see if you can dispute the charge.
We all have to be very careful with out major hardware purchases. The market is flooded with disreputable individuals and vendors.

Alan Mighty · 01-03-2019, 22:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eastward ho 24

And the threaded eyes that's supplied with a closed body turn buckle has no holes for cotter pins, but the turn buckle body has holes ( I'm guessing for pins) what gives with this thing.

That doesn't sound unusual.

Open frame turnbuckles use cotter pins to prevent the turnbuckle rotating under cyclical loads.

Closed body turnbuckles employ lock nuts, top and bottom, that you tension against the turnbuckle body to stop it rotating.

Your photo shows those lock nuts in place, no?

As for the holes through the closed body turnbuckle: they are to help you tension your stay. Idea was that you insert an Allen key or similar to finalise the tension.

Alan Mighty · 02-03-2019, 01:00

Only image on-line of a genuine ABI forestay release lever I could find (for an item being retailed through eBay) is not in clear focus. Does yours look like this (in side view):

Alan Mighty · 02-03-2019, 01:29

Going from top left corner to bottom right corner, the image above shows:

1. a swage terminal (meant to be swaged onto your forestay), threaded, screwed into:

2. a closed body turnbuckle, made up of an upper lock nut, the turnbuckle body, and a lower lock nut

3. a threaded eye terminal, with

4. a slot headed fastener capturing it to the bronze (in this case) handle of the forestay release level,which pivots on

5. another slot headed fastener capturing the handle to a bronze jaw fitting that articulates in an unclear (to me, because the photo is not in perfect focus and my eyes are old or my monitor needs a good clean) way with

6. a eye jaw toggle that is penetrated by

7. a ring-pull quick release detent pin. The pin is (I think) intended to make the forestay release lever to your deck-mounted tang. The deal being that (once installed) you can release the tension in your forestay by operating the handle of the lever, then withdraw the ring-pull quick release detent pin, and move your forestay aside (to lash it to the mast or other convenient position, so that your (inner) forestay is out of the way and you've converted your cutter rig into a 'sloop' configuration, allowing you to fly an overlapping genoa (or the like) on your headstay (and so tack the genoa, without having to worry about it hanging up on the forestay - that's the rationale for a forestay release lever).

* what is missing is a stainless steel circle that encircles the forestay and is meant to slip down over the handle of the release lever and hold it in the 'up' position (i.e. aligned with the forestay) when you are flying your fore-stay-sail (aka staysail).

Whoever designed the ABI forestay release lever chose to use a closed body turnbuckle instead of an open frame turnbuckle because the forestay release lever is meant to be used on the forestay of a cutter, i.e. a boat with a headstay (usually on a bowsprit, and from which a jib or jib topsail would be flown) and a forestay (usually at the stem of the hull, from which a fore-stay-sail or staysail would be flown.

If an open frame/body turnbuckle were to have been used, such a turnbuckle would be bulky and have to be aligned perfectly to accommodate the handle of the lever when the handle is in the 'aligned with forestay' position. Plus - as you've noted - open frame turnbuckles are usually equipped with cotter pins (or the like) to stop the turnbuckle rotating under load - and those pins (unless well taped) can catch or hook into (i) the headsail sheets; or (ii) the headsail.

HTH

Alan Mighty · 02-03-2019, 01:57

Google Books has a fine ABI advertisement, placed in Cruising World in 1993, that adds a little more info about the ABI forestay release lever (and shows the stainless steel ring of which I wrote):

Alan Mighty · 02-03-2019, 02:21

Working through your photos, you seem have all the parts of an ABI forestay release lever, including the stainless steel ring that was missing from that one sold in February 2018 on eBay (for US$495).

Looks to me that you have exactly the item for which you paid.

Eastward ho 24 · 02-03-2019, 03:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Only image on-line of a genuine ABI forestay release lever I could find (for an item being retailed through eBay) is not in clear focus. Does yours look like this (in side view):

Yes that's the one I have

Eastward ho 24 · 02-03-2019, 03:57

Ok I see guys! thanks✓ It does have the double lock nuts. I see they take the place of the cotter pins an open body would take. As far as the other screw in pins should I be worried or just put some lock tight...**** I could even put a botton tack on it with my tig rig.

Alan Mighty · 02-03-2019, 04:12

The screw-in pivot pins are fine. I've not heard of them ever moving.

You'll no doubt have read the mini-review of the ABI forestay release lever:

Quote:

Some years later, A.B.I. (also Merriman made one) really refined this lever design into a much smoother, sleeker looking piece of hardware. This specific lever quickly became popular as the first choice when it comes to an inner forestay quick release system. Almost at the point of eliminating its competition, A.B.I., unfortunately went out of business. Since then the sailboat market has missed a good quality lever for all of its removable inner stays.

That's from: https://theriggingco.com/2014/06/08/...ghfield-lever/

Eastward ho 24 · 02-03-2019, 04:31

Thanks again.... Now I have to decide how to eliminate my selftacking boom, and still be able to point as well, and be able to trim my staysail .the boom really does a good job at that. I'd like the room on the foredeck. Although it's my first cutter rig, and I've only sailed sloops so I wouldn't know much better. But from what I've read and heard it's kinda hard to beat the performance of the staysail boom

Sailmonkey · 02-03-2019, 04:48

What you’re calling “chewed up” from the factory is a byproduct of the casting process. Nothing to worry anout

Alan Mighty · 02-03-2019, 06:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

What you’re calling “chewed up” from the factory is a byproduct of the casting process. Nothing to worry anout

Agreed, Sailmonkey.

I think it would have been a bargain at US$400.

From Mr Ho's photos, I cannot tell if his forestay release lever is cast bronze, chrome-plated bronze, or stainless steel. It looks like very well polished ss (and therefore very definitely not a POS!!).

I thought that ABI made bronze and chrome-plated bronze forestay release levers (the handles and the jaw fitting) in about 1988 - 2000. I did not know them making ss ones.

So I guess Mr Ho's set is either a late ABI one or, if all ss, something made by someone who had the ABI moulds perhaps after ABI folded.

As with any ss fitting, if the closed body turnbuckle is ss, then it is important to avoid galling of the terminal threads. Applying anhydrous lanolin is a simple preventative.

A history note:

John Holden Illingworth (1903-1980), the famous British yacht designer and skipper, gave the major impetus to the idea of using a forestay release lever.

Illingworth saw the over-centre 'Highfield levers' that the British electrical engineer John Somerville Highfield (1871-1945) had designed in 1930 for the running backstays of his yacht Dorina. Highfield patented his levers in 1936 as a means of setting and releasing one or more predetermined tensions in runners.

Illingworth saw inadequacies in Highfield's design and remedied those inadequacies. And thought an over-centre lever could also be used on a forestay.

Illingworth designed several offshore racing cutters in the 1930s and 1940s with forestay release levers.

On one boat, Illingworth (I think Maid of Malham dating from about 1937) used the forestay release lever to change the angle of the forestay.

In another (Myth of Malham, launched in about 1947 and the winner of the 1947 and 1949 Fastnet races) he used the forestay release lever in the way it has mainly been used since: to convert a cutter to a masthead sloop by removing the forestay from use so an overlapping genoa can be flown in light conditions.

Many authorities list Maid of Malham as a sloop, because of the use of her forestay release lever - the offshore racing standards focused on measurement as a sloop.

In one or both of those boats, Illingworth placed the forestay release lever below decks (with the wire rope forestay penetrating the deck) so he could have clear (and aerodynamically clean) decks.

Illingworth is of course also known for the Sydney to Hobart race. He happened to be in Sydney in 1945 when the first Sydney to Hobart was being organised. The organisers had in mind a cruising rally to mark the end of WW2. Illingworth accepted the invitation to join, but strongly advised that the event be a race. As so it was. He skippered the winner, winning both line honours and handicap-corrected time.