preventing the Mast from falling ...

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

I have a factory roller furler. My question: do most Mac sailors use an extra front mast tie down for safety, such as to the bow pulpit, or cleat, etc ? I dont want that Mast falling into the cockpit when the family is enjoying a day of sailing. Am I "over concerned" ??
Ive considered the weight of that furler unit, and the "work outs" it undergos during a day of sailing. It takes a beating, and my concern is that some sort of failure could occur.

Thanks for any advice

[Night Sailor]

Louis,
I have an X I bought new in 1997, with factory roller furler by CDI. I don't use any extra lines. It saves the weight and windage, and extra hassle and noise.
I've kept my boat in the water for the last year, near one of the most active boat ramps in TX. Almost constant motion, night and day. I was interested when I pulled down the mast for mods and to send the boat for a bottom job, just how much wear there would be on the rigging. Afer all, I'm on my second set of 5/8th in. dock lines. Answer, virutally none.

If you inspect the blocks, shackles, wire, ferrules, thimbles, nylock nuts, pins and rings or cotter pins every year or so, or every time you rig, you should be able to notice any excessive wear long before any chance of failure occurs. Replace if it's worn more than 10% of size is my very conservative rule.

I bought a 30 footer once and sailed it for several years in heavy wind, I mean 25 to 40 mph, before dropping the mast when the wire running rigging became difficult to use. the sheaves were almost oval, the axles and retaining pins for the blocks, shrouds and spreaders were worn through about 50%. Later I found from a yard manager that the previous owner had lied about several things including the last time it had been in for rigging replacement, bottom paint,etc. and had changed the date on the survey, and more. Maybe I was lucky, but I still think there is a lot of reserve strength built into the rigging and hardware choices for most boats. Including our almost trouble free Macs.

Every case of mast failure on a Mac I've heard of has been attributed to lack of inspection and proper setup by the owner, except in the case of hurricanes or tornados while the boat was unattended. No one can prevent inattention except the owner.

[Chip Hindes]

I'm not sure why you are asking the question. The forestay inside the roller furler is exactly the same as that with no roller furler. In other words, if you think you need redundancy in the forestay, it makes no difference whether you have a roller furler or not. About the only thing I can think of that behaves differently is that if you don't pin your forestay turnbuckle properly, the roller furler may tend to unscrew it, bringing the whole business down quicker. However (again) it's important to pin the turnbuckle properly whether you have the furler or not.

Certainly, roller furler or no, having the mast come down due to a rigging failure is not something any of us would want to happen. Keep your rigging in good repair, inspect it frequently, reair or replace when indicated, and you should be fine. Redundancy is not a good substitute for proper inspection and repair.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

Louis,
you are not "over concerned", just being prepared for the worst.

after reading a couple of horror stories on this site about those who have experienced a fallen mast due to furler pin failure, i opted to place an extra block on the mast above the furler faster point.

i run a line up the mast, thru the block, and fasten at the bow pulpit point where the base of the mast is fastened during the trailered position.
it's primary function is for safety in case the furler becomes de-tached somehow.
i also use this line to assist me in the stepping the mast as an easy alternative to the mast raising system.

i regularly run my X at 20mph or above, so the extra line is for insurance, is un-noticable, and does not hinder sailing ability.

although i am probably in the minority, IMHO, if you want "worry free" motoring, create a front stay.

Bob T.
"DaBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI & '06 2.5-Suzuki

[baldbaby2000]

I think a failure is probably unlikely but there is one thing I noticed on my 26M when it's windy and sitting at the slip with the headsail furled and covered. If I don't keep the rig tight (my running backstays help), the whole furler can oscillate making me wonder about the strain on the rigging over time. On my boat while sailing I could use the jib halyard as a backup and hook it to the bow pulpit but I haven't bothered yet.

[Frank C]

The furler is just an (aerodynamic) cylinder in the wind. When wind speed gets high enough it will create vortices and shake the whole boat, violently in higher winds. I've been sitting in the cabin and wondered how the boat could possibly remain in the trailer bunks. The runners might help steady the mast but they won't stop the vibrations.

If you're using a protective sock over the furled headsail you can add three rotations into the bottom of the sock, causing a gentle spiral that climbs to the upper attach point - and completely defeats the wind vortex.

If you don't use a sock, you might see less of the problem. If the furled sail causes vortices, you might try pulling a spiral of heavy rope up on the jib halyard, then wrapping it to tightly encircle the sail a few times. (I'm just guessing that it might need to be a one-inch dockline.)

I learned the spiral trick from a marina neighbor. My experience on the 26X has been as little as three lazy spirals completely solves the shaking.

[mtc]

Bellaroo has a backstay and a forestay, in addition to the stock rig. I have installed the tension adjuster, which required a second hound to compensate for the increased length of the stock forestay. The redundant forestay mounts to the same shackle as the jib roller and at the clew to the stock tang at the bow. It's all fairly simple, but provides me the added security of the mast being where it should and not on the deck.

Guess I'm used to masts stepped into the keel, where they're not moving unless they crack, but that's rare thought not as rare as a stay or swedge coming undone.

Michael

[juergen X2524]

That "single point of failure" is a good reason to be concerned of.
To avoid the danger of a falling mast I installed a second (forward)
pair of lower shrouds with pelican-hooks .
mfg juergen

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

I installed a second (forward) pair of lower shrouds with pelican-hooks .
mfg juergen

Juergen,
interesting concept...please post pictures if you are able.

Bob T.

[Max]

I had a near mast failure due to the turnbuckle becoming unscrewed, as Chip states.
I hadn't screwed the locking nuts tight enough and the furler unscrewed the whole lot. Only noticed it when the backstay was slack after a day's heavy sailing in a Force 5, back in the harbour. Could not believe it when only 2 turns were holding the mast up. Turnbuckle is now wired up!
Max

[Night Sailor]

As others have stated. Proper setup to begin with is necessary. After tenison is set, the forestay turnbuckle needs to be cotter pinned, ringed or wired in place if it's a open body turnbuckle as the stock one is.

If it's a closed body, the jam nuts need to be tightened wth Loctite or Permatex locking fluid, Blue, (medium strength) and a wire run from shackle to shackle, through the body hole to prevent rotation if the jam nuts fail.

I calculate nothing short of runing into a low bridge or a falling off a wave upside down with all sails set should make the stock rig come down. In wind or wave, the boat will roll over before the mast or rigging can reach loads enough to break something.

Make sure yours is setup properly, is not worn excessively, then relax. The X has a strong rig.

The weakest part of the hardware is the wire and it's good for thousands of pounds tensile.

[Chip Hindes]

Not to beat this to death, but there is an incredibly large number of cat and sloop rigged boats with that dreaded single point of failure at the forestay. Many are way more heaviliy loaded than the Mac.

One man's redundant waste of effort is another's peace of mind. If it makes you feel better, there's not much I can say to convince you otherwise.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Talking about single point of failure, I don't believe there is any redundancy in the upper shrouds or the spreaders. If one of those breaks under load, your mast could snap in half. I suppose I should replace my spreaders one of these years. They have been bent a few times when rolling the mast into a snag while getting it in or out of trailering position.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

did my two spreaders a couple of months ago.
$25 each from the factory (cash only + tax and you have to pick up).
let me know if you have any problems getting them as I'm by the factory (costa mesa, ca. area) a couple times / month.

Bob T.
"DaBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI & '06 2.5-Suzuki

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

I saw a day-sailing rig in its slip last month with a snapped mast, simply because of spreader neglect and subsequent failure. Fortunately, no one was hurt. This is certainly a rare occurance.
A Mac Dealer showed me a set of spreaders that he replaced on a Mac-X last Fall, and the ends were badly oxidized and bent at the mast connect points. Spreaders in this condition are weak, and prone to a mishap.