Stay Adjuster Pins/Ringdings

[c130king]

Fellow Mac'ers,

When I packed up the König for the trip back to Jacksonville from Norfolk my buddy convinced me to disconnect the stay adjusters for the trip.

It worked very well. The lines (halyard, topping lift, shrouds/stays, lazy jacks, and the furled genoa itself) all were very easy to secure to the mast and the 2x2 I used for an extension very easily. Made for very secure trailering.

However, when putting everything back together again this morning at the NAS Jacksonville Marina I had some difficulties. Putting the ringdings in the pins for the stay adjusters was a serious pain in the @$$. In the end I put the pins in backwards so that the ringdings were on the outside (where they could potentially snag the genoa lines). They are supposed to be on the inside so they are out of the way.

So here is the question (finally!). Has anyone done any sort of mod on these pins to make this process easier? Maybe using some sort of cotter pin versus a ringding or a different type of pin all together? Or does anyone else just leave the ringdings on the outside?

Thanks,
Jim

[kziadie]

You definitely do NOT want those ring dings on the outside, a genoa or spinnaker sheet under tension can shear it clean off in seconds. I think you have 2 alternatives:

A few Mac dealers (Boats4Sale and Kelly Hanson that I know of) sell a modified vise grip which have bolts which you connect to the holes in the vernier, clamp it down and tension the tool. That is what I currently use and it makes the process a lot easier. The other option was brought to my attention by FrankC recently, he replaced the verniers with turnbuckles which have an adjustment nut... do a search for stamaster and a few threads should come up.

Kelly

[c130king]

Kelly,

I saw those adjusters that Frank uses. What I think I will look for is to see if WM or Ace Hardware sells a small cotter pin that will fit through the hole on the stay adjuster/chain plate pin. That way I can put the pin on the right way. A cotter pin will probably be easier to put on than the ring ding (on the inside).

Thanks,
Jim

[Moe]

Quarter-inch clevis pins take 1/16" x 3/4" cotter pins. The shorter length (vs 1") lets you wrap them back around the clevis pin on each side, where they're less likely to snag something. Certainly, cotter pins are a lot less quick to R&R than ring dings, once you get the hang of them. IMO, neither should be left exposed to sails or running rigging, but instead should be wrapped in sail repair tape or otherwise covered.

I've never disconnected shrouds on the Mac or C-18 to trailer. Forward of the spreaders, I gather all four together and bungi to the mast. Then forward of that, I bungi the two longer ones to the mast. I have the adjusters (or the turnbuckles on the C-18 ) leaning forward and the shrouds run forward, sweeping inward and upward, and back to the bungis on the mast.

On the Mac, we used the big Davis turnbuckle covers over the adjusters, but the C-18 has much smaller stainless turnbuckle covers custom fit for the smaller turnbuckles. It also has a stanchion forward of the chainplates I can bungi the shroud to in order to make sure they don't touch the deck. That wasn't an issue on the Mac because we had cable covers on the shrouds.

Hope this helps,
--
Moe

[Highlander]

Just tape them up I see sme people use green/ red tape for port/ star I've never removed my shroulds for trling I have the 14" white tubes they come in diff. dia. that cover the shrould ajd. completley & when trl it keeps them off the deck

John

[delevi]

I don't disconnect either. I would concur leaving the ring dings on the inside and tape up with rigging tape. For trailering, you can tie the shroud adjusters together with a mini bungee or a piece of rope, then bundle the shrouds together and secure to the mast per Moe's description.

As for ring dings, I too found them to be extremely difficult to work in the beginning but with time it becomes fairly easy. I don't trust them to not pop out, however so all mine are taped. I replaced all the connections using the pin & ring which normally get unhooked for trailering with quality snap hooks. i.e. main sheet, vang, topping lift, cunningham. This makes life much easier.

Leon

[beene]

Taping sounds like a great idea, even if they are pointed inward.

I will mod that this week, thanks guys, for yet another great idea.



G

[c130king]

I will look for the cotter pins and also tape them down.

I left the stays attached when I trailered to Norfolk 2 months ago. No problems. But I must admit when they were removed for trailering back it definitely made for a much "cleaner" look as there were no wires or lines anywhere. All were neatly bungied to the mast.

Thanks for all the advice.

Jim

[Frank C]

Careful to look for stainless cotter pins, or they'll rust & be worse.

I have my ringdings on the outside, where I can easily reach them and see them. Ringdings sometimes have a nasty habit of unwinding themselves from the clevis pin. Jeff Stagg's advice is to "ring" all of them at every launching. That is, flip them to be sure they're still loose in the clevis hole, just to make sure they haven't begun the unwinding process.

Some clever cutting of one-inch PVC pipe can create adjuster covers that "shroud" the adjusters ... thus protecting the ringdings from bypassing sheets

[beene]

As for tape.... would electrical tape be good enough?

G

[delevi]

As for tape.... would electrical tape be good enough?

Geoff,

I asked the same question on this board a while back, only duct tape. The advice I got was NO. Other kinds of tape will contribute to corrosion, vs rigging tape which lets the metal breathe. Also, rigging tape won't leave a nasty glue resedue when removed. It only bonds to itself when stretched. The down side, about $13 per roll at WM.

Leon

[beene]

Roger that.

Thanks Leon

G

[Frank C]

FWIW ... electrical tape will not contribute to the accumulation of moisture (IMO), especially if applied judiciously. Further, it is self adhering, so it won't leave behind adhesive goo!

Assuming one chooses not to just use shroud covers, it seems to me that electrical tape is a good choice.

[Boblee]

My whole adjuster setup is like Franks and covered with 1" clear plastic hose but I don't tape.
The shrouds are covered with split plastic tubing where they touch the lifelines etc.

[Moe]

I use sail repair tape (because it's sail material) to reduce friction if a sail rubs on it. Anyone who's ever stepped on two layers of sail cloth will attest it seems to come very close to theoretical zero friction.