MacGregorSailors.com

Hi All,

I've just used 1" transparent heat shrink to cover my stay adjusters instead of the PVC tubes/covers.... I put 2 layers to hold them firm but you can still see clearly the condition of the wire and swages inside ... Not sure how the the heat shrink will stand up to sunlight buy either way I like the end result ....

Very nice, Neo. Good thinking using clear for future inspections. I'm not optimistic about the longevity either, but who knows, might last a long time.

Your stay covers look awesome. If you permit me to pass on something I heard and know nothing about myself, I watch a good deal of boat inspection videos and a few inspectors did not have a lot of good things to say about stay covers that do not allow the metal to breath. But some of these inspectors really dropped the ball on finding what was really wrong with the boats they inspected. You may wish to do some research into the subject. The nice thing about your set up is you will know quickly if the metal starts to corrode. Let us know how they do and how they stand up to the sun.

I used clear hose as stay covers, very much like the white pvc ones but they permit easy inspection as well as good drainage and breath ability and drying. I think is was about 1" clear hose to just slide over the stay adjusters.
Something like this, but not sure of the size:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Sioux-Chief- ... /204407884

They slide up and out of the way when needed, and greatly reduce any kinking when mast raising

I use the clear hose also because you need to allow the metal to dry out and breath and you need to lift the hose and inspect the fittings with your fingers early in the season to find frayed strands in the back of the compression fitting. If your are going to seal it up like that make sure you watch it carefully.

paulkayak wrote:Your stay covers look awesome. If you permit me to pass on something I heard and know nothing about myself, I watch a good deal of boat inspection videos and a few inspectors did not have a lot of good things to say about stay covers that do not allow the metal to breath. But some of these inspectors really dropped the ball on finding what was really wrong with the boats they inspected. You may wish to do some research into the subject. The nice thing about your set up is you will know quickly if the metal starts to corrode. Let us know how they do and how they stand up to the sun.

This was my reason for not covering them too. Similar issues appear when chain plates get glassed over or enclosed as well, I posted a great site on the subject of surveying a month or so back http://www.pcmarinesurveys.com. In order to keep the ring dings from working their way out and prevent snags I just use silicone tape to wrap the pins and rings. All pressed fittings can breath and not accumulate salts dirt and water. It is a very clean install though.

Despite what it looks like the shrink is not air or water tight from top to bottom.
I previously had white PVC tubes and occasionally they would rise up the stays and then stop the mast raising half way up .... That kind of stuff drives me nuts!

I think a lot depends on your application. For those of us that keep our boats at home. Our Mac is mostly away from the salt air/water and we have the time (and resources) to keep an eye on things.....This, BTW, is the main reason I'll be sticky with my Mac, at least for the foreseeable future. I hate the idea of my boat slow rotting away on (or near) the water.
Unless someone smart makes a yacht that expands (>35ft) after its launched ... I can only live in hope

Neo wrote:Despite what it looks like the shrink is not air or water tight from top to bottom.

This is the problem. It allows salts and dirt in but makes it more difficult to escape trapping them in. Doesn't make too much of a difference taking it home, dirt and salt are still in there. This is the same reason why nicropress fittings aren't ideal either. Regular inspections are key

yukonbob wrote:Doesn't make too much of a difference taking it home

Yes but there's less chance of it getting in there in the first place

I've had my Mac at home, out in the open, with no cover, for a year now .... I have some SS tea stains but Corrosion (even on my old Stays) is next to nothing

I could care less about the heat shrink covering the wire parts - that's okay by me - if Nemo )Neo?) wants to cover his wire parts I don't think that will hurt because if the wire is gonna fail it's gonna fail - there is nothing you can do about the wire - I watched a frayed line hold great in a bad blow on the old A23 boat and then have the nice new perfect stay on the other side bust right out on a tack. The wires get compromised in ways you can't see and when they go it's usually a shock load that pops them - I have seen at least three pop, (two on our old A23 and one on a Cal 24), and it's always when I'm out in the middle of nowhere like crossing the San Pedro Channel to Avalon. (It also always seemed to happen when the boat was extra heavy with lots of people on board).



I have never had a stay break on 'boat' and really I never expect a shock load type stay break on 'boat' because 'boat' is just too damn lite to break a stay - the mast would bend before a stay would break..


In the olden days we did not have those nicopress thingys and we learned the hard way about how trailering can destroy fittings so those are a new thing to me because we used actual threaded fittings with ferrels and plugs:




and Roger reduced the problem significantly be eliminating the old turnbuckles but the whole concept of the sleeve (or "press" collar) cracking is not a new thing for me. In fact it is the number one reason for side stay failures and even with the sleeve fittings the main failure was the same: tiny cracks in the sleeve or press and almost ALWAYS on the back side where you could not see it:



This is the preventable failure that you can avoid - but the only way to detect it is with your bare fingers - you need to feel with your bare fingers on the back side of the fitting for tiny cracks in the press sleeve or collar - 90% of the failures will happen there. That part can be covered as long as you can remove the covering easily in order to feel the fitting and find cracks. I can find them with my fingernail - so far the ones on 'boat' are holding up great but I did find a tiny crack on one of the nicopress collars on the mast raising system where a baby stay connects to the MRS gin pole. (You can be sure I watch it carefully when raising the mast).

With the cheap cost to replace the standing rigging (maybe more in Aus) I just do it every couple of years and throw the old ones onboard as spares. I've got quite a few extra now and have been thinkin about using them to replace the life lines.

yukonbob wrote:With the cheap cost to replace the standing rigging (maybe more in Aus) I just do it every couple of years and throw the old ones onboard as spares. I've got quite a few extra now and have been thinkin about using them to replace the life lines.

Yeah, that really is a very good idea because we don't have turnbuckles and threaded termination fittings - thanks to Roger we can get away with that - but a traditional threaded termination like most other boats have just gets weaker every time you unscrew it to replace it so on the old fashioned stuff it's best to just keep it as long as you can if it's not cracked or corroded.

At first I was not happy about the fact that I could not replace my own stays by putting the wire in the fittings but now that i have had the fittings that have no threads I much prefer them even though I need to rely on someone else to make the cables for me. Like you said - just buy a set from BWY and your done - how can you beat that? The only reason I have not bought any is because i know they will never break - the boat is just too light to break an non corroded stay. I guess i will get a set this summer maybe because of what you said yukonbob.

Second year we had the boat I noticed a few threads had popped on the head stay so I replaced the following spring when rigging the boat. Then I noticed there was discolouration at the pressed fittings on some of the shrouds (corrosion happens inside them) so I replaced them (did both so there was no chance of elongation between new and old ones) I think it's like 150 bucks to do the whole boat which is way cheaper than a new mast or a cracked skull

yukonbob wrote:Second year we had the boat I noticed a few threads had popped on the head stay so I replaced the following spring when rigging the boat. Then I noticed there was discolouration at the pressed fittings on some of the shrouds (corrosion happens inside them) so I replaced them (did both so there was no chance of elongation between new and old ones) I think it's like 150 bucks to do the whole boat which is way cheaper than a new mast or a cracked skull

Very true although I have never had a mast "fall down" - all the times I had a stay pop it was a side shroud and on all the boats I had sailed there were always two on each side so the mast did not fall down. I have read about people having a fore-stay failure - in the past is was VERY RARE but lately I have read about such a thing more and more - I am surprised about that and have never had it happen to me.

If you have a failure of the fore stay the mast is coming down if there is no backup. I don't know if that has ever happened on a MAC (?)

BOAT wrote:[If you have a failure of the fore stay the mast is coming down if there is no backup. I don't know if that has ever happened on a MAC (?)

Dame good question .... Anyone??