Do you leave the "baby stays" on when sailing ?

[ALX357]

This came up incidentally in another thread, but I am reconsidering the idea myself .....

For those that have and use the mast-raising kit with the baby stays, do you install them when raising and take them off afterwards, or keep them on all the time ? Is it much easier to walk forwards to the anchor locker, hatch, bow cleat etc. with them off, or is that a non-issue?

[Don T]

Hello,
I leave mine on. One less thing to do when rigging. When on a good heal the windward one is actually carrying part of the load of the mast. They are not in the way for me anyway.

Don

[DAVEWVU86]

I have an M and if I'm just going out for a few hours then I'll unhook them and wrap them around the mast. Otherwise I take the whole thing off. I guess I could leave it up if I wasn't planning on going forward

[Lease]

I leave them on.

They're not really in the way for me, and they make a nifty place to hang spare bungies when at anchor.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

I get the feeling that they add strength to the rigging. Mine stay hooked up.

[Don n Cheri]

I like things EZ. So, in that vain it's just one less thing to rig and unrig which means they stay there all the time. So does the mast raising pole and hardware. I just lift them up against the mast and clip them on (we've added a clip) and the foresail slides past when changing tack.

don

[delevi]

I take them off. Too many lines and blocks attached in this area. I doubt they add strength to the rigging. They are quite slack when not under load. if they take up load while under sail, I would suspect your rigging is way too loose. Just a thought.

Leon

[Terry]

I have mixed feelings about the baby stays.
Mine are polyester ropes that pass thru the fairleads on the midship stantions then run aft to cleats alongside the winches. I can tighten them more once the mast is up as extra shrouds. They also serve as something extra and softer to grab when going forward. They do get in my way though as I have to get my body past them and they snag on the lifejacket. I also wonder if they interfere with mast rotation when pulled tight. In the past I have left them on but when in a slip for several months it makes sense to remove them. Once removed the cleats are available to use for my mast rotation lines that I installed to help rotate the mast when it sticks under load, it does not always rotate after a tack even with the BWY bearing. The newer M's have a fixed length wire cable that attaches to the stantion so I doubt they provide any support once the mast is up, they need to be adjustable for extra support. I guess it depends, if you spend extended time in a slip you can take them off, but if you are launching from the trailer extensively leave them on.
Here is what can happen:
I took my boat to the dealer for some work and the rigger was kind enough to adjust the shrouds and re-tape them. He then removed the baby stays, placed them on the port side settee under the boom and sail stored there, and I did not notice this. I towed the boat home and decided to raise the mast and check things over. I had not previously ever removed the baby stays so it never occurred to me that they would not still be in place where I last left them. So I proceed to raise the mast, up she comes, then without warning she swings hard to port, way out over the driveway. I quickly grab the shrouds and yank her back, drop it back into the crutch and go check what dammage there is. Yup, just as I suspected the SS mast base plate was twisted. beyond use. I called the dealer and got another one. Looking at those heavy steel plates one would not think they could ever be twisted, but with 30' of leverage, yes they can. If you take them off, do not forget you did so!

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

Mine are always left in place. They have never been in the way going forward. To the contrary they add an extra handhold when needed on deck. They are slightly slack with the mast up so they add no extra support in that position.

I also leave the mast raising pole attached. It and the block and tackle are just bungee'd to the front of the mast. This also is never in the way, and is yet one more thing to not have to take off and on. Why add any more steps to the setup/teardown process? I doubt I'd remove them even if the boat was slipped, it would seem like something was missing.

Both stay in place for trailering as well so they are ready to go when the mast goes back up.


http://home.comcast.net/~duane.dunn/ima ... cf5071.JPG
You can see the pole stored in the up position at the right of this photo.


http://home.comcast.net/~duane.dunn/ima ... CT0005.JPG
Here is the pole in the down trailering stored position.

[Don T]

Hello,
My rigging is not too loose (I use a loos guage) my baby stays are only slack enough to allow the mast to come up without binding and they carry pressure from the mast especially on a reach in 15+kt wind.

It makes sense to remove them with the M if they cause mast rotational binding. I had no idea that some boats have line and cleats for baby stays.

[atzserv]

All good points. I was thinking the rotation would be hindered if attached to the mast. And the line going to the cleat and mast poll have made tacking get caught up for me, things do work but had it hang once so far and I am brand new. I am working on being at a marina so I can remove it for the most part. But keep it onboard for the time I may need it. Any other tips on this issue, please pass them on.

Gary

[delevi]

Sorry Don. Just wondering why a slack stay would take up tension under load if the rest of the rigging is tuned properly. Theoretically it shouldn't happen, but that's just my uneducated guess.

Leon

[Night Sailor]

I only use them if raising or lowering the mast solo. In any case, I remove them to clear the deck as much as possible. I tried leaving them on once and found they got in my way of my feet on deck and were awkward to step around in choppy waters.

The admiral says they look tacky and amateurish so you can guess that I don't use them at all when sailing with crew. I just walk the mast down or up while crew is at the winch for safety.

[Harrison]

We have an "M", and we always remove the mast raising system. I like a clean deck and it's just one more thing to get in the way. I did replace the shackles with Ronstan snap shackles, so the attachment and removal takes like a minute. (The FR model)

IMHO it'd take just as long to fix mast raising sys to allow for clean tacking with the Genny, as it does for removal.

---Harrison

[ALX357]

The mast ends of my baby stays are swage-eyed directly to the tabs that bolt to the mast .... I take it that they must be cut and shortened and re-swaged to make room for a clip-on connection there ....