Removable inner forestay conversion

[Benorado]

Hey all, I am looking for advice on how to proceed with rigging a removable inner forestay. By removable, I mean the ability to take it from the foredeck to a nearby shroud chainplate when not in use for the advantage of hassle-free tacking of the headsail.

I have seen the end result on some YouTube videos, but I am struggling with finding the right resource for materials, specifically retro-fittings for securing it to the deck when readying to deploy the staysail and the fittings to secure it out of the way when not in use. Thank you!

-Benjamin

[CapnK]

Hi Benjamin -

Sounds like you need a Highfield lever, the deck eye to attach it to. Rigrite may have those. https://rigrite.com/

Or take a look at Defender, good folks there:
https://www.defender.com/category.jsp?n ... id=2358491

PS did an article on a number of different brands/solutions a couple years ago so not too dated, maybe some info in there can help you out:

https://www.practical-sailor.com/sails- ... -highfield

If you are near St Augustine, a good friend of mine owns a rigging business there that could help, let me know if you'd like his contact info.

[atomvoyager]

Thanks Kurt for that PS article link. Here is more info than you asked for but could help others doing this job. Inner stay components include the mast hound, stay with end fittings, adjuster of some type, deck attachment fitting near bow, attachment shackle to shroud chain plate for stowage or pad eye near chain plate, and a method to deal with the slack when the stay is moved from deployed to stowed position. You'll also need intermediate aft shrouds to support the inner stay unless you use a Solent stay instead.

Those heavy and expensive ABI hyfield levers were commonly used on bigger boats but for your 30-footer you probably want something lighter and less pricey. The Johnson levers with 1/4" pins that are common on trailer sailers that need a quick release solution for frequent mast raising seem too small for your boat. I think there is a Johnson 5/16" pin version that may work. I like the Slip Hook (Sliphaken) mounted on a turnbuckle but have not tried to source one. A local metal fab shop could make one and the stainless rings are available on amazon. Here's a European exporter as a possibility:

https://marken-bootsbeschlaege.eu/epage ... D=19650382

You've probably seen my rigging videos showing my simple inner stay system on a 28' Triton but here's the links for others that haven't. This one at 14:00 shows the mast attachment fitting I happened to reuse but you can find other types of mast hounds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpEXSxeVymI

Dyneema would be a good choice for the intermediate aft shrouds rather than plastic sleeves over the 1x19 wire I used there to avoid mainsail chafe. I'll probably use dyneema next time. And a dyneema inner stay might be possible if you find a soft shackle system to use instead of bronze hanks that could chafe the dyneema. That would also possibly simplify the options for stowing it.

Starting at 9:30 in the following video I show how I set up an inner stay. At 10:13 you see the carabiner type shackle that holds the stowed inner stay to the forward lower shroud chain plate. The inner stay lower assembly has a wire eye terminator into a double jaw turnbuckle with a fixed snap shackle at the bottom. A wrap pin is used for quick adjustment. You'll want to hold the stay in various stowed positions to find the best spot so that it doesn't further reduce clearance when walking forward along the side deck. The lower shrouds are already in the way on most boats and you don't want to make the situation worse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm4N9Hz_jig

The inner stay length is determined by fitting it in its stowed position and adding link plates or a strap to the deck pad eye in its deployed position to make up for the stay being too short to reach the deck when moved forward. Since the storm jib is not used every day, the extra time to adjust the turnbuckle is not much of a problem and the wrap pin makes it easy. One reason I don't use a swaged stud above the turnbuckle is so that I can grip the bulkier jaw end with one hand and adjust the turnbuckle with the other. That way no tools are needed and I find I get enough tension by hand on your size boat. You could stick your leatherman plier in the turnbuckle for more tension but I haven't needed to do that. The slip hook on a turnbuckle seems like a faster option and I may use that next time if I find a good place to buy them.

Here are some turnbuckles with handles if you prefer that type:

https://www.riggingandhardware.com/c-10 ... table.aspx

Other options you might see in combination with a Hyfield lever is for the inner stay to be sized to fit the deployed position with no strap and then a curved U-shaped channel bracket to hold the slack of the wire when pulled aft for storing. That seems like a solution that's best for bigger boats though.

[Benorado]

Wow, these are two incredibly useful and thorough responses that answer all my questions (and then some), thank you Kurt and James.

It makes me wonder why intermediate aft shrouds weren't incorporated in the original design of my cutter rigged CD, I'll have to look into that for sure.

Whatever I end up doing, I'll be sure to come back to this post and add that information.

[Benorado]

Hey, as I promised, my follow up to this on what I’ve decided to do for a removable inner stay solution.

First, to address why I don’t have intermediate shrouds, I had a discussion with one of the members of Plastic Classic. The CD 30C has an inner stay that terminates about 4’ down from the top of the mast, meaning that the backstay is assuming the role of counteracting the force of the inner stay. Pretty simple.

For the lever, I’m going with a releasable lever, as shown here:


It’s affordable and if I keep the loading on the staysail low, it’s a functional solution to my objective.

Thanks again to the two replies, never heard of a “Highfield lever” before, sometimes it’s just a matter of vernacular to get on the right track!

[CapnK]

Benjamin - Glad you found a solution, show us some pics when you get her set up! What is the make/name etc of that particular lever? I've a daysailer project where it may come in handy. Thanks!

[lsheaf]

Nice post
I’m getting ready to install an inner forestry as well. I’m not sure I want a complex lever though; it looks like a good place to clamp your finger in

I have a chainplate that passes through my bowsprit and through-bolts into the bow.

Im thinking about just having a short piece of 1/4” 1x19 cable with swageless fittings on the ends and a toggle between the chainplate and first fitting. The turnbuckle would connect into the other end. Maybe that’s an expensive solution or just go with some smaller crimped wire like shown in Atom’s video.

Here’s some pictures of my deck mounting location

A Selden O-Fitting will be installed approximately 18” below the mast head.
I couldn’t find the fitting anywhere in the US so had to have it shipped from the UK. The shipping cost was about 20 US to the Caribbean via Royal Mail.
The fit wasn’t exact but close enough to “shape it” into place using a small piece of 2 x 4.

https://www.oceanchandlery.com/selden-o ... hment.html