Hi Mod Mechanical Stay Ends for sale

[Jim Henerberry]

Hello All,

Seems like everyone must be out sailing since the forum is so quiet!!!

For me it's another season of projects:

1.  New Dyneema Dux rigging, including new fittings on the mast (weight savings over 60%--maybe more--of original kit)

2.  New wire headstay inside the furler.

3.  Repack the Furlex top swivel.

4.  New radar arch with 4 solar panels, 1 wind generator (second to be installed later), 2 GPS antenna, new cockpit stereo speakers, and LED cockpit lights that shine white and red.  Requires deconstruction of interior to run wires, oh so many wires.

5.  I've only been sailing once and found that the jib sheets get caught on the upper toggle jaws needed for the new Dux stays, so am building turnbuckle boots out of clear polycarbonate (Lexan) tubing that are removable without having to remove the stay--an interesting design challenge.

6.  And, of course the myriad other little things that are always needing attention.

I'm also now wedded to a 100 year old house with an apartment which is between renters, so have lubberly projects aplenty too!!!

I will post some pics of the projects soon.

So, to my subject line.  To try to fix the problem of my masthead falling off to leeward last year, I installed new Hi Mod mechanical terminals on all stays (except the headstay).  As it turns out, no matter how much I tightened the stays, the masthead still fell off to leeward.  It turns out that the wire itself had become stretchy because it had been "unspun" in an improper tuning by the previous owner.

Instead of replacing with wire, I decided to take the dive on the Dyneema Dux and switched out the whole rig this spring while still at the dock.  It was quite a project with many trips up the mast with halyards strung as temporary stays, hanging sideways out of my mast climber with drill in hand to modify the spreader ends, and so on.  It was gratifying and in our one sail so far, we sensed much less heel for the wind strength.

As a result of all this, I have 8 of the Hi Mod threaded studs (for all the shrouds) and an eye for the backstay.  They were installed for only 6 months and saw very little sailing action.

I paid $80 each for them and would be happy to send them along to new owners for half of that.  The Hi Mod are the ones that have the notched inner ring, which for me made the install much easier.  

So, if any of you out there are ready to switch to mechanical terminals, here's your chance.  They can be installed on existing 5/16" wire.  So, if your swages are looking suspect and you have a little wire length to give, you can install these now and then reuse when you replace the wire.

Please feel free to send along questions about any of the work I've listed here.

Happy Sailing,

Jim Henerberry

P 40, Lottie B, #123