[Rhodes22-list] CDI Furler Wire Halyard Snapped - What's at the top?

[ROGER PIHLAJA]

Allyn,

I went back and reread your post.  When you say the top of the forestay snapped right where the threads start, that sounds exactly like what happened to Peter’s  S/V Silverheels.  Peter has posted an excellent U-Tube video of the issue and his fix.  Unfortunately, you will have to replace your forestay just like he did.  I’ve attached a copy of my post to Peter:


Peter,

S/V Silver Heels experienced scenario #1 from my previous post.  If Allyn’s boat experienced the same issue; then, we may have a problem area.  We might want to warn the whole Rhodes list to inspect the toggle joints on the top of their forestays.  From your U-Tube video, your failure looked like a chloride stress cracking fatigue failure.  Such failures are common with 300 series stainless steel alloys in a salt water environment.  They can be early detected by dye penetrant, magnaflux, or ultrasonic testing.  Dye penetrant would be the easiest for the average boat owner.  All boats that sail on salt water would be subject to this issue.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium


Peter and Allyn, what year are your boats?  You can tell from the W/C registration number on the transom.  Do you know if the forestays have ever been replaced?  I’m wondering if we have an issue with chloride stress cracking fatigue due to hours of use or perhaps a defective batch of swaged terminals?  If your boats were made around the same time, we could have a defective batch of parts.  In any case, it certainly wouldn’t hurt for everybody to take a close look at the toggle joint at the top of your forestay.  A dye penetrant test would be best; but, at least look closely with a magnifying glass for tiny cracks &/or rusty reddish brown discoloration on or near the threads.  If you see anything like this, I recommend you immediately replace at least the threaded component of the toggle joint, assuming you can get it apart.  If you can’t get it apart; then, replace your whole forestay.  Chloride stress cracking fatigue is one of those failure mechanisms that can proceed very rapidly from hardly anything visible to total failure.  The failure will likely happen when your rig is heavily stressed – i.e. just when you don’t need problems!

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium


Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10

From: Allyn Baskerville<mailto:allynb at adsne.com>
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2021 7:47 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] CDI Furler Wire Halyard Snapped - What's at the top?

Thanks, Roger. I'm dropping the mast in the morning and will let you know.

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> On Behalf Of ROGER PIHLAJA
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2021 12:05 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] CDI Furler Wire Halyard Snapped - What's at the top?

Allyn,

There are 3 things that might have happened:

1. The swaged terminal at the end of the forestay failed.

2. The pin thru the masthead casting either failed or fell out.  i.e. cotter pin fell out

3. The masthead casting failed.

Since you say you can see a “hole” in the masthead casting, I’m thinking #2.  Take a look at the top of the forestay.  Is the swaged terminal still there?  If not, see #1.  If the swaged terminal is still there, is the pin still in the terminal?  If not, see #2.  If the pin is still there, then your masthead casting failed.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 28, 2021, at 11:19 AM, Allyn Baskerville <allynb at adsne.com> wrote:
>
> We had a club race last Wednesday with 20+ mph winds and gusts well into the 30's. I was doing 6 knots going out to the starting point with only the main. The previous boat owner used a carabiner to hold up the boom when the sail was furled. The mail was riding high because of the wind, and I didn't realize the carabiner snagged the rear stay - although I did notice the boat wasn't behaving properly. I no more than saw the carabiner was snagged, when the top of the wire halyard for the CDI furler snapped (right where the threads start) and the headsail went into the water.
>
> I'm dropping the mast tomorrow morning, but I can't see exactly what's missing at the top. I see a hole where I believe something should attach. Does anyone have a picture of the top of the mast where the furler attaches? I'd like to compare what I have to something known good.
>
> Thanks - Allyn