Highfield Lever Manufacturer

[Patrick_Seattle]

Now that ABI is out of business who is everyone going to for highfield levers?

Or maybe there's another option. This is for a solent stay on a Pearson 424. Here's an example Installation on a sister boat: http://www.svsarah.com/Sarah/ewUpgradeSolentStay.htm

Thanks,
-patrick

[SV Papillon]

You can use a wichard Baby stay adjuster. It is a threaded tensioner with a snap shackle on one end and 5/8" toggle on the other. I think it is preferable to the tensioner because it allows you to adjust the tension on the stay as well as being quick to unhook.

Jake

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
The ABI was always a horrible choice for the job; it was based on an ancient "chain-binder" tensioner that was, at best, suited to fractional rigs in which tension was provided by the runners, and quick, frequent breakaways were called for. But on most boats they are just an incredibly heavy, clunky piece of hardware that won't allow you to tension the forestay sufficiently.
Therefore the Wichard or similar adjuster is a good choice, though we are more likely to use a Johnson backstay adjuster in combination with an Avibank pin. Quick enough, relatively low-cost, and stout.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[Patrick_Seattle]

So the singlehanded Backstay Adjuster:
http://mt.csjohnson.com/marinecatalog/00035.htm

And a marine grade Avibank quick release pin
https://www.avibank.com/index.cfm?fu....cat&cat_id=44

Sounds like a winning combination. ;-)

[Turimees]

I found that NZ rigger Gerry Jacobs has designed a replacement for the Highfield lever, which he calls the Hook Lever; made for 8 mm wire, chainplate with 1/2" pin size; comes with D-link and long swage stud. $450 NZ is an attractive price compared to the other options. I have put in an order and will post my impressions once I have it installed.

Regards,
Jan Waldin

Originally Posted by Brion Toss

Hello,
The ABI was always a horrible choice for the job; it was based on an ancient "chain-binder" tensioner that was, at best, suited to fractional rigs in which tension was provided by the runners, and quick, frequent breakaways were called for. But on most boats they are just an incredibly heavy, clunky piece of hardware that won't allow you to tension the forestay sufficiently.
Therefore the Wichard or similar adjuster is a good choice, though we are more likely to use a Johnson backstay adjuster in combination with an Avibank pin. Quick enough, relatively low-cost, and stout.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
You can see an article about the Hook Lever here: http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/ne...pular/1107154/.
Whether it is an improvement over the old ABI monstrosity depends on how much tension one can apply with it. With the ABI, if you adjusted the turnbuckle so that you could, with great effort, close the hook, the leverage was still insufficient to tension the forestay on most cruising boats, sufficiently to have any hope of a flat luff in a storm, and there was no way to tension the stay further after the hook was closed. And while it is possible to use (some) runners to tension the forestay, they can easily invert the shape of the mast, thus making for bad shape in the main.
If the Hook Lever has better geometry, then maybe closing its hook could give you sufficient tension. Anyone have info on this?
Fair leads,
Brion Toss