Solent Stay

[benz]

Hi Joel,
You'll need a halyard, of course--perhaps's there's one rigged for a spinnaker? You'll want to make sure the stay doesn't interfere with the furler arrangement or with flying the jib--it will make tacking the jib difficult, unless you make the new stay removeable, as with a Highfield lever. It seems like if a furler is a MUST for singlehanding, you'll only use the hank-on sails when with other people on board. Do you sail accompanied often enough to warrant the expense and trouble?

[Joel H.]

Originally Posted by benz

Hi Joel,
You'll need a halyard, of course--perhaps's there's one rigged for a spinnaker? You'll want to make sure the stay doesn't interfere with the furler arrangement or with flying the jib--it will make tacking the jib difficult, unless you make the new stay removeable, as with a Highfield lever. It seems like if a furler is a MUST for singlehanding, you'll only use the hank-on sails when with other people on board. Do you sail accompanied often enough to warrant the expense and trouble?

Thanks for the reply Benz.


The stay will def. be removable. I'm looking into building a tensioner using a cascade of low friction rings, (Antal), and then lead aft. The stay itself will be Dyneema and will be eye spliced to the eye of the mast fitting, (Gibbs"T-Ball" with eye). I'm also considering using a low friction ring as a halyard block also spliced to the eye of the mast fitting and down to a conventional turning block and lead aft. Hopefully, this will allow for quickly moving a pre-hanked sail into position, attaching the stay and tack, and returning to the cockpit, where it can then be tensioned and raised, all with the limited help of a autohelm or crewmember.
That's the thinking so far. The only real expense will be if I have to get my jib re-cut to make it work. That is the real question!
Cheers,
Joel H.

[benz]

Making sure the jib will fit before rigging up a whole setup doesn't seem too hard. Lash the tack to the deck, then run the head aloft with the jib halyard and see where it ends up. Choose a calm day.
I'd suggest tensioning the Dyneema forestay from the foredeck, if you have to go up there anyway, rather than leading aft--it'll only take a moment to pull it all tight, and there'll be one less line back there. I use cascading Antal rings for my running backstays, and they work fine.

[Joel H.]

Originally Posted by benz

Making sure the jib will fit before rigging up a whole setup doesn't seem too hard. Lash the tack to the deck, then run the head aloft with the jib halyard and see where it ends up. Choose a calm day.
I'd suggest tensioning the Dyneema forestay from the foredeck, if you have to go up there anyway, rather than leading aft--it'll only take a moment to pull it all tight, and there'll be one less line back there. I use cascading Antal rings for my running backstays, and they work fine.

Great info Benz. Vary encouraging, thank you. I think you have a good point about tensioning at the stay. I'm wondering about cleating that setup. Also do you have any pics showing your backstay cascade?
Thx,
Joel H.

[Joel H.]

Good point about testing the fit of the jib. I just need to find a day when it isn't blowing or freezing cold. Not a easy thing this time of year, here in Chicago.

[Joel H.]

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I just had another brainstorm.
This may be proof that I have to much fee time, (and am quite possibly crazy!), but:
See photos.

What if the "Antal Ring cascade tensioner" were inverted, so that the final purchase, (the bitter end), of the tensioner was directed up, and fitted with a snap shackle, to became the tack-point of the jib?
Therefore, the loose tensioner and stay can be pulled foreword and, with another snap shackle, attached to the deck mounted padeye. Then the jib tack can be snap shackled to the end/tack-point of the system and hanked on the stay, (obviously this could also be done ahead of time). Finally, when the jib is raised and luff tensioned, the pull on the tack will tension the Solent Stay!!!
Admittedly the power and length of the cascade might have to be experimented with to get the proper ratio of stay tension to luff tension, as well as tack height above deck.
OR:
Also what might be possible would be to install some kind of stopper in the last line of the tensioner(as shown),to limit stay tension and allow for separate luff tensioning.
So, what do you think?
Joel Heberlein

P.S. If you feel the urge to giggle I won't hold it against you.
P.S. If it hasn't been done before, and it works, I'm claiming and naming it.

[Joel H.]

A comment from someone on Sailnet made me realize that the tensioner stop, to limit stay tension, and allow further luff tensioning, would actually need to be stop(s). In that there would need to be one in every link of the cascade in order to truly lock it.