A hyfield lever would be strong enough. Whatever quick release you use, think about swaging a cable above the quick release and end it with a stout snap shackle. This can be quickly attached and removed to a second regular shackle through another hole in the stemhead fitting on the Monty. That is a good backup for any "quick release" arrangement. It will allow some slack in the rig but it will save your mast until you can correct your basic setup. On my Monty 17, 1977 model I have a split backstay that starts about 7 feet above the deck and ends each leg on a chain plate at each end of the transom. I use a double ended block with a block and tackle attached to draw down the double block, in effect squeezing both back stays together to tension the rig. I need to tension it since I left enough slack in the standing rigging to easily snap the quick release shackle onto the stemhead fitting when I raise the mast. It doesn't take much slack to feed the loose end of a snap shackle through the regular shackle set up there. It is a simple matter after that to downhaul on the double block to pinch the two sides of the split backstay together for proper rig tension. The 17 has a masthead rig so all the standing rigging ends at the mast head. There is little reason to apply any pressure to the rig to improve sail set like would be necessary is a 7/8 or 3/4 rig. Ain't it fun messing about in boats? On Sun, Oct 11, 2020 at 11:39 AM Alex Conley <conley.alex@gmail.com> wrote:
Alright Dave, here’s a question related to one of my winter projects. I’ll be replacing the stays (friend’s story of loosing mast first day of a San Juan cruise convinced me new wire and the peace of mind it would bring are worth it). I’ve contemplated adding a adjusting lever to the forestay to make setting up and tensioning the rig even easier. Curious if the M boat hive mind has any opinions on a) whether a forestay lever is a good addition on an m15, and b) if there is a specific one folks would recommend. Here are the two that have caught my eye:
https://www.duckworks.com/product-p/sj-14-205.htm
Or
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/c-sherman-johnson--small-7-hole-quick-release... (more holes but working load of only 500 lbs)
Thanks for any feedback!
Alex