Hi Alex, Yes, you could absolutely do that, but if it's loose enough for optimal sailing performance (see the other e-mail from Jerry), you'll find no reason to slack it when raising or lowering the mast... so it would just serve as a simple shroud adjuster but slightly more expensive, heavy, and complex. There is a safety advantage to having simpler rig connections: it's less likely to unexpectedly fail or catch on things, it's easier to inspect before each sail, and you can replace it more often before it fails from corrosion, due to the low cost. Sincerely, Tyler '81 M15 #157 S/V Defiant ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alex Conley" <conley.alex@gmail.com> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Monday, October 12, 2020 7:25:09 AM Subject: Re: M_Boats: Forestay Adjusting levers? Thanks Tyler, but can't the tensioner simply be set with the forestay at the same tension/length as you’d do by hand to keep the rig loose (it’s got a pin to lock it closed, so I wouldn’t expect it to open)? Or is there a reason it would always over tighten the rig? Alex On Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 5:30 AM <casioqv@usermail.com> wrote:
This might work on an M17, but the M15 is designed to have a slightly loose rig... using a tensioner like this will prevent the center of effort from raking the mast aft upwind automatically as it should, and could damage the cabin top.
I re-rigged my M15 using 316 wire and Hayn Hi-Mod fittings, which can be done at home with just a crescent wrench, and allows me to re-rig every few years by just buying new wire. For stay adjusters, I used 10 hole Hobie Cat shroud adjusters like this: https://westcoastsailing.net/hobie-shroud-adjuster-10-hole/
My Spyderco Salt (a gift from Sal and Gail- Thanks!!) slides right into the shroud adjuster, and makes a great handle for adding a small amount of tension when putting the pin in... no need for a leveraged adjuster.
Sincerely, Tyler
----- Original Message ----- From: "Alex Conley" <conley.alex@gmail.com> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" < montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Sunday, October 11, 2020 9:38:22 AM Subject: M_Boats: Forestay Adjusting levers?
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