Head stay questions

[gahamby]

The head stay on my SC15 is 7x19 SS wire rope not 1x19. Is this an issue?
When I tension the down haul on my jib I can slack the head stay. Is this an issue?

[Matt Haberman]

The forestay should be 1/8" 1x19 SS wire. The pigtail (short wire from halyard sheave to mast hounds) would most likely be 7x19.

When tensioning the jib downhaul you typically put a slight amount of slack in the forestay. Maybe pull the down haul another 1" after the forestay starts to become slack. You don't want the forestay to be too slack as the jib will end up carrying excess mainsheet load. Best thing to do is check that the forestay is taunt and the wrinkles are out of the jib when a moderate amount of mainsheet tension is applied.

[gahamby]

003 SC19 pig tail.jpg

Matt, thanks for the reply,
Pretty much as I thought. The pig tail is in fact 1x19. I just recently experienced a dismasting,trapped out at speed, on a buddy's 19 when the pigtail parted at the nicopress. This prompted me to look closely at my rigging. Does the 7x19 head stay require immediate replacement?

[Matt Haberman]

I don't think it would require immediate replacement, but I would certainly check it over carefully. 7x19 seems to be prone to "fish hooks" in random places that you might not normally see a wire fail.

[Matt Haberman]

Tom just pointed out to me this morning that he has also discontinued using the 7x19 wire on the pigtails. He now uses 5/32" 1x19 on the pigtail. All of the standing rigging should be 1x19, the only place 7x19 should be used is for the jib halyard wire.

The main issue with the 7x19 on the forestay or pigtail is it will "unwind" the wire and strands will break, with roller furling the problem is even worse if the swivel binds at all or if you try to roll or unroll the jib while the rig is loaded. Best to replace the 7x19 rigging sooner then later.

[gahamby]

Most informative, Thank you for the replies.