Hey folks, I would really value this group’s perspective on the clew attachment set up I have on my newly acquired 30U
The pics show an eyebolt going through the casting eyelet. If you look closely there is a chip missing from the casting (red circle in the closeup picture).
Does this look like the right approach? Should I move to a soft shackle? Any other thoughts?
Thanks you all in advance for many more questions coming your way as I get acquainted with Zoe.
Robin,
I have a somewhat similar arrangement on my boat, though probably not quite as pretty an eyebolt.
There was some discussion a couple of years ago, and this is the route I chose. In my case, I dropped a nylon washer between the stainless washer and the aluminum casting to minimise any chance of corrosion. Also, I intended to drill a hole in the threads to lock the nut in place, but I never did that (yet).
Looks fine to me. The aluminum casting looks to have taken some damage in past, and previous owner took steps to avoid further damage. The eyebolt will tend to do that (except for any dissimilar metal corrosion that comes along in small bursts.
Brian
SV Serenity
Nonsuch Nereus #003
Pax River MD
Robin - Mike Quill recommends a soft connection using line. This would eliminate any corrosion issues plus the force being introduced into that casting with the offset eye-bolt. I believe there are lots of discussions on this group regarding this as well.
On my 30U I have about 6 or 8 loops of line that ties the clew to the boom.
I agree with Brian, there appears to have been previous damage with the eyebolt installed to mitigate against it. The damage to the hole in the casting is typically due to wear on the softer aluminum as a harder stainless steel shackle pin moves around in the hole. There’s some minor risk of that over time if the eyebolt diameter is much smaller than the hole, less so if it’s a snug fit.
There are two ways to attach pictures to a post. The rightmost square icon below that’s supposed to be a picture icon but looks like a pair of mountains on a dark background (screentip reads: “insert photo attachment”), and the paperclip icon ito its left (screentip reads simply: “add attachment”). What Google doesn’t bother to tell you is that “insert photo attachment” doesn’t work if the total file size of the attached pictures gets too big. If that’s what’s happening, then just use the paperclip icon to add the pictures as attachments. They won’t show up in line in the post, but people still see small versions and can click on them to see the full size pic.
Thanks all for the input here, and I apologies for not having done a more thorough search in the archives. I found a lot of great conversation after searching.
One last question, do folks know what the load rating should be for the eye-bolt? Poking around online i’ve found anything from 500lbs to 2700lbs (vertical load).
The shackle that probably used to be there (and caused the wear that led to replacing with an eyebolt) was most likely a 3/16ths inch. I looked up Schaefer’s and that size advertises a 1000 lbs working load.
The thing to remember with eyebolts is that they’re designed to take their load vertically rather sideways. That makes it important to get a cast rather than welded eye because the weld that closes the circle is a weak spot.
At least as important as the working load is to ensure that the bolt is sized to match the hole in the boom end fitting. If it’s too small, then it will move around ever so slightly as forces on it shift direction. It’s that movement which wears on the aluminum fitting and gradually enlarges the hole.
An eyebolt side loaded rather than vertical loaded has much less load capability side loaded than vertical loaded. I’m not sure there are side load ratings for eyebolts as they are not intended to be used that way.
I would do away with the eyebolt and use the shackle in the photo to attach to the boom.
If you are concerned about the condition of the hole in the boom, bolt a reinforcing plate to the boom fitting.
I tried to remove the eyebolt but it looks like it’s fronzen in place. Any suggestions on what to try to get it unstuck? I have a a product called liquid wrench” at home that i am going to try out.
As you know, stainless steel fittings into aluminum castings are a problem. Everyone says their penetrant is the best. Google “removing stainless fittings from aluminum”
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
When I bought my 26 in 2006, she had a shackle attaching the clew to the wishboom. It had worn an oval hole in the casting. For the 2006 Rendezvous, I replaced the shackle with a Wichard eye nut and bolt. This gave me rounded edges to lash the clew to the boom rather than through the worn hole in the casting with sharp edges. I mounted the eye under the boom to raise the boom slightly. For safety reasons the clew should always be lashed rather than shackled so it can be cut free in an emergency. The Wichard eye nut and bolt served me well and survived multiple gybes for over a decade. When I changed rigs, I moved it to my new boom. Mark will be pleased to know that it is mounted for an in line pull on the new boom.
Thanks all for your input here. I was able to easily remove the eyebolt, and replace it with a dyneema bridle that wrapped around the aluminum casting.
The bridle goes through the casting hole (filed smooth to avoid chafing), and I used a “lovers” knot to tie it off.
