Strange Turnbuckle

[mitiempo]

Seen today on an otherwise quite well equipped 35' boat in Brentwood Bay B.C.

Knothead - what do you think of that?

[sailingdog]

That's a hack job... not a turnbuckle. I'd point out that the u-bolt is not properly sized for the tang and as such is probably point loading the chain plate, and could easily damage the chain plate by distorting the opening by point loading it.

What do the other turnbuckles look like??

Just curious, is that galvanized rigging wire?? Or is it stainless steel 7x19 rigging wire that has been spliced and seized?

[mitiempo]

You're right - it's certainly not a turnbuckle! Stainless spliced and seized, and not very neatly. You see the strangest things if you walk the docks and look at the details.
Other turnbuckles - they are all the same except for the forestay - I assume it's a normal turnbuckle as it is under the furler. Whoever did this went to a lot of trouble when a few Hi Mod fittings or swages and real turnbuckles aren't all that expensive. The rest of the boat looked good and well kept. I don't know whether he wanted a low budget fix or thought he had a better idea.

[DelmarRey]

I wouldn't be too critical w/o knowing the facts! That may have been an 'at sea' repair in which the guy made it back with mast intact. In that case I'd give him an ataboy.

Not much different then electrical tape on the ends of halyards and sheets.

[mitiempo]

I doubt he spliced and served 4 lowers, 2 uppers, and a backstay in stainless at sea! And each stay or shroud is longer than they would be with a turnbuckle. I'll have to look at the top end when I'm out there next.
An at sea repair might be one stay or shroud doubled back on itself and fixed in place with bulldog clamps. The owner really worked at this arrangement.

[DelmarRey]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

I doubt he spliced and served 4 lowers, 2 uppers, and a backstay in stainless at sea! And each stay or shroud is longer than they would be with a turnbuckle. I'll have to look at the top end when I'm out there next.

You didn't say the whole boat was that way. That changes the facts. Maybe the stuff was free and he's out of funds?

[KeelHaulin]

I wonder what the top ends look like...
I bet that is not a splice under the siezing. It probably is just the bitter end wrapped around the load bearing wire a few turns.
Is that piece of crap nylon 3-strand with an eye splice his main halyard?
The chainplate looks good; what make/model of boat is it?

[SlowButSteady]

Hillbilly sailing!!

(huh. I didn't know my dad ever owned a sailboat.)

[knothead]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

Seen today on an otherwise quite well equipped 35' boat in Brentwood Bay B.C.

Knothead - what do you think of that?

Actually, it's pretty innovative and probably quite effective. Rather pointless in this day and age, but certainly unique. The person who did that obviously had a lot of time on his hands.

I agree with some others here however. Without knowing the circumstances that led to someone choosing to do something like that, it's not really fair to judge too harshly.

I can picture someone with very limited experience and funds buying a boat (without a rig inspection) and setting off on a cruise. As reality and experience start to kick in he notices that those pretty stainless turnbuckles that looked so nice a few months ago (NavTec"s for instance) actually were riddled with cracks and were on the verge of failing. Perhaps one or two actually did fail.

So, there he is in some little anchorage in Costa Rica or somewhere. He's got a lot of time, but less money and even less access to West Marine.
So he scores some 7x19 wire from another cruiser. Perhaps in trade for some work, he visits the local scrap yard and digs into his spare parts bin and sets about creating a new rig to keep him sailing. Who knows? Could have happened.

There certainly is a likelihood of point loading the holes in the chainplates, but I see that quite often even on original factory built rigs.

It really does look pretty bad, but it looks strong. Believe me. I have seen more dangerous looking rigs on boats using "proper" equipment and materials.