In my case, the boat was on the hard all winter. I checked on it in mid-March and saw more than the normal leaked oil at the base. The backstay was not as snug as I would have liked so I gave the adjuster a few pulls, backstay tightened, and I left. Two weeks later, oil all over the cockpit and the backstay was wildly flopping around with about a 4 or 5 ft sag -- no way it would have supported the mast under load. Mast probably would not come down, but the mast would have had to deflect many inches at the top before re-engaging the backstay -- not good. I quickly removed the backstay adjuster, got a couple of large turnbuckles on either end of where the adjuster was, and ran a line through 3 or 4 times, pulling the backstay tight again. Later got the NavTec turnbuckle from Torresen and that's how it sits for now. I'll put the new SailTec adjuster on in a few days when it warms up and I finish what needs to be done before going in the water.
Jeff Laman 1981 C&C34 "Harmony" Ludington, Mi ________________________________ From: Dennis C. via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 10:02 AM To: Stus-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Cc: Dennis C. <capt...@gmail.com> Subject: Stus-List Re: Navtec Hydraulic backstay adjuster, soon to be free If you're talking about a traditional cylinder/ram style hydraulic adjuster, a complete leak of all fluid should not result in the loss of the rig. The rod and piston will simply extend to the maximum and stop. The piston will be at the top of its travel against the plug in the top of the cylinder. The backstay will be floppy but should still hold the mast up. Been there, done that. Happened to Touche' during an offshore race at night. We rigged a line from the bottom of the backstay through a snatch block on the transom tang to a winch to give us some control and peace of mind but it wasn't entirely necessary. We were going downwind in mid 20's at the time. The most significant negative was Paul Eugenio, who was steering, got hydraulic oil all over his shirt. We made him leave it in the cockpit when we finally docked. :) -- Dennis C. Touche' 35-1 #83 Mandeville, LA On Tue, Apr 20, 2021 at 8:43 AM Bruce Whitmore via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com>> wrote: Sorry, but I seem to be missing something. My split hydraulic backstays have leaked in the past, to I initially just set the backstay tension using the turnbuckle to a light air setting at the dock and put it on my list for future repairs. Now they're fixed ( and yes, more story on that to come). So what are you folks saying when you talk about a failure at sea being a bad outcome? Sure, I understand the loss of fluid, but not something that would result in loss of the rig. Would you please explain? Thanks! Bruce Whitmore 1994 C&C 37/40+ "Astralis" Madeira Beach, FL (847) 404-5092 Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paypal.me%2Fstumurray&data=04%7C01%7C%7C314f4a90874442b25dc908d9040519a1%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637545242209722960%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=zsMS7RVHIByv8hxQvYB2cKpHsN4F4mqXQLhaBp7VhNQ%3D&reserved=0> Thanks - Stu
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
