Ericson 29 standing rigging

[hankcope]

I need to replace the headstay on my 1977 E29. I found the owners manual on the site, it specs 7/32 diameter wire rope. I'm hoping somebody might have additional specs handy and can save me a trip up the mast. Does anyone have the length of the E29 headstay, and the pin size for the eye at the masthead, and on the turnbuckle end, the stud diameter, length and threads per inch?


Thanks!

Hank
s/v Little Wing
1977 Ericson 29
Charleston, SC

 

[Randy Rutledge]

measure twice and order once.

I would drop the stick and measure before ordering any standing rigging. There are slight differences from boat to boat and you dont want to end up with a stay that is two inches short.

I have the mast down on my 78 E29T and can send pictures or measurements but again I would not trust any info other than gathered from your boat.

 

[NateHanson]

I don't think you need to drop the mast. I expect you could take tension off your uppers, support the mast forward with your jib and spin halyards, and then completely remove the headstay. Send it out to the rigger, and there will be no mistakes. (If your headstay has any turnbuckle, mark it where it should be, before loosening the turnbuckle).

Your mast should be fine supported by the halyards at the dock. You will have to go up the mast on the main halyard to disconnect the headstay however. That's probably a matter of your level of comfort. I expect there's no structural problem though. Your halyards can hold thousands of pounds.

(just put your cockpit cushions at the base of the mast, to be safe. )

 

[The Blue Heeler]

trampoline

I think it's time someone invents a mast base trampoline. It should extend out with a 12' diameter with a 6' zone of safety surrounding the mast. This would allow a fall from the mast and you would bounce to land safely in the water around the boat!!!

 

[hankcope]

going up the mast

Randy and Nate - Thanks for the help. I'm new to keel boats, I could pretty much tiptoe to reach the top of the mast on my old Windmill dinghy . I really appreciate your advice, and am finding a wealth of info on the site including threads on going up the mast. So.. I am going to give it a try - as you suggested Nate, with the jib halyard for the temporary headstay - and will use the main halyard for the bosun chair, and an existing 3rd 'utility' line on a block at the masthead for a second safety line to my (dingy life vest) harness. No spinnaker setup yet - but its on the top of my list! Oh - and I'll be sure to strategically position the cushions.:headb:

Randy, I appreciate your advice that measuring is the only way to go. I took some measurments - it looks like the pin going through the toggle at the bottom of the turn buckle is 3/8, the stud diameter looks like 3/8 also. I think it's probably safe to assume that the pin diameter for the eye at the top is probably 3/8 also.

I would like to see a picture of the masthead on your E29T to see how your spinnaker crane is mounted. Also, I've noticed that there are two clevis pin positions at the front of the E29 masthead. My boat is rigged with the headstay attached to the higher/forward position, but I saw another E29 in Morehead City, NC whose headstay was attached to the lower position. Do you know which is right - or does it matter?

Hank
77 E29 Little Wing

LittleWing masthead on left - using upper/forward position for headstay, Morehead City E29 masthead on right, using lower/aft position

 

[Howard Keiper]

Not exactly a response to your query but, as long as you're at it, consider inspecting and replacing your stemhead if the old, thin, sissy thing develops cracks... mine did and scared the crap out of me. ' don't have pic of the old stemhead, but this is the new. $$=~$200.

howard keiper

 

[jkenan]

I've noticed that there are two clevis pin positions at the front of the E29 masthead. My boat is rigged with the headstay attached to the higher/forward position, but I saw another E29 in Morehead City, NC whose headstay was attached to the lower position. Do you know which is right - or does it matter?

I believe the lower position is for the forestay, while the upper position is for a spinnaker halyard block, allowing the spinnaker head (and therefore the rest of the spinnaker) to fly outside of the forestay.

A critical thing to check on these older boats is elongation of the clevis pin holes in the masthead. In extreme circumstances, the hole can fail, causing catastrophic rig failure. When my mast was down and I was replacing my rigging, I discussed this with a rigger when I noticed a mild condition of this elongation, and we decided to weld a second plate to the masthead, cut to fit and bent to the form of the masthead. After dressing the original holes and tapping thru 2 layers of aluminum, clevis pins fit with precision. Adds a wee bit of weight, but the $50 to weld a scrap peice of aluminum I cut to fit sure beats the cost of new masthead.

 

[Randy Rutledge]

Hank No spinaker for me. But here is the picture of the mast head. Looks like the grey one in your post. I am making a tabernacle for my 29 to hopefully ease the task of mast raising and lowering.

 

[adam]

For reference, I just put in an order for new standing rigging for my E29 and here are the measurements. I hope I got all these measurements right...

Measured from the center of the eye at the top to the end of the threads at the bottom:

Forestay: 36' 9.75"
Backstay: 38' 9.75"
Upper: 35' 9.5" (typo said 18' 9.5")
Fore Lower: 18' 6.25"
After Lower: 18' 9.75"

Total cost without replacing the turnbuckles was $700 from riggingonly.com.

 

[clp]

Adam, I'm wondering about that cap shroud measurement??

 

[adam]

Adam, I'm wondering about that cap shroud measurement??

Yeah, no kidding.

I copied the value wrong from my spreadsheet, and I corrected the value in the post. I did double check my order; I didn't double check the post here.

The rigging is in the mail, I'll find out if everything fits next week....

 

[adam]

Yeah, no kidding.

I copied the value wrong from my spreadsheet, and I corrected the value in the post. I did double check my order; I didn't double check the post here.

The rigging is in the mail, I'll find out if everything fits next week....

It's all put back together and fits. Now I just need to re-tune everything.

 

[toddster]

I'll just tack a puzzling factoid onto this old thread: The pin-hole sizes on the chainplates: 3/8" at the forestay, 7/16" at the shrouds, 1/2" at the backstay. ??? Everything was put together with 3/8" pins and turnbuckles. Rigging references suggest that 7/16" pins should be used with this wire.

Oh well... I just put it back with the same size parts that I found there.

 

[Singalong]

measure twice and order once.

I would drop the stick and measure before ordering any standing rigging. There are slight differences from boat to boat and you dont want to end up with a stay that is two inches short.

I have the mast down on my 78 E29T and can send pictures or measurements but again I would not trust any info other than gathered from your boat.

I am finally adding roller furling to my E 29 T. I would appreciate the dimensions you have for the standing rigging. I will use them only for a guide in furler selection. Thanks

 

[paul culver]

Sorry to throw a wrench into this discussion. I have the same year E29 and several years ago I had the rigging inspected. I was told that the turnbuckles, which I presume to be original, had been factory-recalled long ago. I can't remember the manufacturer's name. I did have them replaced along with all stays and shrouds.

 

[RussE29]

Good information here. I am in the process of acquiring an E29 from my father. He recently installed a new mast and standing rigging (3 years ago). Looking at the owner's manual, I do not see guidance/specifications on the tension of the shrouds. I would like to check/tune the rig, but a Loos guage is not much use without some target numbers. Does anyone here have a chart for shroud tensions?

 

[RussE29]

Good information here. I am in the process of acquiring an E29 from my father. He recently installed a new mast and standing rigging (3 years ago). Looking at the owner's manual, I do not see guidance/specifications on the tension of the shrouds. I would like to check/tune the rig, but a Loos guage is not much use without some target numbers. Does anyone here have a chart for shroud tensions?

Something like this, maybe?