Mast hoop toggles

[ddeaton]

I just got a set of them in the mail and wondering how to attach them. I dont have time to take a pic. I may have to though. The base is flat, not curved to match the radius of the hoop, and has a third mounting hole on a tab about 45 degrees from the base. It looks like I should shave a small flat on the side of the hoop so it will mount flat, and file another notch for the tab with the third mounting hole. I just dont like removing that much material from the hoops just to fit the toggle. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Danny

[Hwyl]

I dont have time to take a pic. I may have to though


I for one don't understand. I've always lashed them on

[ddeaton]

The toggle or fastener as they are called is the quick disconnect style bronze pieces which still lash to the sail, but snap apart easily to remove sail. I will take a pic tomorrow.

[merlinron]

sounds to me like maybe you should shape the base of the toggle to the hoop, rather than compromising the strength of your hoop. they might come flat because hoops aren't all the same diameter. could the little tab with a hole be for attacthing a distance line?.

[rbgarr]

Shave away. I did on the hoops for my fourteen foot Cotuit skiff. See pictures here to compare sail and mast size to your boat: http://e-and-s.instaproofs.com/category.php?event=6913&id=20018

In my experience, there's not that much strain on mast hoops.

[Todd Bradshaw]

They look like this:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid174/p03ca20194c0261be8201ee22bc91e3a6/f39c44cb.jpg

The piece on the right is lashed on through the luff grommet so that it sits horizontal. The piece on the left is screwed to the hoop. It's shown right-side-up in the photo, with the middle screw on top of the hoop. To join them, the sail chunks are slid into the hoop piece from the side. They're expensive little devils, but work well and are surprisingly secure in use.

[merlinron]

ok, i've seen those before... there was a thread on here about a year ago about some-one looking for them. nifty, but pricey is right. i wish some-one would make a set of those out of nylon or high density poly (inexpensive) for use on small boats.

[ddeaton]

Thanks for the pic Todd. That is exactly the style I have. Seems like they would have a curve in the base to at least match the hoop radius just a little. Wouldnt have to be exact, just close. And the angle of the middle tab means more fitting. They must be made for larger hoops. Mine are 7". $$20 each

[ddeaton]

Also, I assume you use them with the middle mounting tab facing up when on the mast? Then you have to pull up and slide to get them loose. I guess I am getting too anal on this. Cabin fever makes you think too much.

[Todd Bradshaw]

That would be the correct orientation. I don't know what sized hoop they were originally designed for, but the one pictured is the smaller of two sizes that were offered. Like much of the other traditional sailmaking hardware, they will probably disappear before long and may or may not even still be in production. Unfortunately, there just isn't enough demand for a lot of this stuff for the manufacturers to still make it or the distributors to stock it. As I remember, the last time I installed a set, it was on hoops for a catboat which were maybe 9"-10" in diameter. I cut a couple curved hardwood blocks, sandwiched the hoop-side part of the fasteners between them and very carefully hammered on the blocks a bit to give the fastener some curve for a better fit on the hoop. None broke during the process and none have come back broken, so it must have worked.

[Thad Van Gilder]

Those things look slick, but on IVY we switched to lanyards with a couple of lignum vitae parrels on them. I put a eye slice at either end of the landyar, and shackle them with a little bronze shackle to her mains'l's luff

-Thad