#255 page 22 Wanderer iii

[Hwyl]

So it's Wanderer's foredeck with a jib poled out to port. There's a foreguy/downhaul on the end of the pole. There is a chain and pipe arrangement in the foreground. What is it for?

[gilberj]

A bight of chain is going up a....piece of fire hose??? to connect with a stainless wire??
Perhaps a inner stay, with a bridle because there is no hard point in the right place. The hose is to prevent chafe?
It looks just a little slack though.

[Hwyl]

That's pretty much what I thought. It seems a horrible arrangement. The jib pole appears to be loosely wrapped in there too.

[outofthenorm]

I wondered the same, and surmised that it was an inner forestay. Odd arrangement, but considering their credentials, it probably works.

[marujo.sortudo]

To me, this appears to be a baby stay to both keep the mast from pumping and weakening in the heavy weather they frequently encounter and also perhaps to help flatten and depower the main, providing there is a way to tension it, for the same reason. You can see that it only goes as high as the first spreader in this pic: http://www.expeditionsail.com/blog/s...wanderer-3.jpg Likely the bridle is required because the aft end of the hatch would make a very weak attachment point. Seems a reasonable solution to me. Is the objection that it doesn't look yachty enough?

[Hwyl]

No objection Marujo, although I would have expected wire rather than chain. If it is a baby stay, I wonder if there's a corresponding set of running backstays. I would not have thought the mast would pump downwind.

[marujo.sortudo]

Chain isn't great for weight or windage, but it's awfully inexpensive for short, low stays and saves $ on terminators and toggles. Hence, it's popularity for bobstays. I expect it was selected for the same reason here. I've never used a baby stay myself, but I believe they're used without backstays in most cases. Not sure.