Swaging Tool From Lowes

Spidey

New Member
I am still waiting on sleeves to put my stays together, but tested the Lowes swager on the old fittings to see how it felt. The tool seems to be squeezing just a hair tighter than the old swages, and is adjustable. I don't have a go/no go gage, but I don't use a torque wrench on my car's lug nuts either. (Only on head and intake gasket bolts.) I still hope to sail her this season. The nico sleeves should arrive tomorrow.

Contemplating all the damage done by a broken stay, why is it that iceboats, which endure much higher pressures on the mast bottom than a wet boat such as this, use an elevated ball to support the bottom of the mast, but Capri bolts the mast semi-solid to the boat? If a DN stay breaks, the mast comes down sideways or straight back, but typically causes minimal damage to the hull, if any. Am I missing something?

Thanks for any input...
"Spidey"
 
Revisiting The Contemplation: Mast Ball Mount

Hello All;

Finally sailed the Capri 14.2 mod I today, 6 weeks after purchase.
Made three passes across the lake and back with the Mrs.
Exciting times with changing winds ever-present on our lake
whether it be Spring, Summer, Fall or Iceboating season.

All of a sudden, there was a loud BANG, and stuff started falling.
A sidestay pin retainer (stainless, round, standard issue) evidently
worked it's way off the pin. Good golly what a disappointing 1st outing.

Naturally, it bent the bejeebers out of the idiotic mast step Catalina
decided to use. AGAIN. (It was bent when I bought the boat.)
This time it snapped all four stainless screws and dented the 'glass
as the mount left the boat along with the mast.

THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY TO HOLD THE BOTTOM OF THE
MAST SO THE BOAT ISN'T DAMAGED DUE TO A STAY FAILURE.


Anyone?
 
Whatcha Gonna Do?

Ordered a new mast step from Catalina Direct.
If I want to sail again this year, I'll just have to
knuckle under and put another stock mast step
on my 14.2, at least until I have another failure.

Thinking stainless bolts with nilock nuts to replace
shroud adjuster pins. I'm not opposed to carrying
a pair of wrenches to set up / tear down. I had a
nice tool kit made up for the DN just-in-case, and
can rob needed tools from it for the summertime.
 
Tape the ring dings in place with a little rigging tape. Make sure the pin's head is facing out and the rings are toward the center of the boat so the jib sheet doesn't catch a ring and pull it out. Don't use nuts and bolts as they work free faster than you'd think in this application. Make sure the rings are in good shape and in correct position before each sail. Carry spare rings and tape for replacement if needed.

If you don't check the rig before you go sailing you only have yourself to blame (I speak from personal experience). Good luck.
 
Disgusted with Catalina Direct

Mast Step has to be "ordered in" at Catalina Direct,
2-3 weeks to get the part to me. Pretty sure I could
eat the old one and "create" my own in that amount
of time if you catch my drift.

1. Cancelled the order.

2. Checking my stainless steel supply in the basement.

3. Looking for a better source for parts.

4. Sorry I didn't buy the Hobie One.

Hope to sail again this year.
 
Why did you buy the boat? Didn't you notice the bent mast step? Just kidding, but if the Hobie is the better solution, you should buy that one and sell the 14.2. Personally I like the Laser better but its a more athletic boat to properly sail.

Just remember all boats wear and cost money that's why they're called a hole in the water. Time and money.
 
Mast Step Cont'd

First of all, thanks for the input, "Fan".

I may have had the shroud pins inside-out, that's the best answer imaginable. I had just
set the boat up and moved the pins to the top of their travel to make it easier to keep the
mast forward while fastening the forestay. I then moved the side shrouds down and
re-pinned them at the proper hole, so I know the rings were in securely when we left the
boat ramp. I'll make sure the ring-dings are toward the center of the boat from now on.

I took the mast step to the basement and straightened it on my anvil again. It's nice
and square, but getting quite a collection of hammer marks on it by now. If I had
stopped at the hardware and bought new mounting screws (the heads popped off)
I would have the mast step back on now.

Going to check with Sailrite, looking for all new clevis pins and ring-dings, and
maybe a bit 'o tape to hold 'em still. Fortunately, Sailrite is only 20-30 miles
from here, and I occasionally get to that area while out killing bugs for a living.
They had the nicopress sleeves I needed when I resorted to making my own stays
last week, and they even saved me some shipping by sending them through the
mail in an envelope instead of via UPS.

We really do like the Capri, it's just frustrating to have to wait for parts for a factory-made
boat. I sold my Laser to buy the Capri after being too slow buying the used Hobie One.
The Capri was 1/2 the price, but did have broken stays, dirty sails and a bent mast step.
Hopefully this ends my boat troubles for a while, and the Mrs and I can go sailing.
 
Spidey:

A friend of mine bought a Hobie One last year, his first sail boat. I took him out in it and my Capri 14.2, so as to teach him how to sail. I like the Capri a lot better then the Hobie, my friend did also we did most of the lessons in my Capri. He sold the Hobie this spring and bought a Victoria 18. He still crews for me in my Capri.

I had the exact same thing happen to me when my boat demasted, in a 25-28 knot wind. Yeah I shouldn't have been out, but when I started it was only 20 knots :). I ended up doing the same as you I put it in a vise and straightened it. That was two years ago and it is still working.

You will have fun with the boat, If you get down towards Muncie let me know.

Kent
 
"Spidey" ,

I only disconnect the forestay pin for trailering . Side stays stay attached and pins taped but I'm only taking the boat 30 miles to the water. No boat is perfect and many of these Capri 14.2s are pretty old so its like caring for an older patient , but one most of us really like.

Happy to hear you have reshaped the mast step just don't through bolt it to the deck as that will tear the cr#p out of the deck if the rig drops. Still wood and fiberglass are easy to work with so even that is not the end of the world.

Lastly down here on Mission Bay, the boat rental places use/abuse the 14.2s as rentals decade after decade without changing out the boats. Its really impressive they hold up so well with year round use were other boats would have died years earlier.
 
Through Bolts on Mast Step

"Fan",

So... The mast step isn't through-bolted on your Capri?
Mine may not be as originally shipped, but the mast step
(which was bent, but still on the boat when I bought it)
was through-fastened with #10 stainless machine screws
with washers, lock washers and nuts on the bottom side
inside the cuddy door. Luckily, the screw heads all popped
off in the de-masting and only left a small dent in the upper
deck where the step rocked forward and starboard. I bought
the same screws this evening to re-mount the step before
your e-mail notice came through.

I plan to visit Sailrite tomorrow to buy new pins and ring-dings,
as I have a job that takes me within 5 miles of them. I can't
seem to find 3/16" stainless pins in town anywhere, and need
to replace the retainers anyway for peace of mind.

A roll of sturdy white tape, possibly rigging tape, fell from the
sky this morning while I was cleaning spider webs from a house.
Honest! My webbing pole bumped against a bush, and I heard a
thump on the ground beside me. Apparently, the tape had some-
how been lodged in the tall-ish bush while the house was being
built. The losers-weepers never found it, and just grabbed
another roll. This finders-keepers is taking the hint and will use
it to keep the retainers in my beautiful new shrouds. I may even
replace the black electrical tape on them with the white stuff.

Thanks for the input. The Capri may soon be my friend again.
 
Bah! No Pins at Sailrite

Visited Sailrite while in the area today.
Bought a new Main Shroud while there.
Checked with Fastenal, they have pins
in the warehouse but none in the store.

Time to get out the mini-lathe and turn
down some 1/4 stainless bolts. I wasn't
sure it would handle stainless, but I've
already made the one I really need, and
plan to make a few spares while I'm at it.

Hoping to be back on the water Saturday.
 
Clevis Pins Arrived Today

New clevis pins from Fastenal arrived this morning
in-store at Goshen, IN. I just happened to be in
Goshen killing bugs when they called me to say
my order had arrived. I bought 10, just in case
I might need a couple in the future. The best part?
Fastenal doesn't charge shipping to the store on
special orders. Pin part#0156900 $1.72 each.
My new rings also arrived and are the right thickness,
but the overall diameter is a bit small, so I reordered
the next size larger. They're pretty inexpensive, so I
kept the undersize ones as well. The replacements
should arrive Monday morning, so I'll have to find
another job near Goshen. In the meantime, I'll find
enough rings to put the Capri back in the water this
weekend, straightened mast step and all.
 
No Crash, Bang or Boom!

Successfully sailed the Capri 14.2 this afternoon without
major incident. The mast stayed standing, nothing broke.
It was a bit tricky getting set up and away from the shore,
as the wind was blowing toward shore. It doesn't help that
the lake is over a foot low, so I can't float the boat off and
on the trailer with the angle of the sandy lake bottom at
shore. We man-handle it into the water off the rear roller.

My wife and I had a nice 2 hour sail in gentle breezes which
helped us work together in learning to control the sail and jib.
I guess the boat and I are friends once more, and now we
will need to name her. Our last boat was named "On A Whim".
 
Clevis Pins and Rings

Larger clevis rings arrived today, and should do nicely.
I couldn't make it to Goshen, but since my Mrs. works
downtown Goshen, she stopped by Fastenal during her
lunch hour and picked them up. Part#11104135 $.33 ea

I installed the rings tonight and taped them so the double
thickness is in the pin hole. Not sure we'll make it
onto the lake during the week, but hope to sail some this
weekend while our daughters are home for the holiday.

Crap! Now I need more life jackets! We're down to two
since we let the rest go with the Rinker when we sold it.
(That's where our paddles and anchors went too. Darn!)
Maybe all these items will go on sale this weekend.

Oh yeah... The Mrs asked where the tunes were while
we were out sailing on Sunday. I suppose a radio of
some sort could be added with a small rechargeable
12 volt battery. I expect most sailing trips to be four
hours or less around here, so battery power = ok.

Any thoughts?
 

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