Naked shrouds!

tynwald

tynwald

Member
Well, the first signs of Spring are appearing in Iowa (too bad for the ice fishermen ;)); time to start getting the C14.2 ready for the season. I have a '93 Mod 2 with the original shrouds that are showing some signs of wear, so the first thing on my "to do" list was to replace them. I was a little surprised when they arrived from Catalina Direct yesterday to find that they weren't plastic covered. Not that that makes any difference in performance, and I suppose it could be a good thing (no mysteries about their condition under the plastic), but it did surpise me. Does anyone know when Catalina switched to the bare cables? I suppose it was a cost-containment move on their part ("decontenting" as they say in the auto industry :rolleyes:).
 
I just purshaed a set of shrouds/forestay for my wifes 1995 Capri and they were plastic coated just like the factory origials. I think they cost abour 75 bucks for the set. You might check to see if they sent the right ones.
 
I spoke with the folks at Catalina Direct yesterday and they said that "recently" (I didn't ask exactly when) they stopped using the plastic coated cable because of reported problems with breakage occurring from unseen cable damage. Makes one wonder if there wasn't a lawsuit involved (my speculation). Anyway, they're not using the plastic coated stuff anymore. Also, I was a little surprised to see that they sent me shrouds with a fork on the end that connects to the mast tang. I had expected getting ones with loops on both ends with an attached tang, but this is apparently what they're using now on all C14's. Unfortunately, they didn't include a clevis to hold it to the tang with the shrouds, but the guy said he'd send me a couple.
 
I just go mine in January and they came with the tang also. So, they just changed to the bare wire and no tang.
 
Hmmm...
Kind of odd. The guy at Catalina Direct said they sent me the right shrouds, so I don't think there was a mistake. I guess when he said that they've switched to these shrouds "recently" he really meant it!
 
Tynwald...if you would be so kind to send me the contact info you used to order the shrouds from Catalina, I would appreciate it. I have a shroud that failed last year, and am debating between ordering it as original equipment or having the Marina make me a new pair. I prefer the coated shrouds but probably would have prevented the failure if I could have seen the wires. I may go with the split shroud covers to cover the lower half.
Thanks!
 
Here's the link:

http://www.catalinadirect.com/

I have mixed feelings about using them as opposed to just having someone fabricate the shrouds locally. The folks at Catalina Direct were very pleasant and ultimately helpful, but it took a couple of phone calls to get things straightened out. First, they sent shrouds with forks at the tang ends, but no clevis pins to hold them (they eventually sent me a couple). Next, my tangs had brass grommets that wouldn't allow the fork to slide over. Another call later, and they suggested just drilling out the old ones and fitting the forks over the tangs. This prevented having to buy a couple of tangs, but there was too much play, so I had to futz with it a little using some washers to get them to fit properly. Also, contacting Technical Support at Catalina Direct is a little funky because of their limited hours and volunteer staffing (expect to call several times before you finally get through). In light of all that, I'd probably just take yours to someone locally and have it done right the first time. Anyone else with thoughts about it?

I think the bare cable is probably best in the long run, although the plastic covered stuff looks nicer, may be less likely to kink and is a little easier to grab onto when you're boarding, etc.
 
just wondering...

hello

I thought that the usual failure point for stays would be around and under the crimp, especially where the wire has to make the hard 180 turn around the thimble. I suppose water and corrosives could work their way up the wire a bit under the plastic, but the forces there are way less than at the terminal ends. Since the plastic has to come off the wire at the end which makes inspection there easy either way, is it really a safety factor to use plastic coated??

Anyone had a stay failure in the un-crimped part of the wire more than 1/2 inch out from the crimps??

Also, when I made mine I used thicker wire than the factory stays had, 1/8 upgraded from 3/32 which should be a help and cost very little more. And the plastic coating I think helps to protect the wire from damage from abrasion and kinks.

jim / so. fla. / 1857 toshita
 
Just an FYI
Catalinadirect is another company that supplies parts and not related to Catalina Yachts.

You might want to confirm the availability of the properly pre-made shrouds with the original equip mfg.
http://www.catalinayachts.com/
Florida: Phone 727-544-6681
Cali: Phone 818-884-7700
 
I didn't realize that about Catalinadirect until I went through this process. After a particularly long time on hold waiting to speak to someone on the Help line, I read through their website in more detail and discovered that. It would be interesting to contact Catalina directly (no pun intended) and see what shrouds the manufacturer is actually using now on new boats.
 
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