CONCLUSION

The forestay is one of the most important structural items on your rig, and is subjected to big loads, constant cycling and a corrosive marine environment. Often encased inside a roller furling foil, it is difficult to inspect. While Lyra’s headstay passed inspection, we wanted to have the peace of mind associated with new wire. Given her Sta-lok system, the headstay replacement was not a difficult process.

The other piece of the puzzle is the furling system. In our case, we expect our roller furler to work flawlessly, and the Profurl is robust. By replacing some of the connector bearings and adding set screws with a post inserted into the connector, it should last for many more years.

Lifelong sailor Green Brett is a regular contributor to CW. During summers, he’s at the helm of Lyra and offering daysailing charters in Newport, Rhode Island, through his company, On Watch Sailing (onwatchsailing.com).