Aft fairleads

[Sabre27Admin]

Iain C
United Kingdom
181 Posts

Posted - 03/12/2010 : 23:33:53
One of mine is badly damaged (ie snapped in half!) following a horrendous night on the Lyme Regis pontoon earlier this summer.

They seem to be fairly "standard" and I guess an original fit by Marcon. Are they still available, or is there anything close?

Thanks
Mike T
67 Posts

Posted - 06/12/2010 : 13:30:42
Hi Iain,
I currently have one sat at home that ripped out last year and i havent got around to fixing back on yet if you wanted to borrow it to get someone to make a cast of it made up?

Regards
Mike

Sunfly
United Kingdom
51 Posts

Posted - 06/12/2010 : 13:42:19 Sunfly's Homepage Edit Reply Reply with Quote View user's IP address Delete Reply
chandlers stock new ones but they seem to be mostly cast Aluminium, fine if you don't mind it not matching.


propper jobs here:
http://www.classicmarine.co.uk/product. ... or=&PT_ID=

or get yourself to a boat jumble where they are often easy to come by.

Nothing - absolute nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats

http://sunflythesabre.wordpress.com

Iain C
United Kingdom
181 Posts

Posted - 06/12/2010 : 22:21:59
Thanks for the kind offers/help. Looks like they might be available here too:

http://www.norfolkmarine.co.uk/shop-onl ... -1965.html

Mike T, I don't think I'll take you up on your offer of using it as a casting pattern, however I would be very grateful if you could measure yours (if it's handy) in terms of length, hole centres etc so I can order the right one. I did write all this useful info down...and left it on board!

Word of warning then...Lyme Regis pontoon, one of those modular plastic snake thingies. Went ashore for a curry, planning to spend the night there to break up the Lyme Bay crossing a bit. Nothing untoward forecast, when during the meal suddenly 25-30 knots and a huge windshift, and rain, arrived without warning. For some reason, the pontoon does not actually connect to the beach (LW only) so we'd gone ashore in the dinghy. On our return, in the dark Summer Girl was pitching horrendously in the huge swell...there were huge breakers onto the beach, meaning there was no way we could get on that end, and to go back out through the harbour entrance (breaking rollers) in the dinghy would have been suicide. Even if we'd reached the pontoon I'm not sure we could have got on it.

There was nothing for it but to check into a B&B and come back in the morning...not much sleep and TBH I was expecting to have to fill in some serious insurance paperwork in the morning, but she was OK...just. The bow line had parted in the middle, and the aft fairlead had been snapped in half. She was obviously a bit all over the place but fortunatly being blown off the pontoon. For some unknown reason that night I'd doubled up on the bow and stern lines, and without that she'd had almost certainly ended up on the beach.

LOTS of lessons learnt!

sabre27
178 Posts

Posted - 08/12/2010 : 20:39:50
A couple of good chandlers here you guys. Let me know how you get on Iain and I will put the information into the Association’s records for future use.

Many years ago I had a similar experience where the rather sharp corners of these fairleads cut through a favourite warp, I was not amused and went searching for more ‘friendly’ fairleads. I found some good aluminium ones, sadly no longer available, with very rounded edges and bought two ‘handed’ pairs. There are some reasonable ones around still.

The existing front original bronze pair were replaced, but sadly I failed to keep them. The aft pair are still in situ but are used only sporadically. The other new 'handed' pair I fitted on the top of the aft end of the cockpit coamings, just behind the forward fixing of the pushpit and above the internally fitted cleats. Being immediately above the cleat, the lead is more convenient.

If I knew how, I would put a couple of pics in here at this point. Perhaps one of you guys could enlighten me. Failing that I can mail them should you wish.


Paul Howard. S27OA Technical Officer.