Dear Listers, As many of you know, the 33 MK II has a single rod backstay which terminates approximately in the centre of the reverse transom. I don't have a hydraulic backstay tensioner. Instead there is a small (perhaps 6") diameter wheel in the backstay which can be turned by hand (rather laboriously) to tighten or loosen the backstay (which is quite impossible when the sails are loaded). I'm not really a racer (and hydraulics are expensive) so have pondered the wisdom of swaging a fitting on the rod backstay and converting it to a split backstay with a Johnson car and blocks to have a manual tensioning system. This would increase somewhat the angle of the backstay and present the issue of finding spots on the hull or deck to anchor the backstay that would have sufficient strength. I have no idea if this would drastically alter the dynamics of the sail plan or the boat altogether. I also don't know where on the hull might have sufficient strength to support the backstay attachment. Is this a bad idea? Would anyone have any thoughts? Many thanks ......
Wade Oh Boy 33 MK II Lake of the Woods
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