I want my turnbuckles inside the boat!

[Omeron]

I do not remember where i have seen this. Probably a 1950's six metre
it was. All the wire shrouds, entered through the deck, went through a couple of guides and ended upon turnbuckles fixed to the keel structure.
I thought this was an excellent sight for several reasons.

I do not propose that the turnbuckles should be attached to the keel,
but having them inside the boat, as opposed to having them on deck
can be interesting.

Firstly, i do not mind seeing a bit of hardware inside the boat. It reminds
me that i am not in my livingroom at home,but in my sailing craft.
I think looking at a few, strong, polished, purposefull turnbuckles,is nice.

They are much more protected (including the terminals, etc) from the
elements than living on deck. And probably would last much longer.

Since they are before your eyes all the time, you would be checking them
all the time, without even noticing.

They would be fixed to a strong foundation, by design, rather than depending
on a chainplate in,or under the deck, hidden and corroding out of sight.

Adjusting them, tweaking them would be much more fun, if you can do it,
while laying in your bunk!!

You can have several markings, and calibration points, kept by them
to play aroud with, tune, and have fun.

And if they end up somewhere low in the boat, and close to the keel,
its all the better from weight distribution point of wiew.

As far as transferring of loads, i guess it is still better than putting all
the tension on deck.

Decks would look much cleaner and tidier without all those protrusions.

Sails and feet would be better kept from chafe.

The only drawback i can think of is the waterproofing of the fittings,
where they enter the deck. but shouldnt be a major problem.

What do you think? Why dont we ever see this on boats of today?

[Robin Larsson]

Hi Omeron,

Yeah, thats a really nice idea!
Have you seen the Laser SB3? They have such an arrangement, but since its not really inside the boat, just under the sidedecks, they only have a plate in bakelit or some plastic like that. The fitting in the deck did even change the lead of the wires. That does put the dek in some stress though.

Maybe some kind of rubberbellow or something could give the watertightness? It have be able to move a bit.

It would reduse the number of part needed in some designs.

Maybe this could be the solution to my chainplate problem that I mentioned in an earlier thread. Atlest for the forestay, just a fitting in the stem, and a watertight contraption in the deck. But where to put the jib clew?

Why we dont see it? Maybe just that folks in the trade are to traditional?
And the watertightness maybe, and that you want to see the mast when adjusting it:) I dont know:)
But it would look nice and clean for sure. Maybe for my next design:)
Could build a box in which the turnbuckles go, with a "watertight" lid in the deck, so you dont see it on the inside either........

//Robin

[Omeron]

Perhaps i can add one more thing.
The shrouds tension may still ultimately end up by the keel area, but
the turnbuckle may be higher up for easy access and adjustment.
A strech of permanently fixed wire may run up the side of the boat,
and the turnbuckle may lie between this and the shroud wire.
The piece of wire terminating by the keel could be thicker, and since
it is much shorter than the shroud, its strech would be insignificant.

Hmm.. a little port hole just at the base of the mast would be a good
idea to see what the mast and sails are doing anyhow.

[Phil Stevo]

seen this on a few dragons and a monel framed 30square.
the wire terminal has a threaded end, which comes through a tube in the deck and is fastened through a stainless plate with a nut and locknut on the back of it. the plate is fixed to three major ribs of the hull so its all nice and solid. no proper turnbuckle, you jsut tension them with a pair of spanners on the main nut then lock it off.

nice and neat, just a bit of sika or similar around the wire through tot tube to keep the water out.