Mast hound size "M"

[Russ]

So I've decided to add an extra mast hound and attach a "backup" forestay and halyard. That little forestay is pretty tiny and if something goes wonky up there I'd like to have a backup.

So what size hound fits the Mac "M" mast? Highlander must have a few dozen of these.

[Highlander]

I got the original hounds from my Mac dealer Dowsar but they are made by Garhauer Marine & u will most likely get them cheaper from them direct just mention that they are for the mac m



http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee20 ... 010015.jpg
J

[dca81]

Russ,
I am interested in making the same mod for the same reasons. Please post your plans and experience.
Thx
Bob

[c130king]

I will be ordering this Mast Hound from West Marine and attaching with SS rivets as part of my new Spinnaker set-up. Plan is to install it 18" above the current hound.

Cheers,
Jim

[Tomfoolery]

I believe that's the same hound Highlander used (based on a similar thread not long ago), which is also the same as Macgregor used for the original. Mine is mounted 18" above the headstay hound, mostly to leave room for the sock and rigging, and to keep the assym. up a little.

[Terry]

The hound should really be bolted on with a thru bolt & nut, not riveted. I did mine 18" up and that worked fine. Russ, if you feel insecure about that oem forestay, it does not cost that much to upgrade the entire forestay, turnbuckle included. You can upgrade the wire to 5/32 and the turnbuckle to 5/16 as I did to accommodate the Schafer Snapfurler CF700. The halyard for the spinnaker can act as a safety stay for redundancy when not flying a spinnaker. You don't need a second forestay. BWY carries the mast hound and they likely have it in stock, I got mine there. The spinnaker setup is a cool addition to the Mac and I would highly recommend some variation of a bowsprit as part of the mod. JudyB sells a nice Hyde sail & sock setup.

[Russ]

The hound should really be bolted on with a thru bolt & nut, not riveted. I did mine 18" up and that worked fine. Russ, if you feel insecure about that oem forestay, it does not cost that much to upgrade the entire forestay, turnbuckle included. You can upgrade the wire to 5/32 and the turnbuckle to 5/16 as I did to accommodate the Schafer Snapfurler CF700. The halyard for the spinnaker can act as a safety stay for redundancy when not flying a spinnaker. You don't need a second forestay. BWY carries the mast hound and they likely have it in stock, I got mine there. The spinnaker setup is a cool addition to the Mac and I would highly recommend some variation of a bowsprit as part of the mod. JudyB sells a nice Hyde sail & sock setup.

I don't remember and my cover is all buttoned up right now, but if I recall, the furling system is around the forestay. Doesn't it require a new compression fitting to replace it? You can't just slide a new forestay (with fittings) through the furler.
I don't have a tool and the nearest West marine is 500 miles away. It's probably not magic to replace but I'd rather not mess with it at this time.

The stock stay does seem extremely light. I'm sure it's well within specs and a thicker stay may not solve the problem that I fear. My concern is that every time I step the mast I'm bending those fittings a little. Fatigue must eventually set in and strands become weak and break. A backup stay would give me peace of mind that if I heard that dreaded "snap" that others have described, that I'd have time to depower the sails and get home to do a proper repair.

Has anyone else replaced the forestay with a factory (2008) furler system?

[Highlander]

I will be ordering this Mast Hound from West Marine and attaching with SS rivets as part of my new Spinnaker set-up. Plan is to install it 18" above the current hound.

Cheers,
Jim

Jim I had these on my I would not recomend for ur I went with the original mast hound & as I say again they are made for Macgregor by Garhauer who also makes the rest of the cheap hardware for Mac but do not put their name on them for obvisious reasons but the Mast hounds a very strong & good quality like the rest of their none made for mac stuff

J

[Highlander]

I believe that's the same hound Highlander used (based on a similar thread not long ago), which is also the same as Macgregor used for the original. Mine is mounted 18" above the headstay hound, mostly to leave room for the sock and rigging, and to keep the assym. up a little.

Nope that is not strong enough for a I had them on my

J

[Hardcrab]

RussMT,
I had to replace the stock forestay on my 05/CDI with a stock-sized replacement stay from BWY.
There was no problem at all feeding the new stay "down" the plastic furler/foil piece.
The lower turnbuckle threaded fitting had plenty of room, and the stiffness of the stay made pushing it through a breeze.
I'm not sure if the nicopress/loop upper would have fit through, I never tried it that way.

[Highlander]

Jim

I called Garhauer marine this morning in CA as I have unlimited world long distance
I talked to the son Doug , & asked why they do not show these masthounds in their cat. he said it was because they were designed by Macgregor & they are only licensed I guess to manufacture them for Mac they cannot sell them , he said to contact BWY in Washington as they carry them in stock he said they usualy order about 50 at a time so u should not have any problem getting them from there , I got mine from my mac dealer Dowsar who had them shipped from the factory
as they match the rest of the hardware on the mast they do not look out of place , I have 5 of them on my mast & no fear of the mast be weakened

J

[c130king]

Will call BWY...did not see on their on-line catalog.

Thanks,
Jim

[c130king]

Ok. Ordered the mast hound from Gail at BWY. Should be here next week sometime.

It is the type of hound with a through bolt which leads to a new question.

Is there any special methods or techniques to drill holes in the mast and through the foam (which I assume is in the way 18" above the current hound) and keep the drill going in straight and square?

Thanks,
Jim

[Catigale]

You can eyeball that one Jim. If the bolt is slightly cocked the hound will still be straight, functionally.

Two squares would work to keep the drill within a few degrees if you are really anal....Or put a sharpie mark a meter away on the mast and keep the mark centered on the drill for the horizontal alignment of the holes.

The vertical alignment would need a level or a square.

I eyeballed my hound bolt hole and haven't had a .......CRASH!!

[Tomfoolery]

If it were me, I'd locate the distance up the mast, and mark a line (pencil) with a piece of paper, much like marking for a square cut in a round tube by hand. Wrap the paper around the mast until both edges line up with each other, and with the intended location. Draw a horizontal line on each side in the neighborhood of the intended hole. Then just measure the same distance along the line from the bolt rope or slide groove on each side of the mast to get it centered, or biased forward or back, as you see fit. You could also make a centerline on the paper, line it up with the groove, and measure off to both sides (flat on the table) for the hole location. Same thing as measuring with a tape from the groove.

Then I'd centerpunch and drill from each side, using a square if you need, and by eye the other way. The hole in the alumium doesn't much care if you're off a few degrees, but you need a hole all the way through the foam. Really, that part you could do by eye, but I'd take a little time to make the holes as mirror images of each other location wise. But don't go nuts, as the hound and sheave won't care if you're off a little. I just get a bit finicky about such things, as once you drill your mast, you can't undrill it.