Eye on the headstay wedges between hound halves?

[buckaroo]

Seriously?  That's just inelegant.  But it's what the manual says, and since the headstay was manufactured with an eye terminal instead of a fork, that's the only way to make it work.  Why wasn't the headstay made with a fork?

[buckaroo]

And I guess my real question is: when I replace the headstay (which I'm doing now) is there any reason I shouldn't use a fork instead of an aircraft eye?

[Pacman]

A Sta-Lok Fork Terminal would definitely be more a elegant solution.

If I was planning to sail long distances I might want to convert all the eyes to Sta-Lok fittings because they can be reused with new wires if one should fail and need repair during the trip.

That said, the eye does work just fine in the stock configuration and Sta-Lok fork fittings are rather costly, between $30 and $40 each, so it is just a matter of money.

However, I would not convert to swaged fork terminals because they can not be repaired away from port where there is a rigger with a good swaging machine and the cost can be almost as much as Sta-Lok terminals when the labor for swaging is added to the cost of the parts.

I suspect the reason for the use of an eye on the forestay instead of a fork is low production cost.

[buckaroo]

Good points, thanks.