Dismasted!

Hi Leon, you’re right that the fitting itself looks intact — the failure was with the head stay cable that fits into it. The corrosion that I can see is most pronounced in the inner core of the cable (the 1 + 6 strands that sit within the wedge component of the sta-lok). For reference, the failure point is above deck but shielded from view by what Selden/Furlex calls the adaptor tube, a big cone of stainless steel that sits on top of the lower bearing assembly. There’s no way to see the connector without completely disassembling the whole thing. I don’t see any evidence that sealant was applied to the cable to prevent corrosion and the installation instructions from Selden don’t mention it (they do recommend using loctite on the connector threads to secure it). Searching the internet however (e.g., https://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/mechanical-rigging-terminals-to-seal-or-not/), many folks do recommend using sealant to prevent this problem.

Mainer - did you find a suitable rigger in Grenada? Pay attention to the location of the installation site since those masts are very easy to ship from US to Caribbean by ocean cargo but next to impossible to transport them over small island roads due to their lenght. Either it has to be all done by sea or you can order a two piece version (Selden has this) which are sticked together afterwards.

Rick. The furling drum needs to be removed to look at that Selden Sta-Lok. First thing I’m doing when I get back to the boat. I agree that a spare halyard (pre-rigged) to the bow with good tension could have saved the rig. 

This mishap raises an important question on the replacement cycle for wire rigging.