[quote=texastuma][quote=shortyfox][quote]o be sure, I would set the boat up, mast up. Pull it down off the trailer. Raise the main as much as you can go. Flip the boat over and see exactly how far it needs to go. Take pictures. I have a couple of riggers here in the Kemah area that can easily build these. I have done many over the years; I actually still have my nicro tool. You can go with nicro presses or a swage ball stop. The swage ball stop will be more and it's a cleaner look. With a small hand nicro tool, you can do this yourself.
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Good advice, to do it with the sail. The reason I say this is because where the bolt rope is cut at the top of the headboard might be your limiting factor rather than the thimble at the end of the halyard. When you take your old halyard to a rigger to have it copied be sure and give it an extra inch where the swage goes. I don't think you can do a ball stop yourself (also called an aircraft fastener) because it takes a special tool that creates tremendous pressures. I think it's a better way to go because copper swages have been accused of slipping but I think that is more likely because they were done improperly. One thing though that I've experienced with the copper swages is that very rarely they will catch on the outside of the hook and when you crank down on the downhaul they will pop loose with a lot of force. If yours is prone to doing this, you can eliminate this from happening by rotating the mast back and forth before using the downhaul.[/quote]
You're correct on the ball stop... it takes a special swage die and we have one guy that has those dies. To me, I would buy a small hand nicro crimper. I saw that Amazon had some, but I could not find the bolt style. If you do this yourself, be sure to mark on the wire where the jam hook is, add about an inch and then press from your mark down away from the shackle. If you go the other way, the nicro sleeve will compress towards your shackle and thus shortening the distance between the stop and the shackle. Even if you add 2", it will not be a killer. It will actually make it easier to get in/out of the jam hook.[/quote]
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