I have been trying to figure out why my furling line is sometimes wrapped around the forestay, preventing me from furling the jib without going to the bowsprit and manually unwrapping the line. This morning I went forward to rig the whisker pole when I noticed something sitting on the bowsprit. It was the “ringer ring” (looks like a ring split down the middle with four fingers) for the furler. I quickly grabbed it before it fell overboard. The ring is clamped on with two screws. One was sheared (obviously the victim of crevasse corrosion) and the other was bent. Naturally the screws were unusual and I did not have one to fit it. However, the ring does not actually take much load, so I tightened the remaining screw and used some stainless steel wire to bind where the other screw should go. I will try to find a replacement screw in the French Polynesia. I’d I cannot find one, I will probably just drill and retap for a screw I do have.
