replacing tballs with bolted tangs

[paramita]

Hello All.

I have a 1984 38 which will have new rigging installed this winter. Due to their inherent design flaw/weakness at the bend, I'm wondering if anyone has ever replaced the shroud t-balls with tangs? I'm considering this but do not know how this would best be done.

I was thinking (hoping/dreaming) that I could simply put a bolt through the existing backing plate. Either a bolt completely though the mast or even a short t-bolt at each tang. If this is even plausible one concern I have is if I put a bolt though a flanged bushing so there's no load on the threads, the bolt diameter would be significantly smaller than the diameter of the t-ball. Is this an issue, or would the combination of a bolt in a flanged bushing be equivalent to a bolt the diameter of the bushing?

Any thoughts in general would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt.

 

[Seth]

What inherent flaw?

Not sure what flaw you are referring to, but the T ball insert is and has been an industry standard for many years. You need to consider the angle at which the shroud joins the mast, as well.. if you did figure out how to properly engineer a bolt-on attachment, you would either need a tang at just the right angle to be bolted to the mast at one end, and the top of the shroud would attach to this tang, or have a swage fitting with the right bend to attach to the bolt. So, either way you still have the bend- either in the swage fitting or in the tang....