Upside down clevis pins?

[Sailing Amok]

Which way do your masthead clevis pins face? I went up the mast before haul out, to do a rig inspection, and noticed that the clevis pins seem to me to be backwards.  The cap is down. I'm not sure if this was done intentionally, and the pin is assumed to be held captive by the proximity to the mast, or if they were installed backwards, as I've always been told pins should go cap up, so they can't fall out. It seems to me with enough jostling, it could work its way out between the tang and the mast. That's putting a lot of faith into a little cotter pin. I've attached a picture below.

[KWKloeber]

Head-in is the safer way because the cotter can be inspected more easily.

Head-out is the safer way because the pin tends to stay in place if the cotter fails.

As with everything sailing (and life) there are rarely absolutes.

YB,YC

[Sailing Amok]

Thanks Ken, good point about ability to inspect the cotter. I'll go up in the spring, and have a friend loosen that shroud, so I can seat the clevis pin further in and off the cotter. I suspect it ended up in that position when we found ourselves over canvased, and the shrouds went very slack. I've since increased tension, up to 15% of breaking strength, and never have seen the leeward shrouds get as slack again. I'll change the cotter as well, since it's probably taken a bit of a beating in that position. I do think I'd personally prefer to have gravity on my side, vs ease of inspecting a pin, but I'll wait until next time I take the mast down to make that change. Maybe next fall if I can afford the radar I dream of every time the fog rolls in.
Aaron

[Ron Hill]

Aaron : I agree with you that in MOST cases the cotter pin should be on the bottom for the reasons you mentioned. I believe that in this case the pin cannot go anywhere so it is an exception!!

A thought

[Craig Illman]

It's hard to see, but is there a washer under that cotter pin?

Craig

[Sailing Amok]

It's hard to see, but is there a washer under that cotter pin?

Craig

No washer. I've never seen a washer under a cotter pin. Should there be?

[KWKloeber]

Aaron

A washer isn't typical but it's not unheard of.  For instance there is a washer under the cotter that holds the boom onto the gooseneck (oem setup, later modified to eliminate the cotter.)

I've very occasionally used a washer where a pin is longer than the width of the clevis and wanted to take up the slop.

A correct-fitting washer on the outside wouldn't hurt anything (and would keep it from rubbing on the stick. 

[Ron Hill]

Ken : That would have to be a very thick washer to keep the pin from touching the mast!!  But, I agree that a washer wouldn't hurt!!

A thought

[KWKloeber]

Stack more than one!

Actually, being anal if I wanted to keep them from hitting, I'd buy the next longer pin, cut it to length, and drill a new cotter hole.

Ken : That would have to be a very thick washer to keep the pin from touching the mast!!  But, I agree that a washer wouldn't hurt!!

A thought

[Sailing Amok]

Stack more than one!

Actually, being anal if I wanted to keep them from hitting, I'd buy the next longer pin, cut it to length, and drill a new cotter hole.

Ken, you mean so that if it does slide all the way to the mast, there is more pin protruding, rather than being almost right at the end as is currently the case? Also would it not be better to have the pin resting against the mast, than resting on the cotter?

[KWKloeber]

Not sure what you mean "if" - it appears though the butt end IS riding against the mast? (I don't have a 34)

I meant - if the standard clevis pin is longer than necessary (hits the mast) and the next shorter pin is too short, just make one the precise length with a titch of slop so the cotter isn't tight against the clevis.

I think scraping on the cotter is preworring about nothing. There's no axial tension on the pin to wear the cotter (even if the pin rotates, which I doubt) - it's all shear.  It's a completely different situation than is the cotter I mentioned on the boom gooseneck that has a load on it (i.e., why it fails and the gooseneck was redesigned.) 

If you're worried about cotter wear, relieve the hole a titch and use a heavier cotter (see: preworrying.)

Whether she's head-in or cotter-in, and you don't mind seeing washers (with binoculars !!), just stack how many you need (2, 3, 4?) on the "outside" of the clevis to bump the pin out enough so the head or butt end misses the mast.

If you're super worried about a cotter wearing, get a long pin to face cotter out, and drill another hole for a cotter next to the clevis and use the original hole for a belt/suspenders cotter.

Or thread the end of the pin outside of the cotter hole for a belt/suspenders nylock nut.

Or thread a longer pin down to the clevis for a washer/nylock and put a cotter on the end as belt/suspenders.

One can go crazy overkilling what hasn't been a problem with Catalina standing rigging (that I've heard of - but I'm not rigger, so maybe it's a problem.)

Ken

Stack more than one!

Actually, being anal if I wanted to keep them from hitting, I'd buy the next longer pin, cut it to length, and drill a new cotter hole.

Ken, you mean so that if it does slide all the way to the mast, there is more pin protruding, rather than being almost right at the end as is currently the case? Also would it not be better to have the pin resting against the mast, than resting on the cotter?

[Sailing Amok]

I meant - if the standard clevis pin is longer than necessary (hits the mast) and the next shorter pin is too short, just make one the precise length with a titch of slop so the cotter isn't tight against the clevis.

Ahhh, I see what you mean. The clevis shouldn't be resting against the mast, it isn't on the other side. It seems to have worked its way into that position. Presumably when installed, it was a close enough fit to hold the clevis in position, with its head against the fitting, and it has worked its way into contact with the mast. Good to know about wear on the cotter being a non-issue. That makes sense.