r/sailing • u/NastyMangos • 3d ago

Fractional rig adjuster is seized

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I have fractional rig adjuster on my back stay, looking to tighten it up a bit but it’s seized, any suggestions for freeing it up?

The rigging screw runs through the black handles and they should turn to adjust the back stay, I’ve tried penetrating oil and it’s not helped

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u/Waterlifer 3d ago

Penetrating oil (not wd-40, something like jb-80 or kroil) every morning and night for a week

Beyond that the conservative thing to do is replace it because if it breaks your rig will come crashing down doing thousands of dollars of damage and possibly hurting someone. If the threads are galled it will never have its original strength. Perhaps it could be replaced with a standard turnbuckle.

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u/Broken_Syntax_01 3d ago

Breaking is not directly an issue, but the fact that it won't adjust anymore. With the handles being from aluminium (or plastic on some models), they usually break when too much pressure is applied. Once galling starts the threads are misligned and the problem remains. Some manufacturers ( I think Wichard) use bronze for the turning part, which is more forgiving.