Cruising World - May 2016

cruisingworld.com

61

may 2016

may 2016

cruisingworld.com

61

all for the quest for the bet-

ter mousetrap, but my fi rst

thought was that the tradi-

tional Highfi eld lever already

did the job quite adequately.

After all, it is simply an

over-center lever that allows

one to tension a removable

inner forestay. Where’s the

problem?

Gerry explained that the

Highfi eld lever has many

moving parts, an anathema to

reliability. Most require that

you remove a clevis pin to fi x

or free the stay. That may be

a simple task at the dock, but

on the foredeck of a pitch-

ing vessel, the pin is as likely

as not to be lost; then you

have an oi cial “situation.”

Because the lever is secured

in its closed position by a slid-

ing ring, it is prone to being

caught by fl ailing sheets, and

the lever could accidentally

open as a result. Highfi elds

are bulky and, to the more

discerning eye, not very

elegant- looking. Add to those

negatives the fact that they

are inexplicably expensive.

Gerry broke down the

Highfi eld lever into its core

parts and purposes, exper-

imented, and fi ddled. His

eureka moment came with an

insight into the basic physics

behind developing the power

required to tension the wire

versus the length of the throw

of a short lever.

In his Hooklever NZ, Gerry

has found a mechanical mul-

tiplier that is as simple as it

is safe. He has signifi cantly

reduced the number of mov-

ing parts, resulting in a lighter

and far more elegant-looking

piece of equipment. Whereas

the tension on the standard

lever pulls in a direction tend-

ing to open the device, Gerry’s

design pulls in a way that has

a neutral ef ect. This, coupled

with the way in which he has

recessed the retainer ring into

the lever handle and main body,

lessens the chance of acciden-

tal openings. Gerry’s strongest

selling point will be that he can

of er all these improvements at

approximately half the cost of

what’s now on the market.

If you would like to know

more, contact Gerry at

[email protected].

Alvah Simon is a CW contribut-

ing editor.

SYSTEMS

W

e hear it all the time:

Yankee ingenuity,

German precision, Italian

elegance. To be sure, these

are stereotypes, but the

origins of these perceptions

can be found embedded in

the nuances of each group’s

national character. Perhaps it

is a matter of priorities and the

unique ways in which dif erent

peoples approach their dif er-

ent challenges.

In a nation traditionally liv-

ing close to the bone, with

scant physical and fi nancial re-

sources, New Zealanders’ basic

approach to problem solving

has been dubbed “No. 8 fencing

wire,” for it’s believed that any-

thing can be fashioned or fi xed

with a spool of it. If the Yanks

are the can-do people, the

Kiwis are the make-do people.

While fi nishing up a long

refi t on our cutter Roger

Henry, I found an alarmingly

frayed headstay wire. That

led me to rigger Gerry Jacobs.

In the course of our re-rig,

Gerry mentioned that he had

invented a new version of an

inner forestay tensioner. I am

Gerry Jacobs is a Kiwi rig-

ger who’s come up with a

better way to tension an

inner forestay (above left).

A padeye and long shackle

(above center) detach from

the Hooklever NZ (above

right) so the stay can be

removed. When tensioned,

the inner forestay can be

used to set a staysail or

storm jib (left).

HANDS-ON SAILOR

Eureka!

The Hooklever NZ

benefits from few

moving parts, can’t acci-

dentally open if hit with

a sheet, and is available

at half the cost of the

traditional hardware.

An inventor finds a better way to lock down the

inner forestay. BY ALVAH SIMON

3 THOSE CLEVER

KIWIS

ALVAH SIMON