"On the subject of closed-barrel turnbuckles, it is my firm belief that they should be outlawed. This opinion also applies to compression locknuts, which inherently slack up when the turnbuckle is heavily stressed. If the locknuts don't slacken up, then they must be so tight that they apply additional load to the turnbuckle threaded section. Furthermore, there is no way of looking at locknuts to tell whether they are doing their job or not, as compared to the cotter pin [of an open-body turnbuckle], which is either in place or not. Another important defect of the closed-barrel turnbuckle is that it is impossible to see how much thread is buried. Often when it is necessary to slack a shroud or stay to get the correct mast trim, one may unknowingly get dangerously near the end of the threads. This has caused many unnecessary accidents." --Rod Stephens, from You are First, by Francis S. Kinney
David Fann Montgomery 17 Dulcibella _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
