I've never had a shroud come loose. Knock on wood. Everytime I read a thread where someone has one come loose it makes me think I should carry a quick pin just for that kind of emergency.

I used clear plastic tubing on my stingray and it also stopped the crew from damaging themselves on the adjusters
regards

I am sure mine was operator error (ME) but it was a wake up call. I think i was turning the shackle pin but didnt realize it hadn't "seated". I must have been distracted (amazing how being on a beach with bikini clad women will do that) and the tention of the sidestay held it in place most of the day. After that day, i carried pliers and made sure every shackle was tight.

I always have a couple of pins stored in available holes in the sidestay adjusters. It doesn't take any space there...

YOu know, on the Performande Brand cats anyways, Nacra, etc., I would usually replaced the plastic ball every season or so, and use locktite on the threads when I installed a new one. It was always easy enough to get back off, WHEN you wanted to replace it.

Also, I agree with whoever stated that, you have to make sure it's threaded on all the way, so the weight of the stick doesn't strip the threads out, then, when rigging, de rigging, it's very likely to pop off.

The balls are pretty cheap, replace every season or so,
thread it all the way on, and it won't pop off.

Its amazing how the cheapest of parts can determine if you sail or not

i don't know about a nacra but last thursday i went sailing solo on my Supercat 17... flipped pretty early on... righted the boat with the shroud extenders.... sailed out to the bay realized i lost a lower rudder pin (sloppy stearing) so i decided to head back... went down wind the whole way back.... then something looked funny... well the base the mast rotates on was broken.... the bas of the mast was sitting on the broken piece... not really sure how it broke or how it stayed up... well got to land safely thank goodness.... fipped the boat on its side mast popped off.. boat fell over caught it and flipped it upright... no real damage... i have an extra base so just change it out and on we go.....

The H20 mast is a little heavy :-); if you do not keep pressure forward against the ball it WILL pop off, and it CAN take the pin and part of the mast base casting off with it! Ask me how I know. Also, if you don't keep it sideways, it wil lever itself off the base and break the casting. I always use the winch to pull mine up and down, and have no issues with not using a pin. The pin DOES keep it from popping out once it's all the way down or sitting in the mast stand while you are getting ready to hoist.

I often tied a line to my H16 mast when I had lost the pin or bent the link. Still pretty easy to single hand if you could handle the tansition between steppe and semi-loose. Line around the mast cleats and front crossbar; as tight as possible but with enough slack to allow the mast to be lowered.