Hi all I'm new to the forum having bought an endeavour 26 in November 2020. The rigging has likely been changed once ie not the 50 year original!
Im planning on replacing it all. I've been trying to loosen them all and noticed the toggle is looking squished. My assumption is this is not good or bad! And needs replacing ASAP and before any more sailing.
thoughts?

To clarify
i think the squished toggle IS bad!

Yes and no. It won't lead to an immediate failure, and it might have been like that for years.
You could replace the toggle next time you replace all the rigging wires, and if you don't know when was the last replacement time, just put it in your budget to do over the next year or 2. Most rigging wire has a life of 10 to 15 years, so it might be due for replacement then.

Was hoping that a relevant E26 owner would respond by now. I don't own an E26 but race against them every Sat - for sure they are a good boat still. Comments are as below, trust are of use;
1 Have not seen any standing rigging of an E26 terminated at the deck like that using what appears to be a welded ss channel for the chainplates - nevertheless it could be suitable depending on the overall design.
2 As per E26 specs here the standing rigging can be main shrouds and fore and aft lowers, or main shrouds, aft lowers and inner forestay - most E26s seem to have the latter configuration.

www.endeavour.asn.au/eysite/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/spec26.pdf

3 See the photos below of a typical arrangement. All chainplates are separate.
4 Your channel seems to be securing two shrouds - so maybe you have the mains, aft lowers and inner forestay and the photo is obviously showing the first two.
5 As you say that toggle design is not intended to be "squished" like that - rather fed down over the top of a flat bar stainless chainplate ideally with no welds, and the pin inserted. Instead of flat bar u bolts can be used but the flat bar is better. Bolt the flat bar or u bolt securely to suitable internal structure as per the original E26 design arrangement. Such an arrangement loads the pin mostly in shear with little bending due to the close distances between the 2 plates of the toggle and the flat bar chainplate between them.

www.ronstan.com.au/marine5/range.asp?RnID=434

6 So squishing the toggle end like that will induce extra bending moment in the one toggle plate which is bent, due to the bend made after original manufacture.
7 Also the pin is under higher bending load than it is designed for due to the greater than designed distance between the upper channel flange in the photo, and the toggle where is sits against the lower in the photo channel flange. This creates an unexpected distance between the toggle and this upper in the photo flange, causing the extra bending moment in the pin. This is a concern. The lower flange will take more load than the upper flange due to the proximity of the toggle to the lower flange as compared to the upper flange. The pin will be loaded in shear at this lower flange area but shear and bending at the upper flange area.
8 It appears that the channel flanges are welded to the channel web which is somehow bolted through the deck and into suitable structure below. As above such welding in a chainplate is not as good as a flat bar with no welds but there are plenty of welded chainplates around which have been designed and fabricated suitably which are fit for purpose - chain plates are under fatigue load as well as steady state load and welds under fatigue have a lot lower fatigue resistance than parent material.
9 Perhaps you could include some more photos zoomed out showing the whole channel and the bolting arrangement under the deck. Does the welding look ok visually? No hairline cracks at weld toes? Are the flanges welded to the web on the outside of the corner joints as well as the inside - would assume and hope that this is the case making making a full penetration corner weld joint if the initial fit up of the plates allowed this. Are the toggle plates ok visually, and the pin? Visual inspection won't show a lot but if you clean the pin, toggle and welds carefully and use a 3:1 or more magnifying glass and torch you could find something. NDT examinations are needed ideally.

Hi and thanks for ideas and feedback. Very detailed too I'll take some pictures next time out. I don't think I'll sail til I replace the toggle!!

a shipwright has inspected the chain plates and said they are fine. Recommended pull them out from the deck to inspect when the mast is down.

I am not a rigger.
I would say that has been there for many years and will be there for years to come,no matter how much sailing you do.
Have you done much sailing since you bought it? How much sailing did the previous owner do?
Take the toggle off and inspect it as r13 says. I would change the pin. That looks worse to me.
You can buy or make yourself Dyneema loops. You can even put Spectra cover over it to stop chaffing.
You could replace the toggle with one of these. File and emery cloth the flange so it is slightly rounded and smooth where the loop is going to touch it. Its not going to be the same length so you will have to be confident you can re tension the rig.
Could be a quick fix if you are worried about it and want to go sailing.

On close inspection the toggle looks to have sustained some hammer blows, perhaps to give a better lead for the shroud, the whole set up looks to be re engineered, on the value of the pics I would just sail it as is till re rig. Tarquin, dead eyes it seems everything old is new again.

Yes nothing new. Just new materials. Lighter and you don't have to worry about metal fatigue.

Thanks everyonE
i reckon the toggle was fine ie not squished until recently when I was trying to loosen/tighten it and during this ie turning it counterclockwise it got compresses/squished.

id love to do synthetic rigging yet as I'm new and dyi I opted for cheaper and simpler for me. Ie mast out via barge with crane, leave mast on boat, take rigging to get new made up, put back on the mast then barge with crane again to step mast

ill replace the clevis pin that's in the chain plate also.

nb anyone know where to get through bolts for tangs and/or mast attached to mast foot/step?
are they a threaded rod? Or just double end threaded?

Would very much doubt that your efforts as described would have squashed one side of the toggle like that - rather it must have been hammered as above or closed up in a large vice or both.

Stainless Central should have all the through bolts that you need. Ideally for the tangs would use Bumax 88 316 stainless double ended threaded as you term it. This is the high strength 316 stainless grade fastener equivalent to grade 8.8 bolts. Again ideally for the tangs (hounds and lowers) you should use the same diameter as is there now, with the double ended threaded fasteners of unthreaded shank length so that the threaded portions are not loaded by the tangs. This means the tangs go on then washers then nuts. Use centre punch or other suitable means to avoid the nuts coming off. This may not be possible depending what stock Stainless Central have but they are an excellent company and can source anything Aust wide if it is available. Bumax 88 threaded rod is available which should be suitable. For both alternatives make sure you don't compress the mast section too much - for the tangs a thin walled 316 stainless tube over the bolt/rod to avoid this could be useful. Check what the original arrangement is and duplicate that in the Bumax 88.

www.stainlesscentral.com.au/

Use plenty of Tefgel to avoid aluminium to stainless contact whether the tangs or the fasteners.

Thanks so much r13 will take a look at stainless central.
great tips too re thread bolts n tangs. Much appreciated!