Abstract: A device for terminating a stay, such as one of the shrouds staying the mast of a sailboat, onto a structure, such as the hull of the sailboat, comprises a stay retaining member on which is an operative surface adapted to cooperate with a substantially complementary reaction surface. A chain plate comprises a housing adapted to accommodate the stay retaining member with a reaction surface substantially complementary to the operative surface on the stay retaining member and adapted to cooperate with it. An assembly for attaching the stay is fixed to the stay retaining member and arranged so that in use the stay exerts on the operative and reaction surfaces a force that is substantially transverse to them. Force is transferred from the chain plate to the structure by a tie. This has at one end a tie retaining member on which is an operative surface adapted to cooperate with a substantially complementary reaction surface.