I'm replacing all my standing rigging this year as well as pulling, inspecting, beefing up, and re-bedding the chainplates. All this is in anticipation of years of hard sailing to come.
I've decided to replace the upper mast tangs entirely rather than spending money to have them dye tested and still being unsure about fatigue effects. I'm also not too keen on the design which is as shown here on the left:
Note the unequal length of the tang legs. Under strain, the outer plate is able to flex more due to the bends, this will create strain cycles in the bends. If the outer plate should break, the rig would come down. It doesn't help that they were made so there is a sharp bend with an actual groove right below the bolt.
I'm going to have new, slightly wider, tanks made up of 3/8" stock as shown on the right and make them 1/2" longer so I will have the option of using mechanical jaw terminals at the top. I'll probably go with swagged jaws to start but rigging replacement in some remote spot will be easier down the line if I can fit a Sta-Lock or Norseman fitting at the top.
My 2011 winterprojects golb (blog in reverse since I like to keep it in chronological order) is now started at:
http://www.rogerlongboats.com/2011WinterProjects.htm
I've decided to replace the upper mast tangs entirely rather than spending money to have them dye tested and still being unsure about fatigue effects. I'm also not too keen on the design which is as shown here on the left:
Note the unequal length of the tang legs. Under strain, the outer plate is able to flex more due to the bends, this will create strain cycles in the bends. If the outer plate should break, the rig would come down. It doesn't help that they were made so there is a sharp bend with an actual groove right below the bolt.
I'm going to have new, slightly wider, tanks made up of 3/8" stock as shown on the right and make them 1/2" longer so I will have the option of using mechanical jaw terminals at the top. I'll probably go with swagged jaws to start but rigging replacement in some remote spot will be easier down the line if I can fit a Sta-Lock or Norseman fitting at the top.
My 2011 winterprojects golb (blog in reverse since I like to keep it in chronological order) is now started at:
http://www.rogerlongboats.com/2011WinterProjects.htm