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That depends
On where you live. If you are in the deep south where the sun and heat take a greater toll on things, the life span will be much shorter. Also if they are used more often they will wear more. The best thing to do is inspect them on a regular basis. Once they begin to show signs of going bad replace them then.
On where you live. If you are in the deep south where the sun and heat take a greater toll on things, the life span will be much shorter. Also if they are used more often they will wear more. The best thing to do is inspect them on a regular basis. Once they begin to show signs of going bad replace them then.
Going bad...
As JungleJetJock was saying: It depends. I get maybe four years out of my running rigging. Take a look at some new rigging, the colors are vivid and they are soft/feel good to the hand (as long as they aren't running through them too quickly!) As lines age and the colors start fading I start flexing them back and forth/to and fro rapidly to see if anything frays or if they start shedding powder. You don't want them to seem brittle if you know what I mean? Check older lines where they are tied or spliced. If they show signs of wear cut off the bad ends and retie them to better material. That doesn't work indefinitely though... Keep an eye on them. You don't want a halyard to seperate or wear through at a knot and force you to step the mast or something like that. Running rigging isn't terribly expensive so that's good.
As JungleJetJock was saying: It depends. I get maybe four years out of my running rigging. Take a look at some new rigging, the colors are vivid and they are soft/feel good to the hand (as long as they aren't running through them too quickly!) As lines age and the colors start fading I start flexing them back and forth/to and fro rapidly to see if anything frays or if they start shedding powder. You don't want them to seem brittle if you know what I mean? Check older lines where they are tied or spliced. If they show signs of wear cut off the bad ends and retie them to better material. That doesn't work indefinitely though... Keep an eye on them. You don't want a halyard to seperate or wear through at a knot and force you to step the mast or something like that. Running rigging isn't terribly expensive so that's good.
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