I need to cover a few pins on my rigging. I haven't used rigging tape before, does it just self adhere? It reminds me of teflon tape used in plumbing. Advice on how to apply it would be greatly appreciated!
Newbie question- rigging tape
- Thread starter Indysailor
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It depends on what kind of tape you bought. The stuff that I use has a plastic strip that you pull off of the bottom and it self adheres. It looks kind of thick but it stretches a little and you should stretch it some when applying it.
I'd point out that taping your rigging is generally a bad idea...especially if you're on salt water... which I don't believe the OP is. Taping the rigging creates ideal conditions for crevice corrosion of the stainless steel. If you've got bronze rigging, go for it... if you've got stainless steel rigging, you might want to re-think it.
I don't use any tape or coverings on my boat. Everything is bare for easy inspection and to minimize crevice corrosion. Looks good and less stuff to buy. No plastic covers on shrouds or lifelines or turnbuckle boots.
Cotter pins in things like toggle jaws should be cut short enough not to project beyond the fitting. Leave them just long enough to spread the ends about 20 degrees. It doesn't look as secure as bending the long ends all the way around but they are actually more likely to stay in. The sharp bends curving them back on themselves weaken the metal and they are more likely to break and then fall out. When you go to remove a cotter pin done this way, you'll see that it's perfectly secure.
If a cotter pin is in a place where a line in constantly running over it, you may have to tape it to avoid chafe. Turning the clevis around will often solve the problem. I don't have any pins taped on my boat and haven't found a place where it is needed.
A neater way to secure turnbuckles is to go to a welding supply store and buy a lifetime supply bundle of S.S. welding rod which is about 1/16" diameter. After the turnbuckles are adjusted, bend a piece of the rod into a long "[" shape, that fits the spacing of the pin holes. Insert in the turnbuckle and bend the ends up and around into the turnbuckle body. Very neat, unobtrusive, and non-fouling of sheets.
The only place I have any tape on my boat is on the plastic spreader boots and I'm going to use white waxed sail twine seizings this year because an end of the tape has come loose two years in a row making an Irish pendant that drives me nuts when I look at it because I can't get up there to do anything about it.
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I had the pleasure of receiving this bit of wisdom from Rod Stephens personally while working with him on a project. It appears that I was off by 5 degrees. Damn, my memory must be going
I have corrected my post.
I am going to take the tape is fine used in moderation as in we don't build a cocoon
As a race boat we drag sails around a lot and most of the time cant be that careful and they have a way of finding the ends of those cotter pins NO matter how you bend and trim
We go with 3M super 33 electric tape
as in we don't build a cocoon As a race boat we drag sails around a lot and most of the time cant be that careful and they have a way of finding the ends of those cotter pins NO matter how you bend and trim
We go with 3M super 33 electric tape
Thanks!
I appreciate the help, folks. This boat is in freshwater, but I have already pulled a cover off one of the shrouds specifically because it wasn't really doing anything as the previous owner had it on an inside one, and I noticed mildew and stuff on the cable. Cleaned it off and it is all right, but I can see why one wouldn't to cover those up if not absolutely needed. The turnbuckles at the chainplates are covered by tubes, and the only places I want to use rigging tape is where pins on the lifelines will catch a sail or a kid's tender thigh. Another place is up on the spreader boots- I just replaced them and the old ones were held on with nylon ties. A friend suggested rigging tape instead. I was just a little perplexed by it, but after wrapping it around my finger, the secret is revealed...the role my friend gave me had a lot of dust on it, which made it more difficult to adhere.
I appreciate the help, folks. This boat is in freshwater, but I have already pulled a cover off one of the shrouds specifically because it wasn't really doing anything as the previous owner had it on an inside one, and I noticed mildew and stuff on the cable. Cleaned it off and it is all right, but I can see why one wouldn't to cover those up if not absolutely needed. The turnbuckles at the chainplates are covered by tubes, and the only places I want to use rigging tape is where pins on the lifelines will catch a sail or a kid's tender thigh. Another place is up on the spreader boots- I just replaced them and the old ones were held on with nylon ties. A friend suggested rigging tape instead. I was just a little perplexed by it, but after wrapping it around my finger, the secret is revealed...the role my friend gave me had a lot of dust on it, which made it more difficult to adhere.
Pro's/Con's: Recyle Cotter Pins or Not?
This has been a good thread. At three years with my first boat, I'm still sort of a newbie. But I did come to the conclusion a ways back that wrapping the turnbuckles over the cotter pins with rigging (or white electrical) tape didn't seem to add much as long as the sharp ends of the cotter pins were bent so that nothing could be snagged on them. And if I decided that my rig tuning was off, removing the tape was just another step before I could try again. My solution was to use long cotter pins and bend the ends enough in a loop fashion so that they were pointed back at the turnbuckle. I always had wondered though whether having the ends short so that they were within the confines of the turnbuckle and then just opening the cotter pin ends only enough so that they wouldn't slip out was sufficient. The info on this thread (20 degrees) confirms that's ok. That will be my future procedure.
Here's a question for debate: I've done cotter pins for all sorts of things since my teenage years; mainly motorcycles and cars. All literature I've read says always use a new pin; never recycle. But heck, provided the used pin doesn't look like its been bent too many times, its just easier and cheaper to put the one you just took out back in. I've never had a failure. Now, if I use only a only the 20 degree bend as referenced in this thread, the cotter pin metal I think wouldn't be stressed hardly at all when it is straightened to be removed from the hole ... and then reinserted. What's your take?
This has been a good thread. At three years with my first boat, I'm still sort of a newbie. But I did come to the conclusion a ways back that wrapping the turnbuckles over the cotter pins with rigging (or white electrical) tape didn't seem to add much as long as the sharp ends of the cotter pins were bent so that nothing could be snagged on them. And if I decided that my rig tuning was off, removing the tape was just another step before I could try again. My solution was to use long cotter pins and bend the ends enough in a loop fashion so that they were pointed back at the turnbuckle. I always had wondered though whether having the ends short so that they were within the confines of the turnbuckle and then just opening the cotter pin ends only enough so that they wouldn't slip out was sufficient. The info on this thread (20 degrees) confirms that's ok. That will be my future procedure.
Here's a question for debate: I've done cotter pins for all sorts of things since my teenage years; mainly motorcycles and cars. All literature I've read says always use a new pin; never recycle. But heck, provided the used pin doesn't look like its been bent too many times, its just easier and cheaper to put the one you just took out back in. I've never had a failure. Now, if I use only a only the 20 degree bend as referenced in this thread, the cotter pin metal I think wouldn't be stressed hardly at all when it is straightened to be removed from the hole ... and then reinserted. What's your take?
I love rigging tape!
Been using it for years on turnbuckles, it is not making it air tight so I'm not worried about oxygen starvation. I like the Navtec brand. I hate tearing things including my skin on cotter pins. I like to go back and forth a few times right over the sharp end then go around a few times. It saves on tape and builds up thickness where you need it.
This being said, tape can do some damage over long periods of time. I had a removeable solent stay. There was tape wrapped around it for a length of six inches when I bought the boat on a section that was placed around a curved retaining device. When I set the stay last season, the wire parted in the middle of the tape. I spoke with a rigger, likely it was starved of oxygen and corroded there.
Been using it for years on turnbuckles, it is not making it air tight so I'm not worried about oxygen starvation. I like the Navtec brand. I hate tearing things including my skin on cotter pins. I like to go back and forth a few times right over the sharp end then go around a few times. It saves on tape and builds up thickness where you need it.
This being said, tape can do some damage over long periods of time. I had a removeable solent stay. There was tape wrapped around it for a length of six inches when I bought the boat on a section that was placed around a curved retaining device. When I set the stay last season, the wire parted in the middle of the tape. I spoke with a rigger, likely it was starved of oxygen and corroded there.
Electrical tape? Does it hold up well? I figured it would deteriorate pretty quickly out in the sun.
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