Solent stay

[AaronD]

...full synthetic on a Catalana 22 is dumping money down the drain...

That's definitely the conclusion I came to when I priced Dux and Colligo terminators (I estimated $1k+ - about 2/3 of that would be in terminators, so it'd be cheaper the next time around, but still...). But the setup @CloudDiver proposed with STS-HSR, terminated in thimbles would be much cheaper.

Rough estimate:
28' headstay + 2 x 27' uppers + 4 x 16' lowers = 146' of rigging (don't quote me on those lengths, but they shouldn't be too far off). Call it 175-200' with generous allowance for splices. At ~$1/ft for 3mm, that's $200.
14 sailmakers thimbles @ $5-6 = $70 - 84.
So <$300 with shipping. CD's SS kit is about $470, so definitely competitive. I still have old closed turnbuckles of unknown vintage, and CD's setup includes a new set. Replacing them separately would probably be add another $200+, and for a comparable price, I'll probably opt for convenience. But I haven't settled completely on that yet; and the next time around, when I don't have to replace turnbuckles too, I'll almost certainly go synthetic.

 

[CloudDiver]

This is where I got my new turnbuckles;
http://www.marinepartdepot.com/new316ststop.html
These are not cheap Asian junk... When I received them I was pretty impressed. I got 6 new ones for about $80.

 

[Jackdaw]

No performance increase; agreed.
However, already saved 6 lbs of weight aloft (not really a big deal on C-22; agreed)
Money down the drain? See post above about price per foot of 3mm HSR vs 316 wire... already saved money. Plus it was on sale when I bought it, saved another 15%. Also, no machine cost for nicopress crimps or swages = $12 x 16 = $192 saved.
It will not last longer; agreed. 5 to 7 years expected, some will argue that by using chafe sleeves will also protect from UV so its reasonable that 10 years is possible. See Chicago Yacht Rigging blog post regarding Tartan 10 Stay that was retired after 5 years and tested for breaking = still stronger than wire at 53% of it its original rated breaking strength.

Overall, making my own rigging and learning, doing, improving = priceless.

Want me to rig Blue Jay? I'd bet I could do it cheaper than wire cost and actually oversize the Dyneema by one for additional creep insurance plus easier on the hands... and on your boat it probably WILL make a performance difference.

p.s. I'm building a specialized Rigger's Bench that will allow me to pre-stretch shrouds up to 52 ft in length, this just gets out the construction creep from the splices. On a 22 ft back stay I only 'grew' 2 inches at 600lbs load, pulled for 15 min. Checked the set, measured difference. Pulled the 600 lbs again and let dwell 12 hours... no more movement at all.

All good! We should talk. ;^)

 

[$tingy Sailor]

Boy, I'm glad I found the industrial rigger that I did and replaced mine w/SS for $1.13/ft. complete!

 

[CloudDiver]

If you use Dyneema for the Solent Stay, don't waste your money on a dramatic oversize. Use New England Ropes STS HSR (Heat Set Rope). This comes from the same factory where Dynex Dux is made (Teufelberger) and I'd bet my last dollar its basically the same stuff. The equivalent (in diameter) to your 1/8 SS wire rigging is 3mm. The SWL on the 3mm Dyneema is stronger than the wire by 2.9 times; trust me, I did the math twice. Creep is virtually nil on that line because it is heat annealed at the factory (heated and pre stretched under tension).
I'm using this stuff to replace all of my standing rigging and retaining my Turnbuckles for tension. I found the cheapest chafe cover is to buy some 3/16 Sta Set (when its on sale @ 40% off) and just pull the core and use the cover. I will doing a write up on the entire process at a later date including all the measurements, splices, sewing in the chafe covers, and pre tensioning the lines to set the splices.
BTW, Defender has great everyday prices on NER STS HSR... even better when on sale.

I was wrong about who makes Dynex Dux... Its made in Iceland by Hampidjan. For the life of me I can't figure out why I thought Teufelberger was making it. Why would they make the STS HSR under the New England Ropes brand to compete with Dynex Dux if that were the case? Well, they don't... they are competing with another company. Duh.
FYI, it seems near impossible to find any tech data on Dynex Dux directly from Hampidjan, it seems that the majority of the data and real world testing is coming from John Franta at Colligo Marine. Based on that, and comparing the data from NE Ropes, the STS HSR is practically identical to Dynex Dux performance wise, but its available in 3mm where Dynex Dux is not, thus my choice for rigging smaller boats.