standing rigging & swageless fittings?

[John]

I'm going to have to have my mast pulled this winter in order to replace a bulkhead. While I'm at it, I was thinking of replacing the standing rigging. That, in itself, is a question: The rigging is ten or eleven years old. It looks in okay shape, but I'm thinking that since the mast will be out already, this might be a good time to replace it, since I assume it would be a lot easier. Assuming that otherwise it would have some four or five years of life more, do people agree?

Then, if I do this, one friend of mine was suggesting that I use swageless fittings. He said I can just get a spool of cable, cut it to the existing lengths and use these fittings, which he says are stronger than swaged fittings anyway.

Comments?

 

[Tim R.]

As far as the current condition. Take the rigging to a good rigger and have it inspected. 10 years is a good time to replace but not always necessary. No matter how old your rigging is, you should have it inspected on a regular basis.

Swageless fittings are very nice but they are also more expensive. Of course you can use them again in ten years when you do this again. If you still have this boat.

 

[Manny]

If the boat is used in salt water it's probably time to replace. The swageless fittings are really nice but very expensive, probably only worth it if you are keeping the boat for a long time. However, one benefit is you can make repairs during a passage as long as you have spare cable.

Manny

 

[sailingdog]

One thing many people do to cut costs is to have the upper terminals swaged, and the lower ones mechanical swageless fittings. The reason for this is that the lower fittings generally are exposed to more salt and having the mechanical fittings there make them easier to maintain and repair.

 

[John]

My friend said that I can install swageless fittings myself. Is this true? If so, then the cost might be lowered by the savings in labor costs.

 

[Tim R.]

Yes, you can install them yourself. I hav never done this though. You may want to have a local rigger instruct you on the first one to ensure you get it right.

 

[Prime Time]

Replacing rigging

I am in the middle of planning the same project. The cost of the norseman or stalok fittings exceeds the cost of the swaged fitting plus the labor to do the swage. I am planning on having Seco south (One of the largest manufacturers of rigging) make up the stays with swaged fittings on top and I'll do the lower fittings. I'll have them make each stay a bit longer and I'll cut them to final length.

 

[Prime Time]

Addendum

I have used stalok fittings before, and they are extremely simple to use. If you can tie your shoelaces, you can do it. Its that simple.

 

[sailingdog]

Yes, the cost is higher, but they're re-usable. If you're carrying a spare piece of 1x19 rigging wire, you can make a stay or shroud in an emergency.

BTW, if you want to do the work yourself, get the Hayn HiMod fittings. They are the most reusable of the fittings and have a crown ring to hold the outer wires in position, making fitting them easier than some of the other brands.

I am in the middle of planning the same project. The cost of the norseman or stalok fittings exceeds the cost of the swaged fitting plus the labor to do the swage. I am planning on having Seco south (One of the largest manufacturers of rigging) make up the stays with swaged fittings on top and I'll do the lower fittings. I'll have them make each stay a bit longer and I'll cut them to final length.

 

[Nik]

Best place and prices I found was at "Rigging Only". I rerigged last year (20 years is long enough I figured.) I used Hayn Himods and 1x19, they went together easy as pie. The strand crown makes it idiot proof also backed up by adding a drop of Loctite #262 to the threads.

www.riggingonly.com

Nik

 

[sailingdog]

I'd second Rigging Only, as I use them a lot. They're about five minutes from my boat.

 

[Brian M H23]

I bought my fittings at pyacht.com. I ended up buying different brand fittings top and bottom (Only norseman brand had the right T-ball fitting, but I wanted to ty the hayn with the crown ring, too. Both are on the boat and the mast is still up. The hayn *definitly* made life simple, installing.

The salseperson there was pretty attentive, making sure that I got everything corrct, the first time. Strange that the top fitting was metric and the bottom fitting was english, but that's how it worked out!