4mm or 5mm guard wire?

[dedwards]

I'm renewing our guard wires and am wondering what are the considerations regarding whether to buy 4mm or 5mm wire. Is it just a case of aesthetics or does the extra strength of the larger wire give any real world benefits over the smaller one?

 

[sarabande]

Think about the need to grab hold of these lines in an emergency and to hold on without slicing your palms to ribbons.

The bigger the better.

 

[NormanS]

Think about the need to grab hold of these lines in an emergency and to hold on without slicing your palms to ribbons.

The bigger the better.

That's why it was normal to use the plastic coated wire. Of course that was before millions of people fell over the side, having had rust lurking under the plastic.

 

[merlin3688]

4mm is standard on most boats, I have supplied 5mm but only once! As mentioned they all used to be plastic coated but most people have moved away from this now.

 

[Daydream believer]

At the ends of the wire you will need a swaged fitting. The size of this is dependent on the wire diameter
However, you have to check the holes in the tops of the stanchions to see if the swaging will go through the hole. So the diameter of the wire becomes a little secondary

 

[merlin3688]

The standard set up is for a swage fork on the front end and a swage stud (That will pass through the stanchions) with either e eye for a lanyard or a rigging screw, the difference between 4 and 5mm swage stud is small but as mentioned best to check!

 

[Breizh]

Ultimately the width of the wire depends on the hardware used, but more importantly the width of the holes in your stanchions.

I've just replaced our white plastic coated guardrail wire with SS 1x19 4mm which is perfect. Its stiff enough for tying off fenders onto, and holding onto easily whilst moving along the decks. I had swaged forks on one end with rigging screws on the other and backed onto another fork. They are great. Some people use rope terminals at one end to be able to cut off in an emergency, or you could also use pelican hooks instead.


Breizh.

 

[Robert Wilson]

Ultimately the width of the wire depends on the hardware used, but more importantly the width of the holes in your stanchions.

I've just replaced our white plastic coated guardrail wire with SS 1x19 4mm which is perfect. Its stiff enough for tying off fenders onto, and holding onto easily whilst moving along the decks. I had swaged forks on one end with rigging screws on the other and backed onto another fork. They are great. Some people use rope terminals at one end to be able to cut off in an emergency, or you could also use pelican hooks instead.


Breizh.

+1 for pelican hooks. Quick and effective in an emergency, but also great for lugging stuff, grandma and dogs aboard.

 

[peter2407]

Not sure I "get" the swaging statements - isnt it a case of passing the wire through the stanchion holes and then fastening the ends?

One point - as on a friends boat - I would go for taller stanchions and narrower gaps.

 

[merlin3688]

Both ends are swaged on (cheapest option) but one end has just a swaged stud so that it can be passed through the stanchions, then either a threaded eye is fitted or a rigging screw.

 

[wklein]

It's common on higher end boats to have 5mm upper and 4mm lower. Looks good and is slightly cheaper as lower one does very little. +1 on passing studs through guardrails.

 

[Breizh]

Not sure I "get" the swaging statements - isnt it a case of passing the wire through the stanchion holes and then fastening the ends?

One point - as on a friends boat - I would go for taller stanchions and narrower gaps.

Swaging is the way the fork ends or threaded rigging terminals are actually securely attached to the wire. You need to be able to tension the guardrail to ensure the wire is taught. Thats where the rigging terminals come into play.

Breizh.

 

[andygc]

Not sure I "get" the swaging statements - isnt it a case of passing the wire through the stanchion holes and then fastening the ends

You take the wire to the workshop. The rigger swages a fork on one end and a threaded end on the other. The threaded end has to be able to go through the holes in the stanchions. You then screw an end fitting onto the threaded end.

 

[Binman]

I tried Pelican hook but found I couldn't get the tension on the wire when connecting, the wire ends up slack as you need to stretch the wire to release the hook, tied mine with cord in the end so wire nice and tight.

 

[prv]

I tried Pelican hook but found I couldn't get the tension on the wire when connecting, the wire ends up slack as you need to stretch the wire to release the hook, tied mine with cord in the end so wire nice and tight.

Are you sure it was a pelican hook you used? You shouldn't need slack in the wire to release the hook, indeed closing the hook acts as a tensioning lever to get it as tight as possible.

Pete

 

[emandvee44]

Our original (Bavaria) guard wires were plastic covered, and showed rust stains at the ends. Not being able to see the actual condition, but with clear warning signs I decided to change to un-coated wire.
The riggers recommended 5mm for the top wire and 4mm for the bottom. The OD of the original top wire (including the pvc covering) was about 5mm.
Very happy with the wires, now over 4 years on with no signs of rust or stranding. The terminations at one end of each wire are the screw in eye type with 5mm nylon lacing to secure to the pushpit/pulpit eyes. I change the lacings every couple of years.
We have pelican hooks exactly as above, at the side gate wires and the stern wires. These have an adjusting thread (on the wire termination) with a locking nut, and with a little experimentation can be set just right to keep the wires reasonably taut but allowing crew to open them with a sharp tug on the lanyard attached to the piston ring.

Michael.

 

[Binman]

Used the same hook, but had trouble with extensions to the guard wire to make the pelican hook work,the combination either left the connection to long or to short,