Another rigging failure

[William_H]

An acquaintance at the yacht club was out racing on Sunday afternoon on his 32 Whiting fractional rig boat when an inner sidestay let go. The mast was broken both in the middle at the spreaders and at deck level.
The mast had a hinge fitted into the original keel stepped arrangement. The hinge survived but the mast mast broke just under the hinge.
The intermediate shroud parted right at the entrance to the roll swaged fitting at the bottom.
I asked how old the wire was and at first it seemed he did not know then said the person who sold him the boat reckoned it had been replaced 8 years ago. I imagine it was actually older than that.
The sailing at the time was particularly nice at about 12knots of steady breeze. Indeed I was out there at the time and did the race with largest genoa and full main no problems. (unusual for my tender boat).
The moral of the story is that inspection will not avert a catastrophic failure without warning. Wire needs to be replaced. This makes 4 cases I know of in our club over 15 years or so. olewill

 

[oldfatgit]

Very sorry for your friend. At least he was on the water not shivering in an increasingly cold winter.

Was the wire rope actually wire or was it rod? Did he keep the failed part? What does it look like where it failed was there any corrosion or other damage? In retrospect, did he notice anything which he ignored or dismissed and now regrets. I ask as it would be nice to learn if there is anything which one should be on the look out for or indeed react to which I haven't. Furthermore, how was the boat recovered? Was he seen or did he set up a temporary VHF or use a hand set?

The number of failures, experienced by you, is very high. Is there any common denominator that all boats are experiencing such as all racers, all supplied by the same rigger, wire rope imported by the same supplier? Don't expect you to know or even be prepared to find out, it is just that if there is anything that can be usefully learnt, I for one would like to learn it.

 

[vyv_cox]

Any photos of the failed swage fitting? Does it look like the one shown on this page of my website?

 

[William_H]

Wire failure

Any photos of the failed swage fitting? Does it look like the one shown on this page of my website?

No it was a failure of the 1X19 wire just as it entered the roll swage. as have been the others I have seen or heard of. Sorry the broken wire end or roll swage was not available when I spoke to him last night.
He assured me that he often examines the wire and there was no sign of impending failure.
The common factor in each failure was calender time. This one sailed (raced) perhaps 50 to 100 hrs per year. Others especially one had hardly moved off the mooring in 20 years. 2 of the failures were in smaller boats with 3/16 diameter wire 4mm while 2 including the last were much heavier perhaps 6mm wire. Mast was destroyed in every case.
No i think it is just a calender period sudden failure. I would have said actual failure is in the 25yo time and I would suggest15 years a good replacement period.
For those who reckon the wire " looks good so must be good" are living on borrowed time.
This failure happened in sheltered waters. I don't know exactly but generally one hauls the wreckage of mast on board ties it down and motors home. olewill

 

[BurnitBlue]

I was told new rigging 5 years old. Suspicious because there is no way to tell so I asked the broker to get the bill. Got the bill which showed that only the cap shrouds were changed. All the rest, forestay, backstay etc were original and 27 years old. Nobody lied just playing games with the truth.

 

[lw395]

Dismasting a yacht around Portsmouth seems very rare.
Rare enough that every case causes a lot of comment.
Apart from a rigging screw failure, virtually every one seems to be related to a collision with another vessel or catching the backstay on the pile markers when they are used as racing marks.

I have, however, had two shrouds fail on racing dinghies. Both were Dyform wire.
One boat was 12 years old and not heavily used, I suspect the shrouds were original.
The other boat was about 7 to 9 years old.
In the case of the 12 year old boat, the wire failed at the t- terminal. The terminal did not align perfectly in the mast, putting a slight kink in the wire.
I did not lose the mast in either case.
Dinghy rigs like these are normally left fairly slack for 6 1/2 days a week, tension goes on when the jib is hoisted.

 

[oldfatgit]

Yes, interesting how so many failures on Western Oz and so few in the Solent where there is a huge population of boats. I suspect, however, that it is a combination of factors which would be interesting to find out. Nevertheless I'd argue that replacing every 10 to 15 years is about right depending on usage. Ours is at the 10 year old stage, but usage has not been as heavy or frequent as I'd like and we are in a very sheltered mooring. Interestingly my insurance company make no stipulation over age of rigging, whereas I know a number of other ones insist on replacement every 10 years.

 

[gasdave]

Interestingly my insurance company make no stipulation over age of rigging,

...and they are?

 

[vyv_cox]

...and they are?

We have been insured with HKJ since 1996. They have never asked for either a survey or rigging replacement.

 

[Bilgediver]

Yes, interesting how so many failures on Western Oz and so few in the Solent where there is a huge population of boats. I suspect, however, that it is a combination of factors which would be interesting to find out. Nevertheless I'd argue that replacing every 10 to 15 years is about right depending on usage. Ours is at the 10 year old stage, but usage has not been as heavy or frequent as I'd like and we are in a very sheltered mooring. Interestingly my insurance company make no stipulation over age of rigging, whereas I know a number of other ones insist on replacement every 10 years.

It could be as much to do with the source of wire and or the swage fittings. Not all those available in the UK are of similar standard/quality.