Fixing droopy guardrails

[hoped4]

Our guardrails on one side have sagged quite a lot. Perhaps after someone hit us when the boat was unoccupied in our marina berth, although the stanchions are not visibly bent. I’d really like to do the job myself. However, do I need a chandlery to fix the ‘wire’ into the end (turnbuckle?)? Do the chandlery need to be more incolved than that? Any tips on doing this job would be much appreciated.

 

[michael_w]

If they are made of stainless steel wire with close fitting plastic sleeving I'd reccommend that you replace them PDQ.

The big problem is that for S/S to remain stainless, the surface needs to be oxygenated., This ain't going to happen underneath that plastic. Perhaps yours have broken and all that is stopping you falling overboard is your sense of balance and a bit of sleeving....

If you do have new ones made I suggest that rather than using rigging screws to tension, a simple lashing will do. Not only cheaper, it can be easily cut away to make man overboard recovery a bit easier.

 

[snowleopard]

Have you tried slacking off the backstay? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Dipper]

Assuming the wire is still OK, you can fit a Sta-Lok eye yourself. As michael_w says, you can secure this with a lashing of the appropriate length allowing this to be cut in an emergency eg to help recover an MOB. Also, I understand that a complete 'ring' of guardrail wire around the boat can interfere with some radio signals.

 

[Guest]

If not..............does he know the Banana Boat song? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[MoodySabre]

Our local chandler makes them up for you to length. I thought that a lashing at the end was standard unless you have a 'pelican' fitting.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

I think he's enquiring about how the final eyelet to which the lashing is made is passed through the (too small) hole in the stanchion.....

I used a staylock as advised above.... very easy to do...

 

[Guest]

First I would seriously find out why your lines have sagged a lot. The common reason is that stanchion bases have moved / loosened with impact.
I certainly would not tighten or change lines till I had identified exactly why and what problem was actually there.

Once the reason has been found and sorted ... I would get local rigger to make up your lines with a screw-cap end so that you can thread through stanchions and then screw on the "eye" or fastening required. I prefer final fixing to be multiple turns of lashing ... so that a knife can cut and remove in emergency. It also gives you adjustment of lines as they will stretch and settle over time.

But get the reason for slack sorted first !!

 

[RupertW]

I agree - I had some slack guardrails and when I tried tightening them the wire just kept on coming. I then noticed that I'd lifted the pulpit up about a foot. Somebody had hit the side of the boat when parking alongside me and something (their anchor??) had ripped the pulpit fittings.