Galv wire with chain

[dogboat]

Hello All,
I have had the pleasure of finding out that the foremast on an old Cornish lugger was beyond repair so am forced replace in the next 3-4 weeks. I am trying to sort out the new rigging before the new mast arrives. the previous set up was a mixture of galv wire and chain, roughly 2/3 wire, 1/3 chain on the stays, 2 each side and an all wire forestay. The boat is manx nobby rigged so the main lug is standing not dipping.
Looking for advise as to why chain has previously been used and if any good reason? Had a few ideas from various people like didnt have enough wire so topped up with chain, could be to do with chaffing or cosmetic reasons! Any advise or experience would be fantastic.
Many thanks
Louis

 

[VicS]

Hello All,
I have had the pleasure of finding out that the foremast on an old Cornish lugger was beyond repair so am forced replace in the next 3-4 weeks. I am trying to sort out the new rigging before the new mast arrives. the previous set up was a mixture of galv wire and chain, roughly 2/3 wire, 1/3 chain on the stays, 2 each side and an all wire forestay. The boat is manx nobby rigged so the main lug is standing not dipping.
Looking for advise as to why chain has previously been used and if any good reason? Had a few ideas from various people like didnt have enough wire so topped up with chain, could be to do with chaffing or cosmetic reasons! Any advise or experience would be fantastic.
Many thanks
Louis

A friend of mine used wire with short lengths of chain at the bottom ...... because he made a pigs ear of measuring up for the wire! I thought it looked rather good but he re-rigged it after a while.

 

[jimmyk]

Mine had chain also because the wire was too short

 

[C08]

I always thought that a short length of chain acted as a toggle-and helped with any mis-measurement!

 

[dogboat]

Thank you for your responses.
The chain was around 12 feet long so I can't imagine anyone would have measured that far out. I'm thinking they maybe had some old rigging off another smaller boat and just made up the difference with chain??

 

[sarabande]

I read somewhere (Manual of Seamanship, possibly) that some wire lays can extend and unwind under load. If wire is fixed dreckly to a toggle or shackle, that may twist it. Could it be that a length of chain

a) reduces the stretch / torque loading in a wire rope

b) makes it easy to brace up/ shorten a stay with a shackle

c) doesn't need painting in shark oil, tar, or parboiled linseed to prevent rust, and that's quite handy at deck level as it keeps clothes and paws clean.

?

 

[dogboat]

Some interesting points Sarabande. Thank you for your response.
Less stretch/torque would seem favourable with the yard weight and I hadn't thought about shortening the stay using the chain. Cheers