renewing rigging. DITY advice please.

[sarabande]

After n years use and storage of the boat, I have decided to renew the SS wire rigging, rather than go down the full standing rigging dyneema route on my 24ft saily boat.


Being v inclined to spend pounds in order to save pennies, I'd like to DIY the rigging. The present rigging looks like 5mm, but I will take a pair of calipers to it at lunch time.

The mast fittings and shrouds are all steel plate, with holes/shackles in (I said it was a little boat ) so T tangs, ball-ends, etc are not needed.


Q1
I am not confident about the durability of Talurit, so what alternatives have people used to terminate the wire, and how easy is it to learn how to do it properly, please ?

Q2
Though I have various bottle screws from the old rigging, would dyneema and proper deadeyes be OK, or is the small amount of stretch (on a 29ft mast) likely to make the setup problematic ?

I have reasonable workshop tools, including a 2 tonne press.


TIA

 

[vyv_cox]

I assume you have considered Sta-lok or Norseman? Years ago I re-rigged a 50 ft ketch for some friends using them. I found Sta-lok to be a lot easier to assemble in larger sizes (forestay was 12 mm) but not a lot of difference in smaller ones. My 4 mm guard wires have them at the aft end, with Talurits at the other, so that I can replace stanchions without cutting the wire. My forestay and backstay, 7 and 8 mm, are made up with them, again no problems at all.

 

[sarabande]

Vyv, thank you, as ever. I was aware of both makes, and was looking for just the kind of experiences that you noted.

Are there any pressed terminal fittings, like Talurit, but less liable to dissimilar metals corrosion ? (My experience of Talurit is that they are brassy/coppery, which I don't want for critical rigging components on stainless wire to steel shroud plates.)

 

[chewi]

Z spars supplied my new mast with 5mm Stalock bottlescrews for me to fit at the deck end ( 25' boat).
All the top ends were swaged by zspars to suit the mast.

They are easy to do, and I have had the boat in a ridiculous blow since so I have confidence in them.

 

[vyv_cox]

Usual advice seems to be to have swaged stainless fittings on one end. Size each shroud for longer than needed, which reduces the time needed for accurate setting up by the rigger. The detailed stuff is done by you when fitting the Norseman/Sta-lok.

 

[srp]

I renewed the rigging on both my previous boats with copper Talurit ferrules. I borrowed a proper cutter (but you can use a grinder if you're careful). I made up a press tool to use in a fly press - two blocks of steel clamped together with a hole drilled through the middle, and a couple of bits of 6mm rod to ensure alignment. 4mm is easy, 5 mm do-able but a bit more of a struggle, and I wouldn't want to attempt to do 6mm or above by hand - the hard part is pulling the wire rope tightly around the eye.
No experience of Dyneema, on one boat (gaffer) I used lashings and the other bottle screws. The forestay on the gaffer had a sta-lok at the bottom end, which was a piece of cake to fit.
Re the corrosion aspect, I had no trouble with copper splices on stainless 1x19 wire. There is some good info on the Talurit website.

 

[nimbusgb]

I did a DIY job replacing the furler on my 38' boat.

The furlex unit was supplied with an 8mm forestay replacement that had to be cut to length and terminated with a Sta-Lok fitting. the fitting is assembled by hand with just decent spanners and some thread lock compound.

If that fitting lets go it's probably game over for the rig.

i got caught out in 40 knots and had about 1/2 my genoa up once I'd got used to things. need les to say the fitting has shown no signs of failing and i did lift the drum and inspect things before the winter layup.

I'd second Sta-Loks.

If you are going to do cable work I'd say the your #1 purchase would have to be the best wire cutting setup you can afford and top quality tools for any other operations.

 

[merlin3688]

I think the cheapest option is to get a rigger to swage on the top end, supply the wire over long and you fit the self fit type Sta Lok rigging screw, as mentioned the rigging screws are very easy to fit. I personally do not like the Talerate type fittings esp in 1 x 19 wire rope.

 

[prv]

For what it's worth, my 24' gaffer uses talurit eyes both ends, with shackles at the top and forked bottlescrews at the bottom.

Pete

 

[wotayottie]

Z spars supplied my new mast with 5mm Stalock bottlescrews for me to fit at the deck end ( 25' boat).
All the top ends were swaged by zspars to suit the mast.

They are easy to do, and I have had the boat in a ridiculous blow since so I have confidence in them.

I have gone this route on the current boat because it is no more expensive than buying wire seperately and doing both ends yourself.,. Staloks are easy peasy to do and very satisfying once you have the knack. If you decide to go that route pm me and I will laboriously type out the way to do it.