Standing rigging: inspection and renewal frequency?

A

awyatybw

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 May 2005
Messages
123
Location
Zürich
Visit site
How often do you conduct a formal inspection of your standing rigging and how regularly do you renew it (in the absence of any particular event or observation which might indicate otherwise)?

Do you inspect yourself of get professional riggers, with sophisticated test tools, to do it?

Context: 34 yacht, Selden mast, standard wire rigging with swaged terminals.

Alan.
 
I will check mine every winter and replace anything 'looking' to be a bit dodgy. Both my sureyor and books I've read reccomend replacing every 10yrs for a masthead and less for a fractional rig.
There has been posts on here before regarding testing/checking, but I think the consensus was you cannot see what is happening internally, so no real fulproof test results.
 
I may be fussy, but I remove the standing and running rigging from the mast every year and inspect them visually and by running a cloth over each wire to detect any snags. If there are any broken strands I would replace that wire at once, as I once was persuaded to go for a sail in a dinghy with a strand on one of the shrouds broken. The owner was not concerned. "There's only one broken, there are another 48 still there." (It was 7 x 7 wire.) Two things happened: I gashed my hand and we were dismasted.

I replaced the standing rigging on the boat the year after I bought it as I had no idea how old the existing stuff was. I intend to renew on a ten-year cycle, even though I sail the boat fairly lightly and seldom race. The enemy of stainless rigging wire is cyclic stress, which it is subject to all the time on a mooring. I will do the job myself, re-using the Staylok terminals that I used last time (with new inserts of course.)
 
Lulu, who does the Z-Diffusion rigging for many of the offshore single-handers, reckons a visual annually (which means being hoisted on a chair for the upper rigging).
Replacement every 13 years or once round the world, whichever is the soonest.

Failure is most commonly turnbuckles (never use stainless, chromed bronze are far, far safer), followed by "hard points" where the swage ends - most commonly on the upper swages (where there's more flexing).

This is in stark contrast to the (usually ridiculous) demands made by insurers, who are mainly trying to escape their obligations for rig renewal in the event of a gravity storm.

Lulu was an expert witness in a civil case brought by a Swan owner who had to challenge his insurers decision - the insurers lost.
 
When we used to test vehicle compnents we used to cycle up to a certain fixed load level, and the life was the number of cycles sustained. So you cant in practise give any sensible fixed life for something like rigging - the strain on it is variable and you dont know the number of cycles anyway. The oft quoted insurance 10 year rule (and I've yet to have a company that operates it) is simply based on statistical experience.

In the past I have taken the mast down most years (it doesnt cost much at the club) and have then cleaned up the terminals and inspected for fatigue cracks with a magnifying glass. Doesnt take more than an hour. But even though I know what I'm looking for I dont kid myself that I have protected myself against failure. The next load cycle might just be the one that starts off the fatigue crack.

Replace? Both my last 2 boats have been bought at 10 years old ( a bad idea since many bits start to fail at 10 years) and I have substantially renewed their riggin with Stalok DIY in the next year or two, on the basis that I dont know how the boat has been used, and new rigging is definitely less far down any fatigue curve.

Assuming that your insurance company allows you to make the decision yourself, I would replace somewhere in the 10 to 15 year age bracket depending on use. But you must recognise that its a gamble whatever date you chose.

Incidentally, my inspection has twice yielded a cracked terminal, once on 5 year old rigging on my first boat.
 
Oh dear

<<I replaced the standing rigging on the boat the year after I bought it as I had no idea how old the existing stuff was. I intend to renew on a ten-year cycle, even though I sail the boat fairly lightly and seldom race. The enemy of stainless rigging wire is cyclic stress, which it is subject to all the time on a mooring. I will do the job myself, re-using the Staylok terminals that I used last time (with new inserts of course.)>>

Most authorities reckon the most critical failure point are the turnbuckles. Equally testing is only going to find hidden cracks, not give any forewarning. In view of the marginal cost of replacing swaged rigging your economy may be false.
The fatigue hardening and subsequent failure of the wire where it's compressed is at least apparent with a swaged fitting, whereas with the Sta-lok and Norseman fittings they're hidden.
Compression fittings are for DIY at sea, IMHO, not preventative maintenance.

I'd strongly recommend you check the position of your underwriters, before carrying out your proposed course of action, lest you have a gravity storm and find your claim refused.

Mind you I've only experienced fracture of the upper swage/wire interface, never cast bronze turnbuckles, though I've seen plenty of examples of failed 316 turnbuckles.

As a matter of interest the stress on rigging is (in descending order)

Caps
Inners
Secondaries
Forestay
Backstay.
 
Having looked after, been involved in NDT on ships cranes, derricks, lifeboat falls etc. - as well most of my life with boats ... it always amazes me this 10yr life that gets quoted ....

I have only once actually seen a fitting that I could condemn BEFORE it failed ... that was a hook and weight on a 10ton stores crane - where the wire fall entered the weight ... the epoxy and lead filler that held it was cracked above the compressed part.

As to boat rigging ... most boats do not get subjected to such stresses that need such frequent replacement - except where masts are often stepped / unstepped ... this release and re-application of stress can speed up fatigue, plus the chances of bends / angles of stress to fittings ... 1x19 is not designed for angles or stress anywhere from straight in line.
To be able to inspect rigging ? Extremely difficult and suspect. Unless as Charles etc. says - you can find stress cracks or other indicators / bottle screws etc. failing - you have literally no idea whats going on inside that wire or fitting.

I have no problem with the age of my rigging ... which I would estimate at over 15yrs .... I don't race the boat, I don't repeatedly lower or raise the mast, the boat stays 90% of her time tied up, I don't do high stress sailing in bad weather ... in fact I would comfortably expect the rigging in those circumstances to go on significantly longer ...

Now racing and stressing a boat - that is a totally different ball-game.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I would be interested in knowing what a "gravity storm" is. Sounds like something out of star wars!

[/ QUOTE ]

Glad I have company because I haven't a clue what it means either.....

Found this on the net though but feel sure it must be something much more profound - known only to scientists -and I still can't tie that into rigging failure!

Is it me? /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

"Gravity Storm" is only the term we use to refer to a series of vehicle accidents. They happen on days with no adverse weather conditions. We figure that gravity must have disappeared or went sideways in places making all those people go off the road or hit each other for no reason."
 
When I applied for an insurance, the Dutch firm send a surveyor. He send in a report that the rigging was 15 years old, and consequently the mast couldn't be part of the insurance before the rigging was replaced.
 
Insurance ....

Whether mentioned in report or insurance doesn't really matter - if you have a rigging failure and a Loss Adjustor gets hold of the boat - he'll find a fault and age etc. will null the claim. Even a Loss Assessor will be reluctant to accept a claim if any age related cause / factor can be found ....
 
Hi Alan

I check mine every year.

On our Sigma 38, for coding or insurance, can't remember which one it was that said it, but one of them required new rigging if it was older than ten years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luckly Flash at Performance Rigging Hamble Point, whom I highly recommend by the way, happened to have looked after 'Kindred Spirit', or 'Polyphagus', as she was then, and he keeps all paper work on hundreds of Yachts he's had through the shop. He supplied and fitted new rig last year, he runs up the mast and checks everything for a 'Bloody good Drink' and you get a full report after is well.

I think it was Tim who actually done mine, he gave me great advice iswell.

Some of you may have heard of 'POLYPHAGUS', Steve Porter raced her succesfully everywhere, finishing in '02, and I believe he still races on the solent in his new POLYPHAGUS, a J I think.

Anyway, Yearly checks, and a proffesional eye every now and then for that peace of mind.

Regards

Al Jones
 
For those who didn\'t realise the difference !!

Loss adjuster : Employed by Insurance Co. or body claimed against to assess and ADJUST down the claim - to zero if possible.

Loss Assessor : Usually employed by claimant to assess total losses and if possible maximise claim.

Two complete opposites with unfortunately near similar names - and they do get quoted wrongly at times leading to sad consequences .....
 
I\'d only add to sbc\'s

comment: a bendy mast fractional rig, with swept-back spreaders poses an entirely different and far greater set of stresses than in a masthead rigged boat with few panels and a pin-jointed mast step.

Fortunately most of the AWBs you see around are sheep in wolves' clothing and they'd not change their handling much if you did induce mast-bend.
 
"gravity storm"

during the ARC 1994, a british boat (Tatsu) sailed south of the Cape Verde Islands and encountered a "storm" with no wind but extreme lightning and a total dark sky. After the storm, one of the upper shroud was loose. The wires had been straigthend out, all navigational data and programming was lost inside his B&G electronics, but nothing was really damaged, except the shroud. He did not notice a direct hit of lightning. Lester showed me the shroud in St. Lucia. Instead of the wires having a turn (sp?) the wires did run straight from top to the turnbuckle. He got all shrouds replaced free of charge by Hallberg Rassy. Actually an engineer from Sweden did fly out to help him to replace the wires. I would call that a gravity storm.

Peter
 
I have seen 2 recent cases of rigging wire failure one in a 21fter another in a 26fter. In both cases mast lost. In both cases the boat had been in the water but unused for a long time . In both cases the wire was original over 20 years old and both mast head rig boats.
I was looking after a fleet of 10ft training dinghies. The failure rate of rigging wire (in this case partial unravelling was terrible considering that the masts were stowed horozontal for most of the year with like 10 outings per year. They still failed after 15 years or so.
My opinion... only time is the factor in rigging wire failure. Over 15 years old ... replace the wire. I have not seen any rigging screw failures ever but I always unscrew and lubricate my screws every year. Cos if they jam they are dead. Wire is not so expensive compared to a new mast. There is no way you can usefully test rigging wire. Forget NDT. Throw it away. olewill
 
I frequently see mention of Forum members being required by their insurance companies to renew their standing rigging. I've been with Haven Knox Johnston for nearly 8 years and they've never asked me about my boat's rigging. I did in fact have it replaced on acquiring my present boat as it was the original 15 year old stuff - no visible defects but getting old, I thought.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top