Standing rigging on Centaur - last replaced in 1996

[dylanwinter]

The standing rigging on Harmony was replaced in 1996

I do know that she has not been worked hard since then - mostly pottering around the solent

there are no loose strands on the bottom bits of the wire

I will drop the mast and inspect the top bits to see if a visual reveals anything obvious

I am told that the turnscrews are bronze rather than stainless steel (if I have that right) which is good

I am not the sort of bloke who sails a boat right over on her ear - roof soon and go for the easy ride is my mantra

it has been suggested that if I replace anything it should be the forestay - although a Centaur has a baby stay and two side stays so there is a lot of wire holding the mast up

as you know, along with everything from bog parts to VHF's to bunk cushions I am not that keen on replacing stuff that does not need to be replaced.

If I replaced everything "just in case" then I would not be anywhere near where I am today

So, how many of you are sailing around with standing rigging that is 18 years old?

D

 

[ghostlymoron]

I would just inspect all the terminations visually and if no obvious problems, launch and sail. A re-rig is going to be £1k if done professionally and probably half that DIY. No need to drop mast for inspection use a ladder/harness. Check/adjust the tension preferably with a gauge.

 

[Iliade]

I'd hazard that the majority of boats are still on their original rigging, however old that may be! Also the Centaurs rig is decidedly over-engineered!

I replaced the standing rigging on my last boat about ten years into my ownership because I found a cracked strand. About ten years hard use later she needed a new forestay because the furler got it's knickers in a twist. I would not anticipate simple sail load as the main loading milieu. I suspect that shock loads, vibration, etc are far more damaging to the rig.

Checking for cracking with the usual dye and powder is not easy on the thin wire we use, but may be of some comfort. Eddy current testing would probably be better.

The rig on a Centaur should be pretty cheap to replace if the bottlescrews are ok, but mine has roll-swaged ends which can only be reproduced with the correct press, so enhancing the price by some £10-£20 per end :0(

 

[Iliade]

I'd hazard that the majority of boats are still on their original rigging, however old that may be! Also the Centaurs rig is decidedly over-engineered!

I replaced the standing rigging on my last boat about ten years into my ownership because I found a cracked strand. About ten years hard use later she needed a new forestay because the furler got it's knickers in a twist. I would not anticipate simple sail load as the main loading milieu. I suspect that shock loads, vibration, etc are far more damaging to the rig.

Checking for cracking with the usual dye and powder is not easy on the thin wire we use, but may be of some comfort. Eddy current testing would probably be better.

The rig on a Centaur should be pretty cheap to replace if the bottlescrews are ok, but mine has roll-swaged ends which can only be reproduced with the correct press, so enhancing the price by some £10-£20 per end :0(

 

[Tam Lin]

I have just replaced mine but then I have no idea how old it was. Haven't had the final bill yet but expect it to come in well under £1k. As I now intend to keep the boat for some years it will give me peace of mind.

 

[sarabande]

buy yerself a reel of glavanised with an oakum core, and splice up a new set on video. The you can wax lyrical about slathering fish oil and tar over the rigging to make the rigging last fifty years.



PS. I am going to open a book on whether Our Money stays in the Winter family ownership in twelve months time. Evens for starters, do I hear?

 

[aquaplane]

I wasn't going to replace mine last year, it looked fine on close inspection when the mast was down. No broken threads, no kinks, no rusty marks.

Then the mast broke and we ended up with a new mast, standing and running rigging, and a leak through into the cabin but that got fixed.

The mast was dropped, no fault of the existing rigging.

 

[Nigel-in-Oxford]

Just had a quote for my Swin Ranger (34 year old rigging) for the swaged wires only (and only eyes and loops on the ends) under £200.

 

[dylanwinter]

I am going to drop the mast just to find out how to do it - it has a hinged and bolted bottom.

- the nav bulbs need replacing with leds - the steaming light is not working, the spinnaker halyard is jammed, I want a pennant halyard and a halyard for the stearing sail and the old radio aerial base needs removing.

D

 

[ghostlymoron]

These can all be done from a bosuns chair rather than craning the mast down. I can easily drop my little stick down but dropping a Centaur mast is different proposition.

I am going to drop the mast just to find out how to do it - it has a hinged and bolted bottom.

- the nav bulbs need replacing with leds - the steaming light is not working, the spinnaker halyard is jammed, I want a pennant halyard and a halyard for the stearing sail and the old radio aerial base needs removing.

D

 

[dylanwinter]

These can all be done from a bosuns chair rather than craning the mast down. I can easily drop my little stick down but dropping a Centaur mast is different proposition.

no need for a crane apparently

it will hinge backwards

so three blokes, a bit of wood and some ropes

D

 

[blackbeard]

I am going to drop the mast just to find out how to do it - it has a hinged and bolted bottom.

- the nav bulbs need replacing with leds - .....D

Careful how you drop the mast. If you do this you will need help from people who know what they are doing and will get it right. Well meaning but inexperienced help will break something. (No need to ask me how I know.) (You need an A frame too but that should be easy.) Or find somewhere with a crane - some sailing clubs might have one suitable for masts, which are not very heavy. Again, you will need help.
Replace nav light bulbs with LEDs ... WHY? I thought you were short of cash? Bulbs work perfectly well, main drawback is they take a little more current but not enough to be a serious problem. (Likely that any current (as it were) problems are just dirty contacts, although there is an argument for carrying spare bulbs.)
I thought my 10-year-old standing rigging was OK, but the mast had to come down anyway when my boat came ashore for that winter, when I saw the rigging at close quarters I replaced the lot. (Be especially suspicious of anything inside the foil of jib roller-reefing.)

 

[doug748]

"it has been suggested that if I replace anything it should be the forestay "



I found mine badly stranded under the foil at the top swage, have a good look.

 

[dylanwinter]

I shall look

"it has been suggested that if I replace anything it should be the forestay "



I found mine badly stranded under the foil at the top swage, have a good look.

the forestay is the one which cannot be inspected from top to bottom

and the only way of looking at it is to remove it from the foil - and you cannot do that unless you break one of the terminals

D

 

[blackbeard]

the forestay is the one which cannot be inspected from top to bottom

and the only way of looking at it is to remove it from the foil - and you cannot do that unless you break one of the terminals

D

Not necessarily so. On mine (Plastimo 406) you can get the foil off (and on) over the terminals. May be so with some other roller reef systems (I don't know, ask). Also on mine, if I needed to, I could separate sections of the foil (it consists of ally extrusions, several feet long, with cunning joining pieces secured with set screws) and look between.

 

[bitbaltic]

the forestay is the one which cannot be inspected from top to bottom

and the only way of looking at it is to remove it from the foil - and you cannot do that unless you break one of the terminals

D

Another vote for forestay inspection. We replaced all our standing rigging in spring 2012 but our old facnor system has increasingly suffered from halyard wrap. So much so that it had nearly snapped the two year old forestay when the rigger inspected it this winter as part of other works and we have had to replace it already.

If the furler is stiff and definitely if the halyard is wrapping I would take a look inside the foil. If no problems then it's perhaps fair to conclude that the system has been trouble free since 96 and that the forestay is ok if the rest of the rigging appears to be so.

Cheers

 

[doug748]

the forestay is the one which cannot be inspected from top to bottom

and the only way of looking at it is to remove it from the foil - and you cannot do that unless you break one of the terminals

D

With my Harken you could remove a plastic capping and look down into the foil far enough to see the swage. I could see a loose wire but being a happy soul ignored it.

Luckily a rigger also saw it and knew the right thing to do. His view was that the top swages are the most vulnerable.

 

[mtb]

no need for a crane apparently

it will hinge backwards

so three blokes, a bit of wood and some ropes

D

my colvic sailer has a 34ft mast

I made up a 6ft pole with a saddle welded to it so it can sit against the mast which also has a hole so the main pin can be swapped over for a longer one for the raising and lowering. A chain hoist is ideal to really take the strain With the main halyard tied to the pole and the winch hooked onto the bow roller

Once I'd got the mast down I could see the first owner has miss aligned the hole for the pin !! which didn't help the lowering as it wanted to veer side ways
This is the real risk, any side to side sway. keeping the mast straight all the way down and up is the important thing
only do it with no wind

I've done the job twice now with just two of us
just do it now Dylan before the run up north

cheers
mick

 

[dylanwinter]

where are you?

my colvic sailer has a 34ft mast

I made up a 6ft pole with a saddle welded to it so it can sit against the mast which also has a hole so the main pin can be swapped over for a longer one for the raising and lowering. A chain hoist is ideal to really take the strain With the main halyard tied to the pole and the winch hooked onto the bow roller

Once I'd got the mast down I could see the first owner has miss aligned the hole for the pin !! which didn't help the lowering as it wanted to veer side ways
This is the real risk, any side to side sway. keeping the mast straight all the way down and up is the important thing
only do it with no wind

I've done the job twice now with just two of us
just do it now Dylan before the run up north

cheers
mick

where are you?

fancy making a film with me about dropping a mast


Dylan

 

[BruceDanforth]

The rigger I use says the stays usually fail at the point the wire comes out of the terminals.

Your rigging will look good as new up to the point something snaps.

If you take the wires to someone to copy it shouldn't be much. Or post it to Jimmy Green?

Maybe you could ponce some free stuff from somebody?

The standing rigging on Harmony was replaced in 1996

I do know that she has not been worked hard since then - mostly pottering around the solent

there are no loose strands on the bottom bits of the wire

I will drop the mast and inspect the top bits to see if a visual reveals anything obvious

I am told that the turnscrews are bronze rather than stainless steel (if I have that right) which is good

I am not the sort of bloke who sails a boat right over on her ear - roof soon and go for the easy ride is my mantra

it has been suggested that if I replace anything it should be the forestay - although a Centaur has a baby stay and two side stays so there is a lot of wire holding the mast up

as you know, along with everything from bog parts to VHF's to bunk cushions I am not that keen on replacing stuff that does not need to be replaced.

If I replaced everything "just in case" then I would not be anywhere near where I am today

So, how many of you are sailing around with standing rigging that is 18 years old?

D