Standing rigging: swageless T terminals

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Steve_N

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I'm about to replace Isabella's cap shrouds and am looking into the options. The DIY approach using swageless compression fittings appeals to me, but it seems that only one of the manufacturers of swageless fittings (Norseman) makes a T termination for the upper end:
l-N070-1.jpg

Given that this is a very common upper shroud termination, are there any good reasons (other than price..) why a swageless/compression fitting wouldn't be a good choice for the upper end of a shroud too?
 
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I would swage the upper terminations and use swageless on the lower ends.

That's certainly the most common route. I was just wondering why..



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Very simple reason.

You can order any or all if the rigging with the upper end swedged on and slightly (500mm in my case) over length.

Then in your own time, using assistance if necessary, you can fit the rigging and cut it to the correct length yourself, then fit a swegeless fitting at the lower end.

There are considerable cost savings that can be made by getting the wire /upper terminals and sweging done at the same time.

My costs for 200 metres of 8mm 1/19wire made into 10 lines with either T-ball,fork or eye sweged terminations at one end came to less than £800. (Not including the bottlescrews or insulators).

Compare that with some of the advertised magazine prices just for 1 meter of 8mm 1/19 wire.

Iain
 
Yes Iain, I can see that that would be perfect if, for example, you wanted to replace the rigging in situ, fit one shroud at a time etc., but for me it's not really relevant as I have the shrouds here next to me on the office floor and can send them away to be duplicated, swaged both ends, if lowest cost were my criteria.

I guess that what I was really getting at was that if you decide that you want to use swageless fittings because you prefer them to swaged (I won't go into the arguments here..) is there any reason not to use one at the top of the mast too i.e. do they need regular inspection for example?

As no-one has come with a reason then I'd guess not and will probably go swageless at both ends if I can find the parts in stock..
 
Steve,

No real difference in inspection periods between swageless fittings and swaged ones.

It's good when you have them all in front of you.

My mast (48') has not yet been fitted and it is keel stepped so when it is lifted I will have a lot of cutting and adjusting to do.

I think this will be done just before it hits the water as the logistics of puting it in place when the boat is in the garden are quite extreme.

Iain
 
I've also puzzled over why T-terminal swageless don't seem available. (I'm a Sta-Lok fan). Maybe the answer lies in the fact that there seem to be many variants in T-terminal fittings? I only realised this when asking for a quote to have shrouds made up with swaged top-end fittings ..... they were adamant they needed to see the precise existing T fittings (something I had wanted to avoid ... though I recon one lower shroud should be identical to all the others).

Vic
 
That's exactly correct Vic.

The peaple who swaged my rigging had to order in the exact match for my mast fittings T-ball socket.

No problem getting it. But there are several types.

Iain
 
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