How to inspect Norseman terminals

[Sonrisa]

Hello,


My rig has Norseman swageless terminals, and I have the original brochure which says they can be taken apart for inspection of the internals at any time.


But I've read elsewhere that new cones are required when re-rigging. I'm wondering if I can take apart for inspection without replacing cones. Does anyone have experience with this process?


Advice appreciated, thanks for your time.

[Idaho]

If your money furnace wants new cones, then you have no alternative, install new cones after every inspection.

Its the kind of part where the labor to open, inspect, clean, reassemble is most of the expense, even if you do it yourself. Your time is valuable too.

[Jim Cate]

I do not believe that simply separating the two halves and inspecting the internals requires replacing the cones... if you do not remove the cone from the wire (a difficult job without damaging things). And FWIW, I've never found any defects and no longer worry about routine inspection .

I have done this multiple times over the years with both Norseman and StaLoc fittings, and no ill effects.

Jim

[Ryban]

I had sta-loks on my last boat and norsemans on my new boat.

I replaced all my standing rigging when I got my current boat, and inspected and re-used almost all of the Norseman fittings that were on the boat with a few exceptions (below). None of them had any signs of corrosion, galling, or other deformities.

The issues I did find were that some of them were probably over-tightened a little, and the wire had left a grove on the inside of the fitting. They were probably fine.

Any issues you have will be with the wire inside the fitting, not the fitting itself.

You can get new cones here: https://www.tylaska.com/product/norseman-gibb/

There might be a cheaper source.

[nuku34]

As Jim said, cones do not need to be replaced if all you are doing is unscrewing the fitting for inspection. Like Jim, I gave up inspections after many years of cruising with both Norseman and Staylocs. I did use a neutral cure silicone sealant when assembling both types.

[Patrick of M]

I know Norseman etc have said you need to replace cones if you re-rig but plenty of people (including some riggers) will reuse them if they are undamaged.
Certainly if you are just inspecting, changing the cones would do more harm than good, as it would require extra stress/bending etc on the wire rope

[Symphony]

glad you asked this question.
I see light rust stain on the wire going into the terminal. I could easily clean the stain. But- New boat to me, 10 years old. The terminal and turnbuckles themselves look new, but I’m wondering if the wire inside would get crevice corrosion. Is it worth it to take the terminal apart and look?

Tons of rain past two years, cleaning any salt etc.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by nuku34

I did use a neutral cure silicone sealant when assembling both types.

Can someone explain the process behind this. I have spoken to a couple of riggers that do this but their explanation was "well that's what we do".
I understand that SS requires exposure to oxygen to form a protective layer. I also understand that in tight connections (swages and mechanical terminals) that oxygen cannot always get to all areas, result crevice corrosion. So how does sealing those parts and thus removing any chance of oxygen reaching the surface work? Just interested to learn.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Symphony

glad you asked this question.
I see light rust stain on the wire going into the terminal. I could easily clean the stain. But- New boat to me, 10 years old. The terminal and turnbuckles themselves look new, but I’m wondering if the wire inside would get crevice corrosion. Is it worth it to take the terminal apart and look?

Tons of rain past two years, cleaning any salt etc.

Stainless steel corrosion does not look like rust… it looks like black pitting and is caused by an oxygen starved environment. So if you see rust colored stains, it is caused by contamination from regular steel from tools, dust etc.

Originally Posted by Tupaia

Can someone explain the process behind this. I have spoken to a couple of riggers that do this but their explanation was "well that's what we do".
I understand that SS requires exposure to oxygen to form a protective layer. I also understand that in tight connections (swages and mechanical terminals) that oxygen cannot always get to all areas, result crevice corrosion. So how does sealing those parts and thus removing any chance of oxygen reaching the surface work? Just interested to learn.

Stalok states no sealant is fine. I tend to agree with that but my Norseman fittings all have sealant and are fine too.

[Symphony]

2 pics of what i think is pitting on terminal top where wire enter.
Yes, the rust stains scrubbed off with just water and effort. Thanks JEDI

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Symphony

2 pics of what i think is pitting on terminal top where wire enter.
Yes, the rust stains scrubbed off with just water and effort. Thanks JEDI

The first picture doesn’t look like a Norseman fitting? The damage looks like simple mechanical damage I think and not serious. There’s this slot on the right?

The pitting in the second picture is on the body of the turnbuckle, not the Norseman fitting which is above it. The threaded stud that goes into the turnbuckle body is part of the Norseman fitting and is made from stainless steel.

The turnbuckle body is made from bronze which is chromed. What you see is the chrome coming off a bit at the pitting. This isn’t serious either, you will get some green patina later. There are versions without the chrome too, the chrome is just decoration.

The reason that the body is made from bronze is that you don’t get galling of stainless on stainless threads.

[Symphony]

Makes sense to me! Thanks Jedi.