Rigging rust pics #1--your thoughts

[esarratt]

I was looking over my rigging today and I had some questions about a little rust in a few of the fittings.

The first and second pic are of the same fitting. Many of the fittings on the boat have a small amount of rust like this.

I am going over the fittings with a loupe tomorrow to look for micro cracks.

Your thoughts.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by esarratt

I was looking over my rigging today and I had some questions about a little rust in a few of the fittings.

The first and second pic are of the same fitting. Many of the fittings on the boat have a small amount of rust like this.

I am going over the fittings with a loupe tomorrow to look for micro cracks.

Your thoughts.

Looks normal to me.

[model 10]

Whoa. retraction retraction. Later pics look bad.

[Steadman Uhlich]

That would be the least of my worries on a typical sailboat.

Seriously, that rust which is hard to see in those photos is nothing compared to what most sailboats I have seen show.

[roverhi]

What rust???

[esarratt]

Originally Posted by roverhi

What rust???

It does not show up well because of the camera. The rust is located on the wire just before it goes into the terminal.

If I use a flash to take the pics they wash out. When I turn the flash off the rust is difficult to see.

[Neptune's Gear]

How old is it? Here is NZ, cat 1 regs changing of all stainless rigging is required every 10 years. If you are not bothered by that, then clean the rust off with mild oxalic acid, and carefully check..

[Catnut]

Ref using oxalic acid to clean the rust stains off - I would be concerned that the oxalic acid would be drawn into the swage by capillary action, and would hasten the corrosion over a period of time.
Am I being to cautious ?
I was advised by someone to clean stainless steel with vinigar and had the same concern with using that on critical swaged joints.

[roverhi]

There is always a little rust on stainless usually caused by picking up iron/steel from tools used to form the SS. Very common for rust to appear at the wire to swage junction. Probably because any rust on the wire will migrate down the wire to accumulate at the bottom. The problem with swages is their visual condition is not a very good indication of their viability. Remember reading a stress test of old rigging done some years back. They took discarded/replaced rigging and tested to destruction. Swages that had bad cracks and looked seriously compromised failed at or above the breaking strength of the wire. Other swages that looked fine failed with relatively little force. Don't use swages, if I can help it, largely because of this. Can rig with Norseman/StaLok terminals myself for much the same cost as rigger supplied swage fittings and the N/S terminals are reusable.

[esarratt]

Originally Posted by roverhi

There is always a little rust on stainless usually caused by picking up iron/steel from tools used to form the SS. Very common for rust to appear at the wire to swage junction. Probably because any rust on the wire will migrate down the wire to accumulate at the bottom. The problem with swages is their visual condition is not a very good indication of their viability. Remember reading a stress test of old rigging done some years back. They took discarded/replaced rigging and tested to destruction. Swages that had bad cracks and looked seriously compromised failed at or above the breaking strength of the wire. Other swages that looked fine failed with relatively little force. Don't use swages, if I can help it, largely because of this.

Thanks! That is good information.

Originally Posted by roverhi

Can rig with Norseman/StaLok terminals myself for much the same cost as rigger supplied swage fittings and the N/S terminals are reusable.

Yep. Been reading Don Casey and I am already sold on Norseman/StaLok. I was actually thinking of getting a Sta-Lok Long Eye to replace the swage with.

[Neptune's Gear]

Swage-less fittings are great. Especially if you need a repair at sea or in a remote location. I carry a complete set now, and next time I re-rig the boat it will be all swage less for those reasons.