standing rigging replacement concerns

[blondjohn]

There have already been a couple of recommendations for Sta-Lok fittinga and DIY. I would like to add my voice to that. Our 46' Grand Soleil is 100% Sta-Lok fittings for all standing rigging. I've seen roll swaged terminals fail, but I've never seen a Sta-Lok fail. I replaced our original 1986 rigging in 2003 and again in 2016. Pulled the stick both times. Hired a crane. Never hired a rigger. You need a large flat area to lay the old shrouds and stays out straight to mark your wire cuts. Tape the old and new wire together at intervals to make sure it is perfectly lined up before you cut. Angle grinder with a diamond blade works great for cutting the wire. Take the sharp edges off the cut with a grinder or file. I use blue tape to heavily wrap both sides of the cut location and plenty of water to keep the wire and blade from getting too hot. Check out the Sta-Lok website.

Choosing Sta-Loks is the easy part. Where you need to be careful is the wire. there is a lot of bad cheap wire out there. Do your own research. We used Hamma X wire made by KOS for Arcus. Very happy with the choice.

[Sand crab]

And avoid the Chinese wire. The stuff from Korea, US and Germany are good.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Mario.

Hints and advice on rigging and tuning of your Seldén mast
➥ http://www.riggingandsails.com/pdf/selden-tuning.pdf

See also:
➥ https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ing-13711.html
➥ https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ning-1290.html
➥ https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...sion-9844.html

[Sprinter99]

after a lot of research an evening and words of recommendation from you guys, I think I am going to try my hand at diy rigging with sta-lock. I am going to bring all my old rigging to rigging only and have them match the sizes and fittings and will do the cutting and installation myself.

Thanks !!

[HeywoodJ]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

...I put a Sta-Lok on the end of the coil of wire and lay it alongside the old stay, matching up the terminals and then cut to length. Install the terminal and back up it goes.....

Since you have decided to do it yourself, take note of this little nugget. By putting on one fitting before you cut the cable you reduce your possible error in length (bad cut, different take-up inside fitting than you accounted for,...) by 50%. When I do this I use a long clevis pin of the right size to keep the old and new terminals connected/lined up, then lay out the old and new cables together as others have described and cut the other end.

[OldGreyB]

Originally Posted by HeywoodJ

Since you have decided to do it yourself, take note of this little nugget. By putting on one fitting before you cut the cable you reduce your possible error in length (bad cut, different take-up inside fitting than you accounted for,...) by 50%. When I do this I use a long clevis pin of the right size to keep the old and new terminals connected/lined up, then lay out the old and new cables together as others have described and cut the other end.

It's nuggets like this that keep me reading the forum and in increase my boating knowledge of " how to"

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by OldGreyB

It's nuggets like this that keep me reading the forum and in increase my boating knowledge of " how to"

And the best thing about Sta-Lok is that it is DIY and you can do it most times as needed with the mast up. I think the OPs boat has the mast off right now. A common issue with the standard crimp or swaged fitting is that it can have corrosion at the fitting. This occurs mainly on the bottom end because water puddles in there so sometimes you will find SL on the bottom and swaged on the top which saves some bucks. The Sta-Lok generally greatly reduces this issue by the way it grabs on to the wire strands. Also the SL can have a longer life than the wire so can be reused except a new wedge will be required. Here's a pic of that typical bottom corrosion and then the SL fitting.


Edit: those pics won't load so here's the links
https://www.classicswan.org/forum/po...hp?thread=1490


https://www.stalok.com/product-categ...fit-terminals/

[SofaKingFishy]

I work as a rigger & yes~ measure the old wires eye to eye and duplicate, HOWEVER…mast compression, deck fittings & chain plates throw a few variables in the mix, so we often resort to adding additional fittings to compensate, along with turnbuckles. We try to do everything on site, but where customers provide us with ‘drop ship’ rigging, there’s a larger window for error…a backstay is too long, or the headstay was measured incorrectly when installing the new furler, etc…so, yes, but be prepared for a challenge or two possibly.

[Randy Bogardus]

Originally Posted by HeywoodJ

Since you have decided to do it yourself, take note of this little nugget. By putting on one fitting before you cut the cable you reduce your possible error in length (bad cut, different take-up inside fitting than you accounted for,...) by 50%. When I do this I use a long clevis pin of the right size to keep the old and new terminals connected/lined up, then lay out the old and new cables together as others have described and cut the other end.

+1 for this tip. I’ve rerigged cutting all my own wire and used Sta-loc fittings. Not a hard job if you have the right tools.

[badadim]

It is very likely the old rigging was made off SS 304 when nowadays SS 316 is the way to go. Which one did you use for the chainplates? You may want to use the same.



Check http://www.stalok.com for everything you need and shop around online. There will be regular GST/PST or HST on shipments from UK or USA but it will be still cheaper comparing to buying in Canada or machining it.


Easiest way to shop online is www.defender.com


Paul, from oceanrigging.com located in BC may supply it to you too if you like, that way you will get some free advise if you send the pics and call him.


Good luck!

[Happ]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Yes, take it off, have it duplicated. You may find a very wide range in estimates. I would get a few. You can even order on line to save money. I would not concern myself with stretch but think about how the turnbuckles are currently adjusted (mid thread?)
To get estimates you could just use approx lengths. But be sure to specify that when you actually send the order in.
You can remove a couple at a time and get them done if you dont want to de mast for the project.
Nice time to demast and check everything out and rebuild as necessary though.
Type 316 wire is best, but most boats for decades have not had that so...

Before ordering; take them off and measure accurately, also think about how the turnbuckles are currently adjusted (mid thread?) ... you want some adjustment both ways.
If using a local source, give them the old one so there's no question of length.

Let me fill in a bit of detail. When you measure take the measured length and order the length with the turnbuckles fully extended in a useable length. Now you have room to tighten for stretch.

[Donlin]

Jamie at North Sails in Halifax is a very good rigger. He has done some on my Watkins 33 and I have been very happy. He can provide wise counsel on the options.

[gonesail]

i had my rigging redone years ago with swaged fittings .. but if I had to do it again .. definitely would go with StaLoc

[bcboomer]

If you're going to do it yourself you should take a look at dyneema.

Not too steep a learning curve and some real advantages.

[pendragon]

No need for a rigger-->I did my own rigging replacement. I bought sufficient wire on a reel to replace all wire on the boat and 2 Sta-lok fittings per stay.
All you need is an angle grinder with cutting disc, a couple of open end spanners and someone to hoist you up/down the mast.
Replace one stay at the time. And next time your wire needs replacing, you can re-use the Sta-Lok fittings.
No need for riggers with their swaged fittings and Sta-loks are much more cost effective than swages. Norseman fittings is a similar system.