Rigging inspection question

[csoule13]

While the mast is down for some coring work, we had the rigger do an overall inspection. We received overall good marks on the standing rigging, and suggestions to replace most of the running rigging(which we knew, and will tackle down the road a little).

At the moment, we have a budget that has taken a beating from the fiberglass work. There really isn't any wiggle room at this point to handle anything but the most critical of safety hazards. With that in mind, here is what was marked as needed to be replaced. What's the general safety severity of these? Our sailing is on the Chesapeake in mild/moderate conditions.

-Shroud attachment points
-Spreader boots
- Mast should be painted

The wiring is also almost certainly going to need to be replaced, as it was apparently run too short. POs are the best.

Chris
1983 30+

 

[Loren Beach]

I would focus limited time and $ on the shroud attachment. Sounds ominous.

Boots are nice, but only if you sail with an overlapping jib and sheet it in too tight. I have some new boots for our double spreader rig, and will put them on the day before we sell the boat. Our spreader tips have been "bare" for 20 years -- you just have to look up when cranking in that last foot of sheet for the 135.

Prepping and Painting the spar is rather labor intensive, and labor costs $ when someone else is doing it. Usually this is the time to dismount all of the hardware and halt/repair any corrosion problems as well. That might be a separate "winter project".

It would be helpful if you had some pix of the the shroud situation.

Loren

 

[csoule13]

Should have included this from the notes section. Sounds less ominous.

[FONT=&quot]Shroud Attachment Points: Port upper shroud backing plate needs to be re-fastened.

Dealing with any major project on the mast just isn't the cards for at least a year. While the report noted that due to age, the entire standing rigging should be replaced, it's currently is solid condition. There is simply no more capacity to take on more refit work for at least the next year or two.[/FONT]

 

[Navman]

rigging

Definitely the shroud attachment points and tightening the backing plate.

 

[Christian Williams]

Yes, all that really matters here is the integrity of the shrouds. Give us a picture of the issue, if you can. If it's bad, it;s an emergency.

But for perspective, I'm currently sailing around locally with an ugly crack in the backstay chainplate strap. I won't be setting a spinnaker, and I won't be going downwind in 40 knots. I'll fix it in a few months when the weather turns to a bitter 65 degrees and the threat of light warm rain stops all sailing in SoCal.

Awareness of even a significant flaw takes the mystery out, and need not stop everything in its tracks. Most rigs are overdue for replacement but statistically few fall off the boat.

Mast cosmetics, unfortunately, are expensive and quite a big job to do yourself. If you unstep each winter, maybe some touch-up spray paint and wax. From the deck nobody can see the top half anyhow.

The estimate to paint the mast of my 32-footer was $8,000 (The Boatyard, MDR). "Most people wind up spending more, because all the stuff up there is probably worn out," Victor said.

 

[tenders]

Slapping on mast boots will cost less than $50 and can be done from a bosun's chair, but is easier with the mast down. Tip: unless you love swinging from the chair, use wire, and/or UV-stable zip ties, not tape, to hold the boots on. Tape adhesive unravels in messy fashion after 4 months.

Futzing with the shroud attachment point - I presume on the deck, not on the mast? - can be easily done with the mast up or down. You can use a halyard as a temporary shroud while the shroud is slack. What does "re-fastened" mean - the screws are loose? All my backing plates are held in by the bolts they're backing. This sounds like a $0 job, not a project.

Painting the mast: why is he saying this, is it a cosmetic issue or a structural (corrosion) issue? Is it painted now, or is the original anodization failing? I've done this myself twice, once in 1995 with one-part Brightside, and once last year with two-part Perfection. The Brightside looked great for three years, was good enough for the next ten years, then looked increasingly ratty. It handily exceeded my expectations, but the Perfection will probably do even better.

Mast painting is an unbearably expensive project to pay someone else to do because it is quite time-intensive, but not because of the mast painting itself. Painting aluminum does require a special primer which then has to be top coated within 24 hours, but the painting thereafter is only a little fussier with the fancy 2-part paint than it is with one-part paints, and I think is well worth it. Either way it is immensely satisfying to turn a scratched-up aluminum stick into a sleek, shiny spar over a couple of days/coats of paint. BUT: disassembling and then reassembling all the stuff attached to a mast is mostly mindless work, but it takes time. Prepping and painting the spreader bases, boom fittings, etc. takes time. There is a risk of "mission creep" with the mast disassembled (are you really going to put that old masthead light back on after it's been removed? Windex? Incandescent spreader lights? Wiring? Masthead sheaves? etc. That stuff adds up.

Bottom line for me was that I couldn't justify paying somebody else to paint my mast but if you can find the time it is not a particularly cash-intensive endeavor. Maybe $300 in fancy Perfection paints, primers, thinners, rollers, etc?

 

[bgary]

Agree with most of the above.

One approach is to "triage" things based on whether or not a failure could cause damage or injury.

A shroud attachment deserves attention. Not clear if you're talking about the chainplate where the shroud attaches to the deck, or the backing plate where the shroud attaches to the mast, but... that would probably get my attention first.

Mast is next. Question is whether the suggestion to paint is cosmetic, or because there is significant corrosion that needs to be remediated. Even if corrosion, the whole mast doesn't necessarily need to be stripped and painted, it can be spot-treated until such a time as budget and priorities indicate the whole thing is due for a makeover. In my case, I wire-wheeled a number of places where there was surface corrosion until I had bright metal, used an acid-etching zinc-chromate primer (in a rattle can), and then top-coated with Rustoleum in a suitable color. Not a perfect finish but it protects the metal and, as Christian says, you won't see it anyway. I think the total cost of the rehab I did on my mast (spot-remediating some corrosion, replacing the halyard sheaves, sheave pins and rigging pins, replacing the wiring and coax, and installing a new masthead light) was under $500 (plus my time).

Spreader boots would be last on my list. The important thing is to make sure that the shrouds are correctly seated in the pockets of the spreader tip, and siezed so they won't slip out. Boots are a good-news, bad-news thing - the good news is they provide a "finished" look and they protect the sail when sheeted in tightely; the bad news is that they can collect water and hide the resulting corrosion that takes place over time. I'd put boots pretty low on the list of priorities although, as others have noted, they are not going to hurt your budget - a full set for a double-spreader rig will be less than 50 bucks, or if you feel adventurous you can make your own with a scrap piece of leather and some sewing.

I'd also note that while the mast is down is a great time to re-do the wiring, if needed. Marine-grade wire isn't that expensive, and it is a job you can do yourself.

$.02

 

[csoule13]

Thanks all. The mast is sitting in a heap in the rigger's shop, after having been taken down for the ongoing deck work. So, no photos.

Talking with the guy, we're getting the wiring and the backing plates done. Basically, the high safety items.

It's been quite an 11 months, basically a pull the loose thread, hey, where'd my sweater go, experience.

 

[Christian Williams]

Great time to follow Tenders' example, if you can.

And yeah, we all started with a nice sweater. Now all we have is a lifestyle.

 

[ignacio]

But for perspective, I'm currently sailing around locally with an ugly crack in the backstay chainplate strap.

I'm curious about the specific components the rigger was looking at, but to add some further perspective, I just sailed my boat 5,000+ miles offshore with a rusty steering cable full of meat hooks. This was a calculated risk, one for which I had a few backup plans. Nothing happened. Granted, it doesn't take shroud loads, but it did leave me wondering. That being said, one of my shroud toggles, just a couple years old, broke about 3/4 of the way on the return trip from Hawaii to SF.