Favorite Standing Rigging Systems for Bluewater Boats?

[TheDragon]

slug, the wires looked fine, and I cleaned the bottom six inches or so with gentle acid, hence they look nice and shiny in the Sta-Lok pic. I know full well I should replace the entire standing rigging from chainplates to tangs, but that's not going to happen, hence this solution instead.

 

[TheDragon]

Here's a different approach to standing rigging!

 

[slug zitski]

slug, the wires looked fine, and I cleaned the bottom six inches or so with gentle acid, hence they look nice and shiny in the Sta-Lok pic. I know full well I should replace the entire standing rigging from chainplates to tangs, but that's not going to happen, hence this solution instead.

About the only thing you can do with rigging is to be aware … always eyeballing it

That what the polishing is all about … all the fittings look the same , nice and clean then for some reason a fitting begins to show rust stains

You clean it up again and sure enough next month its shows rust stains again

Something is going on

 

[DDW]

This thread seems like 4 pages of argument in favor of free standing masts......

 

[mgs]

This thread seems like 4 pages of argument in favor of free standing masts......

Maybe, as long as there aren’t hydraulics involved

 

[robtoujours]

Hydraulics, you say?

 

[mgs]

Can you believe it? Someone was fool enough to go for free standing masts with hydraulic vangs. Some sort of anomaly that is…

 

[DDW]

Can you believe it? Someone was fool enough to go for free standing masts with hydraulic vangs. Some sort of anomaly that is…

Now I've made new pistons with correct tolerance, and BOTH cylinders are weeping slightly from the rod seal.....but at least the argon is staying put.

 

[mgs]

Now I've made new pistons with correct tolerance, and BOTH cylinders are weeping slightly from the rod seal.....but at least the argon is staying put.

I don’t remember your setup enough to know what oil is leaking where from that description…I’ll go find your thread about it later when I need to procrastinate

 

[DDW]

I won't pollute this thread further with my hydaulic vitriol. I posted the new problems here.

 

[robtoujours]

Well, Rod Stephens wasn't a fan;

"Now, a lot of modern racing boats are loaded with hydraulic controls - backstay, headstay, mast partners, baby stay, boom vang, Cunningham - and the high-tech racers have got themselves in a position where they need to do it that way. But in general, I think it’s a great mistake. Maybe I sound too conservative, but it just kills me to go out and see someone with very little knowledge pumping away, reading some figure on the dial and getting everything so tight that you should fear for your life.

You do want to be able to change the tension on the backstay, and there are units that work very well, that fit right on the stay. There is just one place to pump, so you know exactly what’s being adjusted. But when you have one pump with a central switchboard where you switch the knob and pump by the numbers... well then you can get into a lot of trouble, especially at night, when it’s hard to observe the results of what you’re doing.

...

I remember sailing on another new boat in Europe several years ago. Someone in the crew was fiddling with the hydraulics and all of a sudden I noticed the boom was getting a terrific bend. I said, “Hey what are you doing?” “Tightening the inner forestay,” he said, still pumping and pumping. Well, it turned out he was tightening the boom vang by mistake, and had put a great bend in the boom. But there was no feel in what he was doing. That’s what I have against hydraulics."

 

[DDW]

User error isn't what I have against hydraulics. You can as easily make the same mistake with 20 sail control lines. What I don't like is they leak. Either now or shortly.

 

[slug zitski]

Well, Rod Stephens wasn't a fan;

"Now, a lot of modern racing boats are loaded with hydraulic controls - backstay, headstay, mast partners, baby stay, boom vang, Cunningham - and the high-tech racers have got themselves in a position where they need to do it that way. But in general, I think it’s a great mistake. Maybe I sound too conservative, but it just kills me to go out and see someone with very little knowledge pumping away, reading some figure on the dial and getting everything so tight that you should fear for your life.

You do want to be able to change the tension on the backstay, and there are units that work very well, that fit right on the stay. There is just one place to pump, so you know exactly what’s being adjusted. But when you have one pump with a central switchboard where you switch the knob and pump by the numbers... well then you can get into a lot of trouble, especially at night, when it’s hard to observe the results of what you’re doing.

...

I remember sailing on another new boat in Europe several years ago. Someone in the crew was fiddling with the hydraulics and all of a sudden I noticed the boom was getting a terrific bend. I said, “Hey what are you doing?” “Tightening the inner forestay,” he said, still pumping and pumping. Well, it turned out he was tightening the boom vang by mistake, and had put a great bend in the boom. But there was no feel in what he was doing. That’s what I have against hydraulics."

Hydraulics are compact and powerful

for many applications there is no other choice

 

[slug zitski]

User error isn't what I have against hydraulics. You can as easily make the same mistake with 20 sail control lines. What I don't like is they leak. Either now or shortly.

Sure..I know of a superyacht that pulled the mast down with a running backstay …it was loaded on a powered secondary winch..crew thought they were rolling the Genoa …big mistake