Sailing the South Pacific
- Thread starter TheDragon
- Start date
CapDave
Anarchist
How old is your rigging? How many miles sailed on it?
All the answers here:
forums.sailinganarchy.com
What kind of wire are my shrouds and stays?
The standing rigging on my 1989 PSC34 is failing with broken strands at most of the bottom swages. No surprise given the age. I would like to replace the swages with long-stud Sta-lok self-fit terminals with threads into the existing turnbuckles. The wires are 7mm in diameter with 12 strands on...
forums.sailinganarchy.com
CapDave
Anarchist
Ruh-roh. To be fair to Dragon I understand you're a single-hander, so at least you're only betting your own life. Here in the Caribbean we are seeing many many newbie cruisers sailing on older boats who "fix what breaks" and call it maintenance - the difference is they have wife and kids aboard; not so defensible.All the answers here:
What kind of wire are my shrouds and stays?
The standing rigging on my 1989 PSC34 is failing with broken strands at most of the bottom swages. No surprise given the age. I would like to replace the swages with long-stud Sta-lok self-fit terminals with threads into the existing turnbuckles. The wires are 7mm in diameter with 12 strands on...
That said, I love the South Pacific pics; we've been wavering on pulling the trigger to go back. Might go visit Svalbord next summer first, then through the Canal in spring '24. Keep the pics coming!
MaxDog
Member
Whetting my appetite for the Pacific! Heading there from Grenada in November and I can't wait!
Kiwi Clipper
Member
- 111
- 86
Dragon: I agree with CapDav above. I am loving your story telling and pictures. But your rig is frightening and I don't think your fixes will hold up in adverse conditions. It should be a priority to replace; and you should be aware that even the fittings including the turnbuckles at the ends may have cracks you don't see that will fail. Unfortunately that only happens when you are at sea in adverse conditions when you really need it. At the age of your boat you should also check the spreader fittings at both ends of spreaders.
There are some good wire shops in Auckland and those guys are used to working with boat owners on a budget.
Aloha and Good luck
There are some good wire shops in Auckland and those guys are used to working with boat owners on a budget.
Aloha and Good luck
You can probably get it re-rigged in Denarau. That might mean ordering from a NZ rigger and getting it delivered. I know that a Deerfoot 62.2 re-rigged in Denarau a couple of years ago.
Cisco
Super Anarchist
As I said on the other thread over at SA - aeroplanes are your friend - fly to NZ or AU ( AU you can reclaim GST on departure) - buy wire, stalocks and turnbuckles - fly back. Coiled wire is easy just go to oversize desk ( apart from all my wire I once flew with a 25kg Rocna - wrapped up in bubblewrap with a fragile sticker on it - to Chile).
Pro tip
Get wires cut a bit over length with the top terminations done in Au/Nz then you only have to stalok the bottom ends on site.
Taking the current rig south to NZ? Possible hard windward work, chance of losing your boat, your life, and putting others at considerable risk.
Edit - prioritise your lowers - they are your greatest risk - don't ask how I know this.
Pro tip
Get wires cut a bit over length with the top terminations done in Au/Nz then you only have to stalok the bottom ends on site.Taking the current rig south to NZ? Possible hard windward work, chance of losing your boat, your life, and putting others at considerable risk.
Edit - prioritise your lowers - they are your greatest risk - don't ask how I know this.
TheDragon
Super Anarchist
- Thread starter
- #131
Thanks all, so I've discovered that Vuda Marina still has place for cyclone season and am seriously considering leaving the boat there. I am in Suva right now. Downsides are leaving the boat in the tropics for six months unattended, and having to sail back upwind to cruise Tonga next season as they only just opened. And loss of the life-long dream of sailing to New Zealand. I have the Sta-Loks arriving in Vuda Marina on Wednesday so we will see how replacing the lower swages goes. Despite all the advice here and in the thread on wire, I still am confident the existing wire, top swages, turnbuckles, and chainplates are okay. It is just the bottom swages that are the problem or more specifically the wires where they enter those swages. I will consult with the two riggers there, but I already know from you all what they will say.
TheDragon
Super Anarchist
- Thread starter
- #132
I left Bay-of-Islands and sailed, or rather motor-sailed as the easterly trades were relentless, around the top of Vanua Balavu island to a bay called either Somo Bay or Bavatu Bay where a remarkable guy named Tony Philp, ex-Tasmania and 75 years old, has built a little yacht club called the Exploring Isles YC, along with owning a massive "plantation" on the island there with its own village and his magnificent home on the top of the hill. And he built Vuda Marina on Viti Levu, owns The Copra Shed at Savusavu and another marina, and most of the chandleries in Fiji, not to mention other homes and innumerable large sailboats. He's a pretty impressive guy and I enjoyed chatting with him and seeing his place. Completely down to earth where I met him, wearing crocs with holes in them, torn shorts, and a filthy t-shirt while doing manual labor with his four workers, pretty impressive. I used one of the four moorings at his YC, and we had four boats in the bay so had a nice barbecue on a fire on the YC grounds to cook fish. Pics below.
From there, headed around the rest of the island to the village of Lomaloma and anchored behind tiny Yanuyanu island, to get diesel and petrol and some food. Next day headed out the pass going south, for an overnight stop in a remarkable anchorage in 55 ft above sand outside the reef at Lakeba island, only the third time I have used all 200 feet of chain on this trip. And on overnight past a perfect desert island and atoll down to Fulaga, a magnificent island with a large open anchorage with a sand spit perfect for launching kites and had three days of good kitesurfing. Then east for one night to nearby Ogea, the last Fiji island of the Lau group, anchored in a beautiful spot with a beach and islets. Met an old man on the beach who cut down some young coconuts and a papaya for me, and opened one coconut, OMG I've been missing out of this for five months, the sweetest water and juiciest meat ever.
I then turned west finally, and sailed overnight in really rough conditions, down to staysail only most of the night, to an unusual island called Matuku, which like two others in this little Yasayasa group is volcanic and the anchorage is in the caldera. Very cool, and met two young guys planting taro who cut papayas and eggplant for me. They have five villages, perhaps 200 people total, and no cars or roads, just pangas with Yamaha outboards. Sailed from there overnight to the main city of Suva, what a contrast! The harbor and city are super busy and noisy and polluted, but the fruit and veggie market was beyond anything I have seen anywhere in the world, hundreds of little stalls with the most amazing variety of produce for ridiculously low prices, so I stocked up on fruit. And today a rough sail along the coast to a place called Pacific Harbor, which is a tiny river mouth where in the middle of a thunderstorm of all things I managed to persuade the Pearl Resort to let me tie up to their docks for the night, because tomorrow I am going on a shark dive, yikes!
From there, headed around the rest of the island to the village of Lomaloma and anchored behind tiny Yanuyanu island, to get diesel and petrol and some food. Next day headed out the pass going south, for an overnight stop in a remarkable anchorage in 55 ft above sand outside the reef at Lakeba island, only the third time I have used all 200 feet of chain on this trip. And on overnight past a perfect desert island and atoll down to Fulaga, a magnificent island with a large open anchorage with a sand spit perfect for launching kites and had three days of good kitesurfing. Then east for one night to nearby Ogea, the last Fiji island of the Lau group, anchored in a beautiful spot with a beach and islets. Met an old man on the beach who cut down some young coconuts and a papaya for me, and opened one coconut, OMG I've been missing out of this for five months, the sweetest water and juiciest meat ever.
I then turned west finally, and sailed overnight in really rough conditions, down to staysail only most of the night, to an unusual island called Matuku, which like two others in this little Yasayasa group is volcanic and the anchorage is in the caldera. Very cool, and met two young guys planting taro who cut papayas and eggplant for me. They have five villages, perhaps 200 people total, and no cars or roads, just pangas with Yamaha outboards. Sailed from there overnight to the main city of Suva, what a contrast! The harbor and city are super busy and noisy and polluted, but the fruit and veggie market was beyond anything I have seen anywhere in the world, hundreds of little stalls with the most amazing variety of produce for ridiculously low prices, so I stocked up on fruit. And today a rough sail along the coast to a place called Pacific Harbor, which is a tiny river mouth where in the middle of a thunderstorm of all things I managed to persuade the Pearl Resort to let me tie up to their docks for the night, because tomorrow I am going on a shark dive, yikes!
