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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Maintenance on boats that stay afloat

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FrankV
Navigator

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USA
135 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/07/2003 : 11:36:39

One great advantage of the area we live in is that we keep our boat "wet" all year. One big disadvantage is we never take the boat out of the water and leave it fully rigged year round. This makes us defer lots of maintenance.
Do we need to follow the 10 year schedule for changing the standing rigging?
It seems that taking the rig up and down puts a lot of strain on it and casues wear. Does just sitting up all day cause the same concern?
I realized that I have (in all probability) 20 year old original rigging! It looks like it is great shape. I still have aluminum spreaders and they look fine, also.
Maybe at the next bottom job I should consider a re-investment in the boat. We day-sail on an inland, fresh water lake in light to moderate conditions. This tends to make us all complacent about maintenance.

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 03/07/2003 : 13:36:56

FrankV,
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Do we need to follow the 10 year schedule for changing the standing rigging? ... I have (in all probability) 20 year old original rigging! It looks like it is great shape.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote> I'd go over the entire mast and standing rigging with a fine tooth comb (or more literally, a strong magnifying glass). I agree that rigging which has spent its life on an inland, fresh water lake will likely last longer than rigging that has lived in tropical seawater. It's still real hard for me to imagine rigging that old still being safe to use. If you're not sure what to look for, I suggest either paying a professional rigger to inspect it, or getting a copy of Brion Toss's rigging survey video and/or his book, titled "The Riggers Apprentice" or something like that.
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>I still have aluminum spreaders and they look fine.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>I assume you mean the spreader bases, where the spreader tubes attach to the middle of the mast. I'd replace those with the stainless steel factory upgrade parts no matter how nice they look. As I understand it, the big problem with the aluminum spreader brackets is that when they fail, it's without warning. When an upper shroud goes slack (as in spreader failure), there's a very high risk of the mast folding over at the top of the lower shrouds. Masts cost lots more than either spreader bases or standing rigging.
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>... fresh water lake in light to moderate conditions. This tends to make us all complacent about maintenance.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote> I'd be inclined to take the mast down at least every two years for inspection and preventative maintenance. It's not hard to do.<img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

-- Leon Sisson