Galvanized Rigging

[Steve Pope]

I can't suggest any manufacturer for you to consider but would suggest you contact Grant at "Chains Ropes and Anchors" here in NZ as he is great at giving unbiased advice on most stuff he sells.
<www.chainsropsandanchors.co.nz>

[vintageray]

Thanks for the info., Steve. I'll contact him when I know what questions to ask intelligently. The P.O.'s say that one of the stays was replaced shortly before the boat was taken out of service for refit and at that time the rigger in the Virgin Islands who replaced the stay inspected the rest of the rigging and said it was in good shape. I'm a little skeptical since it was in service for almost 30 yrs. I will need to hire a rigger when I step the masts to tune the rig properly and I'll have him come and look over the stainless rigging ahead of time. If it's not good, I'll get his input on what specifications would be required to replace it with galvanized.

[MichaelC]

Most people with sailboats are sailing marconi rigs. For those using gaff, galvanized is the way to go, wrapped with cloth electrician tape, then served with tarred nylon twine. There are complete directions in Toss's book Rigger's Apprentice. I did all of my schooner rigging in this fashion. You can seize eyes with round seizings, splice the wire, or, if using turnbuckles rather than deadeyes, those zinc filled fittings. I think the seizings work best, last longest, and are easy to see for maintenance checks. Definitely look for the best wire, because there is some trash out there. I once found a half coil of galvanized swire left from telephone pole work that had been sitting in the woods for twenty years. It looked like it was new. I might use it on my cutter .....

[Steve Pope]

Re the age of your SS rigging, on Gwalarn the rigging was installed in 1979, I replaced the forestay and the back stays 4 years ago, not because there was anything apparently wrong with them, purely as a precautionary measure, as I have heard about SS rigging breaking without warning. The side stays and the cap shrouds are still original. She was originally rigged with oversize wire which may have something to do with its longevity. I think now in hind sight I would have not had a problem if I hadn't renewed those 3 stays. That is the problem (no warning) with SS that you don't get with galv. As MichaelC says telephone stay wire is definitely good quality, here in NZ it has a different lay to 1 x 19 but if the sizes are suitable for your rig I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

[Lawrence]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Maybe the "Norse" in Norselay has to do with using it only in very high latitudes like near the north/south pole. Anywhere close to the Equator the UV will eat away that protective plastic covering in no time flat. Then you will have exposed galvanized steel which will rust.

Norselay was developed as a product to support antennae in the Sahara Desert since the galvanized wire would become sand blasted and corrode quickly. As a result there is no problem with UV protection.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by Lawrence

Norselay was developed as a product to support antennae in the Sahara Desert since the galvanized wire would become sand blasted and corrode quickly. As a result there is no problem with UV protection.

Although the Sahara Desert can be challenging to any material, the oceans are a different matter and the Equatorial and Tropical salt water environment is a whole other matter. The intensity of the sun is incredible and FRG, colored canvas/sunbrella, vinyl, rope/lines/cords and everything else non-metallic are "eaten" by the sun's UV in a year or two or three. With stainless steel rigging such considerations are totally avoided.
- - UV protection (other than a metal covering) works by the protection chemical absorbing the UV and is broken down in the process - just like "Sun Lotions with a SPF rating." Once the protecting chemical is "used up" that is the end of the protection. And then the plastic covering rapidly disintegrates.
- - Now you have the galvanized steel wire exposed to the salt water environment. Those of us who have been in the Tropics for a few years know how soon your galvanized anchor chain starts to rust in today's oceans.
- - I would think that even in the "olden days," when sailors only had galvanized steel rigging, they was a reason for using the oils and tars to protect their standing rigging. All of this is a lot of continual work when the use of stainless steel rigging is "maintenance-free," baring any physical damage, for a decade or two or three. There are too many things on a cruising boat to maintain already and adding a major - IMHO - pain in the ass process of oiling/tarring/whatever to your standing rigging is over-the-top since it is not needed if you use stainless steel.
- - It would be very interesting to know what the length of time is that the company making Norselay warrants the life of the product to be when used in the Tropical/Equatorial Oceans.

[straycurrent]

Realise this is an old thread but info may be of benefit to some.
I had gal rigging which started to rust after one year with no treatment.
To combat this I used a product called penetrol which is like a penetrating oil that sets like varnish after soaking into the wire. I applied it with a sponge, then painted it all with cold gal paint.
I also covered the lower ends of shrouds up to the spreaders with black polly garden irrigation tube to prevent chafe. I split the tube with a knife and taped it every half metre or so. Turns out the tube acted to protect the wire from spray and all wire was still going strong after 13 years with zero maintenance other than an occasional squirt with a silicon type spray on the lower swages. You can easily peel open the tubing to inspect the wire and the wire under the tubing was in better nick that that not covered.