Re-rigging. T-Terminal swaged or swageless or replace?

[xslim]

Hi guys!
I'm in process of deciding how to re-rig my boat.
I will be doing the full re-rig and changing all the parts.

I'm thinking to go with swageless connection (Sta-lok or Blue Wave, haven't decided yet).

The question I have is where the shrouds are connecting to the mast. Currently, they are connected with swaged T-Terminals.
I could not find any swageless T-terminals.

Should I go with swaged ones?
Should I put a T-terminal with UNF thread, and then a swageless UNF connector to it?
or should I replace T-terminals with something other? What?

Thank you!

[david samuelson]

Hi,
T-terminals are reputably the weakest of all terminals, to the point that some manufacturers will not give a Safe Working Load. Having said that, there are thousands of them out there and very seldom is there a problem. The most common cause of breakage I think is a mis-match between the terminal and the backing plate; when doing a re-rig the new terminals are not always compatible with the existing plates.
All that to say, if you stay with swage T-terminals make sure that whoever does the job is aware of the pitfalls.
If you want to go swageless it is quite a lot of work to change the tangs in the mast. When you remove the T-terminal backing plate you will be left with a fairly large hole in the mast; what to do about that, for a start?
Putting a through-mast tang (a bar that traverses the mast and has threads each end onto which you put your bits to accommodate eyes or toggles followed by locked nuts) is a good, solid way to go.
Or you could go for stemballs which need their special tangs, which in turn need large holes; they are stronger than the Ts.
Those are about the extent of your options.
Cruising boats usually have enough rigging on a mast to hold it up twice ! You have that in your favour.
Just my 2 cents worth.

[xslim]

Thank you for information!
Can you recommend any website page / book that I can read about replacing T-terminals to something newer?
Will the bar be easier / better to install then stemballs?

[barnakiel]

I have re-rigged our boat twice by now. I use swagged terminals throughout.

The only failures we ever had were old terminals, age unknown (came with the boat).

I only used one stalok - where the forestay goes thru the furler foil - because otherwise I would have to carry the furler to the riggers' shop.

Buy quality material (wire and terminals) and get the job done by a proper rigging shop to high standards.

Get some stalok/blue wave terminals and wire for emergency repairs in remote locations (only if you visit such locations).

Remember there are tangs in the mast and these are prone to failure too. Full re-rigging entails replacing these tangs.

Cheers,
b.

[robwilk37]

maybe look into dynema/dux and cheekyblocks from caoligo marine...

[neilpride]

This, there is few T swageless terminals out there, so far no isues if the riggers have a nice day and they keep the alignment nice between top and bottom ... Cheers.

[roverhi]

Have rigged/rerigged two boats with Norsemans and StaLoks and have sailed those boats on long open ocean passages without a problem. They are easy to do and reusable when it comes time to replace the wire.

Would only use swaged fittings in an upper fitting where gravity would give some protection from water intrusion and then only as a last resort. Read a report of destructive testing of used swaged wire that found that visual inspection of swages is not reliable. Some swages with severe cracks exceeded wire strength while others that appeared to be in good condition failed prematurely.

Too chancy for me to rely on swages when mechanical terminals are so easy to do and reusable.

[double u]

Crooked swageless - ACMO Catalogue

[Cheechako]

If swaging find a vendor who does rotary swaging. Same process as used in aircraft cables. Far superior to just pressing.

[Jim Cate]

I recently had a failure in a 26 year old Norseman T-ball terminal. Norseman being extinct these days, I replaced it (and all its mates) with swageless terminals from Sea Rig in New Zealand. They use the same shape T as Norseman (I believe from original Gibb designs) and were a direct replacement except for being slightly longer. Very nicely finished, easy to install. I had to bend the T portion slightly to get good alignment with the wire exit, but I bellieve this is a common issue with all T-ball terminals whether swaged or not.

http://www.kzmarine.co.nz/uploads/1/...alogue2088.pdf

Cheers,

Jim

[bailsout]

Why not nicro-pressing?

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by bailsout

Why not nicro-pressing?

Nico pressing is not appropriate for 1x19 wire in general, and especially not in larger diameters.

Jim

[El Pinguino]

Having lost my mast 22 years ago after an 8 year old t-ball on my lowers failed and having recently discovered 2 broken strands where the wire enters the upper swage on one lower ( 3 year old/15000 mile) I have decided its time for a change.

Currently on its way is a box of tricks from these people Welcome to The Rig Shop, the leading riggers in yacht rigging, composite rigging, masts and spars, architectural riggers. that will convert my lowers from tballs to tangs.

Simply put.... a slug that goes inside the mast to fill the void, a bolt that goes through the slug, two tangs and two sta-loks.

Not cheap ( about UKP700 ) but worth it for the peace of mind.



Simpl

[double u]

can't find it on their webpage...

[seandepagnier]

I met several boats in various places waiting on a new mast because they had used stainless steel standing rigging.

Don't use stainless for rigging as it fails unpredictably and must replaced every 10 years. Instead bronze, galvanized, dynnema are all good options and can outlive you.

I met a guy in south africa who had the original galvanized wire from 1968 he had installed when he built his boat.