Stress and Wear on Rigging

[Islander1]

Originally Posted by hummingway

The question of whether the rigging on a cat wears early and if so what can can be done about mitigating the issue is something we can discuss but multi vs mono clearly isn't, it's hard enough having a discussion of individual issues free of baiting and noise. There's been some intelligent comments on rigging. Can we stick to that?

No worries.

[cat man do]

I still have the top forestay toggle off of my last cat on my desk,.
It has 6 out of the 19 wires broken after 3 years of fairly heavy use on a rotating rig.
Never noticed they had broken until we inspected the rig after a lightening strike.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

I just bought a "plastic" shotgun in the eyes of "traditionalists".
Remington 887 nitro mag tactical.
If it was a boat, it would be a multihull.
If it was an anchor, it would probably be either a FX or a Rocna.
How's THAT for stirring the pot?

That's not stirring the pot. How can it be when both are very logical choices that I agree with!

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

OP brings up a good point, I too have wondered about the lifespan of cat riging.

I think OP was referring to the durability of the boats that the rigging was attached to, rather than the rigging itself (that's mainly simply a time led thing as no visual inspection will be good enough to say OK) - if the designer got the rigging figures right should also not be a fix .....but by around 7 years (plus or minus) you will know that the figures were OK (or not!) already

And to keep any sensitive souls happy (? - Lol!) - plenty of Mono "Banana Boats" built over the years . "Build 'em light, build 'em profitable - and flog 'em to the unwary"........and that ain't a Mono vs Multi thing

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Tropic Cat

Not even close. '80s built Catalacs and Prouts are still making ocean crossings in 2011. They are not used as floating condos as you implied and can be found all over the Pacific islands as well as the Caribbean and the Greek and Italian end of Mediterranean.

Man....your so touchy about things....
I KNOW most are still sailing....
I've delivered one to Turkey and another to Spain over the last 12mths....
I said A FEW....
which part of FEW are you having trouble with...
Don't work so hard at 'holding the price'....
every boat has two values...
Yours... and....
What a buyers prepared to pay...

[StillLearning]

check out a 'Norm Cross Trimaran' !! Nice, comfortable and very sea worthy boat.Reasonably priced..LOVE this boat!

[colemj]

Originally Posted by cat man do

I still have the top forestay toggle off of my last cat on my desk,.
It has 6 out of the 19 wires broken after 3 years of fairly heavy use on a rotating rig.
Never noticed they had broken until we inspected the rig after a lightening strike.

Toggles aren't made of wire - are you referring to the swage fitting?

Do you think it could have been caused by the lightening strike? We were recently struck by lightning and I haven't pulled the rig yet. Just wondering if the strike could have damaged any rigging (I will check it when I pull the rig to rewire/refit).

Also, does a rotating rig apply more stresses to the rigging fitting than a static rig?

Mark

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by colemj

Toggles aren't made of wire - are you referring to the swage fitting?

I am referring to one of these

Wire goes into the end and it is here that 6 of the wires were broken

Do you think it could have been caused by the lightening strike? We were recently struck by lightning and I haven't pulled the rig yet. Just wondering if the strike could have damaged any rigging (I will check it when I pull the rig to rewire/refit).

No, definitely wear and tear
The breaks on the wire were aged and had been like that for a while

Also, does a rotating rig apply more stresses to the rigging fitting than a static rig?

I'd think it would, as it rotates, but the boost in performance rotated was noticeable vs when it was locked off (non rotating)

Not sure if it stresses the boat more as there is not much tension on the shrouds at rest and when sailing, the leeward wire had considerable slack in

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by cat man do

I am referring to one of these

Wire goes into the end and it is here that 6 of the wires were broken


No, definitely wear and tear
The breaks on the wire were aged and had been like that for a while


I'd think it would, as it rotates, but the boost in performance rotated was noticeable vs when it was locked off (non rotating)

Not sure if it stresses the boat more as there is not much tension on the shrouds at rest and when sailing, the leeward wire had considerable slack in

That seems extreme after only three years. Do you think it was improperly installed?

[boatman61]

Some swages don't work out.... depends if manual or machined...
Used a hand press for swaging in one yard I worked in...

[Mexdon]

Originally Posted by StillLearning

check out a 'Norm Cross Trimaran' !! Nice, comfortable and very sea worthy boat.Reasonably priced..LOVE this boat!

Welcome to CF. You will win friends with statements like this on this Forum.

[zeehag]

cross made beautiful designs and they seem to last forever. a friend has one built in 70s--still afloat

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by colemj

Toggles aren't made of wire - are you referring to the swage fitting?

Do you think it could have been caused by the lightening strike? We were recently struck by lightning and I haven't pulled the rig yet. Just wondering if the strike could have damaged any rigging (I will check it when I pull the rig to rewire/refit)....

I was struck by lightning off Cape Canaveral several years ago. I had to drop the mast to replace everything which was blasted off of it. I saw no degradation in any of the rigging components. Wires were fine.

Electronics / Electric was a completely different story...

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Tropic Cat

I was struck by lightning off Cape Canaveral several years ago. I had to drop the mast to replace everything which was blasted off of it. I saw no degradation in any of the rigging components. Wires were fine.

Electronics / Electric was a completely different story...

I work in construction as a structural inspector. For one particular type of construction, post-tension, high strength (270ksi) wire is used. On of the big no-no's with PT cables is for welders to hook their ground to the tendons when welding on any nearby rebar or structural steel. The high currents used in welding affect the properties of the cables. I am unsure if strength is affected or the low-relaxation required for PT construction or some other important property. There is no visible evidence of the damage.

I can't say that lighning would or wouldn't affect stainless rigging without visibly indicating it, but if it were my boat I would contact the wire manufacturer to see if they had anything to say. I would think that suppliers and rigger might have the info, but they also might have incorrect info. The manufacturer's metalurgists should know the answer.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by hummingway

That seems extreme after only three years.

I thought so at the time as well, but she was getting 9,000nm +- every year logged on her which I would think is higher than the average.

I imagine there would be many boats out there that have not done that in 3 years, let alone 1.

Do you think it was improperly installed?

I would not have thought so.
This was the rig built by myself, for me, with a mate who is a rigger looking over my shoulder who has built many rotating rigs for some of Australia's fastest multi's at the time.
Everything was done in the same fashion using the same methods.