ROD Rigging

[meyermm]

can anyone give me some information about rod rigged cruise boats such as strength, life span performance etc vs cable. This would be on an old slow heavy displacement type cutter rig yacht

[Paul L]

Rod is stronger than the same diameter cable.
Rod is more corrosion resistant than cable.
Rod and its fittings are more expensive than cable.
Rod has less stretch than cable.


Paul L

[iiii]

You might start here, they are the main manufacturer:

Engineered rigging and hydraulic systems for the marine industry: Navtec Rigging Solutions

[nonam]

You understand that most cruisers dont like rod because it can fail without warning?With wire there is a chance you might notice a broken strand,a cracked swage,some slackness.........With rod,your rig is over the side before you realise there is a problem.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by nonam

You understand that most cruisers dont like rod because it can fail without warning?With wire there is a chance you might notice a broken strand,a cracked swage,some slackness.........With rod,your rig is over the side before you realise there is a problem.

Nonam,
Do you have any real evidence to this or is just another tale heard on the docks? There are advantages and disadvantages to rod. It is easier to make repairs on wire rigging by a cruiser, for example. But the idea that rod rigging randomly falls out of the boat more often than wire is a myth. If you are doing the proper inspections on a rod system or a wire system you are very unlikely to have a rig failure. The proper inspection of a wire system is not to occasionally look for broken strands. You can look at the Navtec site mentioned above for their inspection recommendations for both rod and wire systems.

Paul L

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by nonam

You understand that most cruisers dont like rod because it can fail without warning?With wire there is a chance you might notice a broken strand,a cracked swage,some slackness.........With rod,your rig is over the side before you realise there is a problem.

I've had rod rigging on my CS36M for 21 years, bought the boat new in 88 and she's still going strong with the original rigging. And she's done quite a few trips south in salt water too.

[nonam]

[quote=Paul L;248322]Nonam,
Do you have any real evidence to this or is just another tale heard on the docks? There are advantages and disadvantages to rod. It is easier to make repairs on wire rigging by a cruiser, for example. But the idea that rod rigging randomly falls out of the boat more often than wire is a myth. If you are doing the proper inspections on a rod system or a wire system you are very unlikely to have a rig failure. The proper inspection of a wire system is not to occasionally look for broken strands. You can look at the Navtec site mentioned above for their inspection recommendations for both rod and wire systems.

Paul L the "proper" inspection for a cruising boat on a passage is to visually inspect the rig every day,from the deck,preferably using binnoculars.

[nonam]

Originally Posted by Vasco

I've had rod rigging on my CS36M for 21 years, bought the boat new in 88 and she's still going strong with the original rigging. And she's done quite a few trips south in salt water too.

Rick,its good to hear that.The CS36 was a popular boat ,and still is.Lots of knowledge about them.The thread starter is considering a one off rod rigging job.If he got it right,20 years cruising.Great.If there is something that is not perfect the rig probably goes over the side sometime.My heard on the docks opinion is that wire can take significantly more abuse than rod.

[Weyalan]

I have never had a rod-rigged boat, but have sialed on plenty. The only disadvantage that I have heard of is that Insurance companies may require regualr checks, possibly die-checking for cracks.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by nonam

Paul L the "proper" inspection for a cruising boat on a passage is to visually inspect the rig every day,from the deck,preferably using binnoculars.

No problem with that on a daily visual inspection. But there is a lot more to inspecting the rig on a regular basis than that. Most rig failures do not occur from wire (or rod) failures. Most occur from fittings giving way, tangs, turnbuckles, chain plates, bolts, etc.

Paul L

[Joli]

I've race thousand upon thousands of miles with Navtec Rigging and we've never pitched the rig. Rod is easy to inspect and last a long time. You do not even need to die check, just polish up the rod ends and take a looksie. If you find a problem with the rod end you can shorten the rod by an inch, re head, and add a longer screw.

[CarlF]

Shannon Yachts - who's boats are legendary for their durability - has been installing rod on every new boat for many years.

Carl

[Weyalan]

I wasn't suggesting that there was anything wrong with rod rigging (I race against a boat that has rod that is well over 20 years old), merely that, like ferro hulls, some Insurers don't understand it too well.