What are the "gotchas" I need to watch for when replacing standing rigging?

[Jcolman]

I just bought a 40 year old C&C 30 which is in pretty good shape. However the mast step needs replacing so I'm having the yard pull the mast and rebuild the step. I figured that while the mast is out, it would be a good opportunity for me to replace the standing and some of the running rigging. I'd like to do this job myself but I've never rigged a boat before. I figure that once the mast is out, I would measure the wire, take photos of all the swages and other terminals for reference and order new wire and terminals from rig-rite or another outfit.

I am assuming that taking the old rigging off and reattaching new rigging can't be all that difficult, but I know that there are likely to be some "gotchas" if I'm not careful. What are some things I need to be careful of?

As for the running rigging, that seems to be a pretty straight forward process. Sew the ends of the new line to the old line and pull it thru the blocks.

finally, any idea as to the cost of standing rigging for a 30' boat with single lowers? My boat uses 1/4" wire, 1-9

Thoughts and advice always appreciated.

[Pete7]

Replace the wiring and VHF cable with really good quality stuff at the same time. You really don't want to do this again.

Pete

[Orion Jim]

Here's the outfit you want to use, they are top shelf.
[url=http://www.riggingonly.com]

[psk125]

To avoid measurement errors, some people send their old standing rigging in to the rigger and have them cut the new stuff the exact same as the old. K.I.S.S. They get the old stuff back to use as spares.

[Annie in WA]

Watch our for rigging wire that has been manufactured incorrectly called"open strand". When you look closely at the wire it should be closely wound. If the winding is loose and you can see the core material inside it is "open strand". Our experience is that six-year-old Open Strand wire had vertical rust streaks. We were advised by our Port Townsend rigger to replace it prior to our offshore voyage. Btw, we bought the wire from Rigging Only, a shop that we otherwise had a favorable experience with. Like a lot of things with boats, just look at what you are getting.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by psk125

To avoid measurement errors, some people send their old standing rigging in to the rigger and have them cut the new stuff the exact same as the old. K.I.S.S. They get the old stuff back to use as spares.

This is exactly how I did it. The old rigging, which despite being 39 years old, still looks minty fresh. So it can be reused as lifelines or various other swaged lengths elsewhere.

Here's what I did and why:

The world encompassed: Rigging: The game

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Annie in WA

Watch our for rigging wire that has been manufactured incorrectly called"open strand". When you look closely at the wire it should be closely wound. If the winding is loose and you can see the core material inside it is "open strand". Our experience is that six-year-old Open Strand wire had vertical rust streaks. We were advised by our Port Townsend rigger to replace it prior to our offshore voyage. Btw, we bought the wire from Rigging Only, a shop that we otherwise had a favorable experience with. Like a lot of things with boats, just look at what you are getting.

I've not only never heard of "Open Strand", but I can't imagine why it exists or via what logic it would be sold as being suitable for rigging.

Is it on display in the same aisle as "Heavily Perforated UV Strips for your Furling Genoa" or "Zinc Seacocks"?

[shorebird]

Zinc seacocks. snicker.

[Annie in WA]

With all due respect, because you have never heard of open strand rigging doesn't mean it doesn't exist. If you read the first sentence of my post you would see that it is rigging wire manufactured incorrectly. It is easy to see if you look at the wire upon delivery. If it is faulty, in many spots the winding is less tight and you can see the inner core. It was identified on our boat by a well-respected rigger and even I could see the core and subsequent rust.

[SkiprJohn]

The only gotcha I might think of that hasn't been covered is that your old rigging may have a little stretch in it and you might want to go a little shorter so you can tune it. If any of your turnbuckles are bottomed out or nearly so then you'll want to order rigging a little shorter. If your mast step will be thicker or thinner take that into consideration too.

I assume you are staying with the same size rigging. That's good.

[lifeofreilly57]

All the C&C's I've been familiar with, including one I owned were rod rigged. Is this one rod rigged or wire rigged?
If it's rod you may want to go to a rigger who specializes in rod rigging.
Length is important, a similar boat to one I owned was re-rigged by a rigging outfit who worked mainly with wire rigging, after the owner replaced the entire set of standing rigging he noticed that his first set of spreaders did not match mine. On those two spreader rigs the lowers were designed to have a 3 deg upward pitch, his were perpendicular to the mast, not good. When he approached the rigging outfit who replaced the standing rigging they refused to make good on the mistake they made.
He ended up going to another rigging house who specialized in rod rigging and got exactly the correct set up.
Whomever you decide to buy from, make sure they are familiar with your model and don't be afraid to hold responsible for a good outcome.
The C&C photoalbum site might be a good source of information for you.
You will also want to pull the chainplates while the mast is down to inspect them and reseal the through deck holes.
Depending on when the boat was built it may just have had the holes for the chainplates cut through the deck and not sealed at the edges, if this is the case you will want to dig out some material between the layers of the chainplate through holes and seal them with a thickened Westsystem epoxy to seal the chainplate through holes from the balsa core in the deck. Prior to doing this it's a good idea to seal the bottom side of the hole and the poor in isapropal alcohol, the alcohol is attracts water then help it evaporate more easily to dry the core.
Hey, while the mast is off it's worth doing.
OK, while it's down, mount anything you want to mount to the mast, tricolor/anchor light, YHF antenna, spreader, steaming lights, etc, etc. Then pull all new wire through the mast, it's a lot cheaper and easier while it's down, the last thing you want to do is put it all back up only to discover that half the mast mounted stuff doesn't work. Doh!

[senormechanico]

If you are going to replace the replace the rigging with the mast is still up, don't take all the rigging off one side at the same time.

[Jcolman]

Thanks for all the replies. My boat has wire rigging with plenty of turns left on the turnbuckles. The wire still looks good ( it was replaced sometime on the 90's according to the PO, so it will make for good back up rigging). I do need to reseal the chainplates so I will take them off as well. I also need to fix a couple of wet spots on the deck. I also need to fix or replace the wind gauge. Currently my VHF antenna is mounted on the stern so maybe I'll move it to the mast head.

[robert sailor]

Give the stick a real good cleaning/polishing before you stand it back up

[NahanniV]

I re-rigged my last boat and am planning to do my new one.

One thing I have not seen mentioned is that new rigging wire will stretch.
You need to account for this; Plan for the turn buckles to be >80% open when the wire is new.

Mark the threads on the turn buckles with electrical tape top and bottom while the old rigging is still up so that you know the correct length of each stay.

Cheers,
JM.