Rod rigging CS36

[Steven UK]

I am currently looking at a fixer-upper... I know I must be stupid but in my defense I am a little ‘handy’... anyway the boat I’m looking has three sets of chain plates each side (obviously) the ones I can see look good but I haven’t removed them. The issue is the rod rigging looks like it’s short I.e. it’s been reheaded a time or two, can any of the adjusting components be lengthened to allow it to be reheaded again? I know it sounds risky...

[Paul L]

You can add a toggle. At some point the rod will need to be replaced.

[Minidude]

How old is the boat? Over 30 years? If so, remove the chain plates and have them inspected. How old is the rod? Rod manufacturers recommend replacing the rod after 8 years of age. Be aware, rod gives no warning when it is about to fail, it just fails.

[Jim Cate]

Rod manufacturers recommend replacing the rod after 8 years of age.

Let's see... this could be good, safe engineering or it could be bumping the turnover.

The 8 year lifespan makes the 20++ year old cruising rod rigging that one encounters seem fantastic, but there they are. How could that be?

The replacement schedule sure seems to favor the mfg and their minions, not the customer/cruier.

Jim

Jim

[Minidude]

Jim, you raise an interesting point. However, with 20 year rod, I would think one was playing with fire. Additionally, the chain plates may still need a serious inspection.

[sogin]

Originally Posted by Minidude

Jim, you raise an interesting point. However, with 20 year rod, I would think one was playing with fire. Additionally, the chain plates may still need a serious inspection.

8 year rod life times seems appropriate if the vessel is used year round but how often should seasonal weekend cruisers replace rod rigging?

[mottseng]

In the great lakes its not uncommon for club racers and weekend cruisers to have 30+ year rod rigging still in good shape.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Minidude

How old is the rod? Rod manufacturers recommend replacing the rod after 8 years of age. Be aware, rod gives no warning when it is about to fail, it just fails.

Please substantiate your claim with a link. I’ve never seen a rod manufacturer recommend replacing after 8 years, certainly not Navtec. That is around the period suggested for first rod head inspection. And Navtec also qualifies service life in terms of miles sailed as opposed to time.

There a lot of boats out there with 20+ year old rod doing just great. When rod fails it fails at the heads, ergo the wisdom of having them inspected regularly.

To the OP, it may not have been reheaded. It may have been made that way to provide room for tuning. Also, if your shrouds are continuous through the spreaders you’ll have to replace since the rod is bent at the spreaders and won’t line up properly when reheaded.

I replaced my rod 2 years ago after 32 years. I’m definitely not redoing it again in six years.

[hellosailor]

The OP certainly could replace the turnbuckles with longer ones, or add toggles, sure. Assuming the turnbuckles were original (i.e. >20 years old) that's time to consider replacing them, as stainless may be invisibly corroding and is subject to sudden failure as it ages. Or, you could have them xrayed or dye checked. (Compare the costs to simply replacing and being SURE of the new ones.) If you can replace with bronze, that's actually better than stainless.

Eight years? Uh, no. I spoke to NavTec a couple of years before they went under. They said specifically, there is NO CALENDAR DATE for replacing standing rigging. What matters is the number of load cycles that have been placed on the rigging. A boat that has been raced heavily might tack 100 times in a day, 100 days in a year, that's 10,000 load cycles. Over ten years that's 100,000 load cycles. But the guy who takes his boat out casually three weekends a month over a five month season, won't see that many tacks in twenty years.
Unless you happen to be sailing with load sensors on the rigging or keeping extremely detailed logs...all you can do is follow a rough rule of 10-20 years in "average" use, followed by a "class one" rig inspection, which involves pulling the mast and taking the rig apart, with every piece checked by eye and then by xray or dye testing. And if it all passes the tests, you put it back together again and keep on sailing.
IIRC they said that was only necessary every 5-10 years for the average boat. If you're out there chartering the boat full time, racing full time, putting lots of load cycles on it...that's something else again.
If the rig is 30+ years old, and the costs of inspection start to approach the costs of replacement...that's something else again.

[CampDavid]

Having owned a CS36 and removing and rebedding the chain plates, it is not easy getting the bolts out of the forward ones.

I can all but aside you the deck needs to be dried out.

They are made of 304 so if you are in sail water replace them.

I have a buddy who made the rigging for every CS built.

He has all of the specs

Yates Custom Rigging Cottrel Cove NL

He is a wealth of knowledge and can help you

He has a website

[Steven UK]

Thanks for the info but that particular ‘fixer upper’ is still for sale I purchased a different ‘fixer upper’...