Rod Rigging

[opwan2002]

I am considering a C & C 39...1973-74 era. The C & Cs had SS Rod Rigging. Should I be concerned about the age of the Rods? Will they continue to provide reliable support, or because of their age are they prone to fail?

[hellosailor]

No rigging can be trusted at 40+ years. If the boat was used very little, the rigging still might be good (and unicorns might be real) but your insurer probably will not accept that. You need to find a local rigger than has the experience and equipment to inspect rod rigging, i.e. a NavTec dealer, and have them examine it. They'll be looking for hairline cracks or distortion aloft on the ball ends, and to see if those ends have been kept lubricated in the ball fittings aloft. In theory, if the rod is still good and just the ends show some degradation, they can be reformed and mainly kept.
But I suspect that after 40 years, the rigger would just say "time to replace them" and that may be more cost effective than fooling around with all the inspecting and possible work.
At 40+ years the turnbuckles, chainplates, every bit of the standing rigging needs to be suspected and perhaps replaced.