Replace or Repair Standing Rigging?

[daddle]

Originally Posted by skipmac

The wire will not stretch that much over time ... deck has sagged

I'd assume 30 year old rigging. And a little boat flex. That's all it would take. But it would be a good idea to look into mast step or chainplate problems like they said above.

[joburnet]

I don't actually remember but I believe that it is keel stepped. I'm getting my information from this website:

North American/Spirit 23' Sloop (sailboat) resource page

Also the seller mentioned that it did leak a little from the mast which would not happen if it was deck stepped. So assuming keel stepped what should I be looking for?

[daddle]

First you might quantify the looseness. Disconnect the loosest wire at the bottom and see just how much slack is in it. Might surprise you how little. If it's just 5mm then carry on with new rigging. More? Who knows?

Look for loose or rotting chainplates (where the wires bolt to the hull), corroded/collapsed/bent mast foot or step, wires eased out of their swage.

Also, there a plenty of goofball amateur sailors around: maybe it was built that way.

[joburnet]

The deck and all of the fittings seemed pretty solid. One of the wires is kinked and I have no idea how it got like that. There was not much corrosion on the rigging, just loose.

Can anyone tell from the pictures on the resource page if it is deck stepped or keel stepped? If it is deck stepped and the mast has sunk in a little bit I'm not convinced that would be a huge problem, especially if it's just compression of wood over time. Rotting wood is a different story. As a note the back stay and head stay were pretty tight, it was the upper and lower shroud that were lose. One of the turnbuckles had plenty of room to tighten it but the other was almost completely closed.

[daddle]

If that's a wooden post under the mast, in the pic, it's deck stepped. I.e. the aluminum stops at the deck. Either is fine for that boat.

[skipmac]

From pictures on the link you posted it looks like a wooden post in the cabin, so the mast is stepped on deck with the wooden post under the mast to provide support. I would check the wooden post, especially at the bottom, to make sure that it is in good condition.