Dyneema standing rigging

[Hillbillybuddha]

I was sitting in my cockpit today, reading Brion Toss's The Riggers Apprentice and one of my slip neighbors stopped by. I had never met him before but I've heard a few of the other neighbors mention him nicely. I welcomed him on board and we talked for a few hours. The man was full of great stories and the time flew by. When talking about re-rigging my ketch he suggested Dyneema and made a few points about it. A few other people I know have made the same suggesting but I've been a bit hesitant to look into it. As my guest was leaving, he looked down at the book I was reading and said, "great book, I'm really going to miss him" but the way he said it seemed familiar.

After he left, I googled his name. There were a few articles about him; a few articles written by him, a bunch of articles about sailing that mention or quote him and a few articles, written by Brion Toss, that mentioned him and called him his friend.

This has really got me thinking about Dyneema standing rigging now. What are your opinions on it.

[IslandInfedel]

I was playing with the idea of doing the same, saw a rigging doctor video where a loose anchor took out a dyneema forestay in some weather, plus I played with using it for a dog leash to see how it handled abrasive abuse.

Right now I see standing rigging with dyneema to be great for a weight sensitive racer, or maybe for a makeshift repair, outside of that topping lifts and the like appear to be a better use, leaving stainless for the standing duties for a cruiser, live aboard or other boat that isn’t going to see a white glove treatment and will have constant 24/7 use in all senses of the word

[Lazerbrains]

Biggest problem I have with Dyneema standing rigging is it only lasts for 5 years before sun degrades it. It also costs more than standard stainless rigging - so it is much less economical to me, and I am not a racer so the weight savings do not matter.

On the other hand, I would very much be interested in upgrading to Dyneema running rigging with the outer sheath - the low stretch makes it desirable for halyards.

[ahun]

First boat at the boat yard putting on dynema rigging. DIY splicing. Will report back in five years how it went.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Lazerbrains

Biggest problem I have with Dyneema standing rigging is it only lasts for 5 years before sun degrades it. It also costs more than standard stainless rigging - so it is much less economical to me, and I am not a racer so the weight savings do not matter.

On the other hand, I would very much be interested in upgrading to Dyneema running rigging with the outer sheath - the low stretch makes it desirable for halyards.

We just installed dyneema shrouds that came with a Dyneema UV/chafe cover.

[Dave_S]

I read up on it some years back and I am quite sure when my time comes, I will replace the SS with synthetic for a few of reasons.

You can DIY up front and maintain it in port or out and about

DIY will have a cheaper up front price

Lighter

When I read up about it, they claimed a minimum of 10 years

You can easily see what condition it is in

[Benz]

I have cruised since 2009 with synthetic rigging--Vectran with a polyester sun cover. I changed it once, not because of chafe, wear or UV damage, but because I got a great deal on more of it when upgrading from turnbuckles to deadeyes and lanyards. My boat gets tender loving maintenance, but is also sailed hard and was lived on for five years and sailed 12,000 miles to a dozen different countries. The stuff holds up.
The fear of it is born of ignorance, but if you're going to worry about chafe and sun and having it catch on an anchor (???!! seriously, the problem isn't the material, it's having a loose anchor) or some vandal sawing at it with a blunt machete, and it makes you lose sleep, then by all means keep the SS wire and only worry about crevice corrosion and fatigue and Taiwanese quality control.

[IslandInfedel]

Originally Posted by Benz

I have cruised since 2009 with synthetic rigging--Vectran with a polyester sun cover. I changed it once, not because of chafe, wear or UV damage, but because I got a great deal on more of it when upgrading from turnbuckles to deadeyes and lanyards. My boat gets tender loving maintenance, but is also sailed hard and was lived on for five years and sailed 12,000 miles to a dozen different countries. The stuff holds up.
The fear of it is born of ignorance, but if you're going to worry about chafe and sun and having it catch on an anchor (???!! seriously, the problem isn't the material, it's having a loose anchor) or some vandal sawing at it with a blunt machete, and it makes you lose sleep, then by all means keep the SS wire and only worry about crevice corrosion and fatigue and Taiwanese quality control.

The anchor thing was a YouTube video from rigging doctor who seems a big fan of the stuff, anchor should be secured better, sure, lots of things SHOULD BE, but Murphy likes to do his thing, that was what I was getting at when it comes to a cruiser/liveaboard/working boat where “stuff” is more likely to happen.

[roverhi]

Dyneema/Spectra rigging has been in use for more than 10 years. There should be enough data to get a better idea of the life expectancy but have heard very little, if any, about real life long term use. There's a Cat down from me that had Dyneema cap shrouds but they changed it out for wire last year. Apparently was going on 10 years in Hawaii Sun and still looked fine but owner got nervous and went to wire. Those shrouds would've been great to destruction test.

The idea of saving weight aloft is really attractive and ability to replace with new Dyneema with just a little splicing makes it cost effective. l

[Hillbillybuddha]

Originally Posted by roverhi

The idea of saving weight aloft is really attractive and ability to replace with new Dyneema with just a little splicing makes it cost effective. l

This is really the thing that makes it attractive to me as well. I'm not looking to make my boat any faster, I really don't mind taking my time. But Kuani is a highside and a ketch. She has a lot of steel rigging. All that weight, sitting that high, gets her going like a pendulum sometimes. I really didn't expect that from a 42 foot 20,000lbs boat. I'm hoping that getting some of that weight down will steady her a bit.