Cal 2-29: Diameter of Running Rigging??

[Arch_NME]

I want to know what the diameters are supposed to be for all the running rigging are for my 1976 Cal 2-29. I need to replace pretty much all the lines. I don't use a spinakker though so I don't care about that. Pretty much just the two halyards and the jib sheets. What size line do I need, I was thinking 3/8th's all around but that's just my personal guestimation based on basically nothing. It would be handy to know the lengths to though I suppose I can just measure what's left of the old stuff.

Any knowledge you guys have would be appreciated.

[knothead]

Originally Posted by Arch_NME

I want to know what the diameters are supposed to be for all the running rigging are for my 1976 Cal 2-29. I need to replace pretty much all the lines. I don't use a spinakker though so I don't care about that. Pretty much just the two halyards and the jib sheets. What size line do I need, I was thinking 3/8th's all around but that's just my personal guestimation based on basically nothing. It would be handy to know the lengths to though I suppose I can just measure what's left of the old stuff.

Any knowledge you guys have would be appreciated.

Arch,
Why don't you just cut a couple of inches off the halyards you are using now and head on down to the Chandlery?
As long as you are happy with the diameter of the line you are using now, why would you not want to duplicate it?

[zz4gta]

Sailboat Hardware Selection Guide

Try there. Size means almost nothing now a days. Lines can me made very small and very light but they're harder to hold onto.

Couple questions, do you race or plan to race AT ALL. Do you where gloves when sailing, how important is price compared to performance? People that buy a large spool of line in bulk don't care about performance. You don't want stretch anywhere but dock lines and anchor lines. Do you plan on stripping your halyards? Color coding is a much better way to rig the boat for clarity when you have a guest onboard who wants to help.

Most of the lines in the link above are performance oriented, expensive, but gear that will take the abuse and keep the trim settings in different wind speeds.

[Arch_NME]

Originally Posted by zz4gta

Couple questions, do you race or plan to race AT ALL. Do you where gloves when sailing, how important is price compared to performance? People that buy a large spool of line in bulk don't care about performance. You don't want stretch anywhere but dock lines and anchor lines. Do you plan on stripping your halyards? Color coding is a much better way to rig the boat for clarity when you have a guest onboard who wants to help.

I'm not concerned about racing or getting anywhere in a hurry. Price is definately more important than performance. Don't usually wear gloves unless it's colder than 50 degrees out. Not sure what you mean about stripping the halyards. I did want to get different colors for the different lines cus it is handy, especially when yelling at friends about what line to grab. Mostly I just want to get her out there sailing without breaking my bank account or causing a safety hazard by getting a line to weak that might snap.

[Arch_NME]

Originally Posted by knothead

Arch,
Why don't you just cut a couple of inches off the halyards you are using now and head on down to the Chandlery?
As long as you are happy with the diameter of the line you are using now, why would you not want to duplicate it?

Not a bad idea. The people usually at my local west marine are more like teenagers with summer jobs than old salts so I'm not sure I would even trust them to tell me the size of the rope. Maybe I could eye it up for myself though or find a different store with more knowledgeable people. Maybe the question I more want to know rather than diameter is how manys pounds of force do they need to be rated for.

[knothead]

Originally Posted by Arch_NME

Not a bad idea. The people usually at my local west marine are more like teenagers with summer jobs than old salts so I'm not sure I would even trust them to tell me the size of the rope. Maybe I could eye it up for myself though or find a different store with more knowledgeable people. Maybe the question I more want to know rather than diameter is how manys pounds of force do they need to be rated for.

Send me a sample of what you want to replace and I will be happy to identify it for you.

[Arch_NME]

Originally Posted by knothead

Send me a sample of what you want to replace and I will be happy to identify it for you.

That's alright, thanks for the offer though. I think I'm going to go with 3/8thick. That about what it looks like to me and that was also what the link posted by zz4gta recommends based on the dimensions of my boat. I may drive over to Annapolis this weekend to actually buy the stuff and I'll bring a piece to get a second opinion though.

Any recommendations on the types of line though?

[knothead]

Just take some pieces with you and they should be able to id it.

Personally, I have been using New England Sta Set forever.
I'm still using the same halyards that I installed in 1991

My sheets have been replaced a couple of times but I have never worried about the material. Always used regular yacht braid. Polyester. Dacron.
Whatever you want to call it.
If you are a racer, then I'm sure that you can find a lot of reasons to spend a lot more money in exchange for a little less stretch. That's why they came out with the high tech materials.
Better to have less stretch than a man standing by the winch. Right?

[pmt200]

Hi Arch,
I think you will find that 3/8" is sufficient for a cruising sailboat that is not a regular racer. You should visit the web site of Mauri Pro Sailing and go to Rigging and click on Halyard Selector then enter the make and model of your boat. It's a great tool and you will find all the info you need including the lengths of each halyard. Once you know the diameters and lengths, you can also get quotes from our own Sailnet, New England Ropes or Milwaukee Rigging. CajunRope.com which is in Canada is worth checking out as they sell individual halyards complete with shackle or complete running rigging kites which include jib sheets and main sheet etc. They quote in US Dollars and ship to anywhere.


Good Luck,

pmt200

[Arch_NME]

I bought 225 ft of 3/8 sta set from Jamestown Distributors, $0.87/ft. I replaced the main and jib halyards yesterday and still got a good bit left over. Not sure how much, it's still on the reel. Hopefully enough of a length to be useful for something though.