Rod rigging on c&c 35

[killarney_sailor]

I am on the Great Lakes and I talked to the Navtec dealer and they said that the rod itself has an almost indefinite life. Concerns are in the cold forming of the rod heads. They suggest die testing. I did this myself. The kit (3 chemicals) was something like $60 and you need a magnifier. Forming can cause tiny cracks (why you need the magnifier) in the heads. If the cracks are in line with the rod they are not a problem (I guess could be if there a lot of them but there are not). If the cracks are at right angles to the rod (and rig loading) that is a big problem. Rod can reheaded if there is enough length or you add a toggle.

More likely problems are with other fittings in the rig - for example my older rod had large, aluminum(?) threaded pieces through the mast that connect the shroud mounts. If you have wire rope halyards these can cut through these pieces (used for lowers). One of mine was about 1/4 cut and I saw one from another boat that was at least 2/3 cut. If you have the same kind of mount you can unscrew one shroud and pull the other one out with the piece inside the mast to check. Not hard to do.
Also, normal precautions are needed with turnbuckles.

Rod rigging seems like great stuff, except for coast and difficulty handling when the mast is down (this is my first boat with it). Good luck with yours.

Bruce

[Vasco]

I have a CS36 Merlin with rod rigging, bought new in 1988. The boat has been south eight times and the rod rigging is still perfect. I have replaced the head stay which got kinked once when an inexperienced person was holding the furler while demasting. It is a bit inconvenient when storing the mast for winter but you quickly get used to it. I would go with rid rigging any day if I had a choice.

[Valiente]

Rod rigging is great if you need its advantages of weight aloft, wind resistance, etc. But for cruising it's not necessary and its failures can be pretty spectacular. I would say if it passes survey by a qualified rigger, keep it. But if there is ANY question in ANY part of the turnbuckles, tangs, etc., go with one-size-up SS wire rigging and new fittings. It's a once-every-10 years cost, but if you are going from Florida to the Black Sea, which side of the equation do you want to be on? You can move to Norseman/Sta-Lok or equivalent terminals, which will allow you to make up a spare stay if needed aboard.

Just my opinion. I have what looks to be perfectly good 1988 5/16" SS wire stays on my steel cutter (only been in fresh water), but I will change them all before we go cruising for new stays, because 20 year old wire might make excellent spares, but I'm not going to test it against the ocean.

[painters]

11 Thousand Dollars to replace rod rigging on c&c 35. I think I'll trade down to a cal 29. My God. Thank you everybody for your input. I'm in shock

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by painters

11 Thousand Dollars to replace rod rigging on c&c 35. I think I'll trade down to a cal 29. My God. Thank you everybody for your input. I'm in shock

Go with wire. It gives you a warning before it fails, and if it doesn't, you've probably got other things to worry about, like a rolled boat.

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by Valiente

Go with wire. It gives you a warning before it fails, and if it doesn't, you've probably got other things to worry about, like a rolled boat.

It is also far easier to store enough spare cable to make a new shroud or stay. It also doesn't require specialized tools to terminate the replacement shroud or stay—just a couple of wrenches, a pair of vise grips and StaLok, Hayn HiMod or Norseman terminal ends.

[painters]

So far nobody has come in with a disater story but the votes are in. Wire seems to be leading by a mile. Thank you everybody

[Tartan34C]

Be very careful about changing to a different size wire instead of the rod because I think everybody is missing a basic problem in that

[sailingdog]

There are problems in switching from rod rigging to wire. First, the terminal fittings are often different and would require replacement. Also, wire is weaker than rod rigging of the same diameter. It is important that you up-size the wire diameter so that it is comparable in breaking strength to the rod rigging it is replacing. It also adds weight aloft.

[Pamlicotraveler]

Originally Posted by Valiente

As you know, rod rigging is an either/or proposition: when it fails, it fails completely, rather than giving you some notice with rust streaks or meathooks like 1 x 19 wire.

Does anyone know of an actual example of a catastrophic Rod Rigging failure? If there is it is probably the connectors because for rod rigging they used use ball fittings on the upper ends of the rods and I am sure those could fail.

I believe rod rigging to be better based on the fact that I am not aware of any failures. Since most boats have wire rigging a vote is likely to be biased towards wire rigging because we all tend to prefer what we have. I am not a metallurgist, although I do play one on the internet, but I would be interested in hearing from one.

The future might be in fiber rigging...and kevlar etc. and I am interested in learning more about that.