Standing rigging

[wdwright1967]

I'm going to be re-rigging my 26 Islander this year and looked into traditional wire 1-19. I also found a synthetic wire by Colligo marine. Has anyone used this product. Heard bad or good about it.
Thanks

[Liquorice]

It's Dyneema - synthetic rope!
Used by lots of racing boats, real high-tech.

I've just replaced all my standing rigging on my C&C 26 with wire and stainless turnbuckles. Cost was about $1,200.00.
I suspect Dynema rigging would be 2 to 3 times that, or more!
Also, being different stuff, a whole new learning curve to rig and maintain.

Having said that, my sailing partner has a Hotfoot 20 with adjustable, Dyneema backstay. We've been sailing this now for 3 years with no problems and no apparent wear or UV breakdown.

This is great stuff. You need to decide if it's the right choice for an Islander 26!

[mitiempo]

Dynex Dux is not the same as the Dyneema used by racers. It came from the forestry and commercial fishing industry, not the racing arena. It is slightly more than stainless in cost and turnbuckles are not required.
http://www.colligomarine.com/Colligo-Synthetic-Systems

From the Colligo site - a Westsail 32 rigged with Dynex Dux There are many other examples at the link above.

[overbored]

Dynex Dux is made of Dyneema fibers with a tighter weave then other Dyneema running rigging. Dynex is heat tempered and per stretched to set the end splices. it can be used with lashings or standard turnbuckles

[celenoglu]

It is best to use well tried materials. Stick to 1x 19 stainless. Although syntethics offer better load carrying capacity they are prone to wear and tear. You cannot cut stainless steel with a knife.

[mitiempo]

From the Colligo website:

[Stumble]

I have used it, and love it! The boat is defiantly stiffer without the weight up high (we lost about 30lbs or 75% of the weight). And the price was within a few percent of wire, and less than the rod we had.

All in all I would say it is a definite improvement over wire at the same price. As far as abrasion... After the last tropical storm we came out and found the line had worn a spot about 6" around and 1/2" deep from a wooden piling. With no visible damage to the Dynex. Right now it has been on the boat for 3 years, and have yet to see any visible wear or UV damage anywhere, even on the lifelines where they pass through the stantions.

[peterchech]

I will be re-rigging myself in a month or so. Are there any cost advantages from the fact that you don't need as many ss fittings? And why wouldn't dyneema rigging be cheaper than stainless if, supposedly from another thread, dyneema lifelines are about half the cost?

Can it be used as a forestay with a furler, or with hank-on jibs? (I'm thinking the hanks would chafe the heck out of it)

Without turnbuckles, how do you obtain tension? The lashings alone? Are these easy to tune?

Is it like ss braided, in that you want it stretched to about 15% of breaking strength to avoid sag?

Other than saving some weight, are there any other advantages of the material?

[Stumble]

There was a huge cost advantage in switching over rod for me, for wire it was pretty close, within 1-3%. The reason it wasn't more is that I chose to go with turnbuckles instead of lashings, and they added to the price a bit. That being said, when I need to replace the system next time, the only cost will be for new line, so the long term cost will be lower.

The reason you don't get as big of a difference as compared to lifelines is two things. One for lifelines you use dyneema (amsteel) and not the Dux which is slightly more expensive. And two, lifelines don't take any fittings, where as the stays do. However unlike SS fittings the Collegio ones are machines aluminum, and thus don't have the same corrosion problems of SS.

I did keep the wire under my tuff-luf, since I was concerned about non-visible chaff, I can't say for sure if there are now alternatives though.

Since I use turnbuckles for tensioning I can't tell you from personal experience. But the recommended way is to tie the lashing to a hallyard and pull. For lifelines a lashing works fine.

It really isn't anything like SS braided. It is designed to keep working loads at less than 10% to minimize creep. When first making the splices though you have to tension them to work out the constructional stress. I just attached them to my truck and a piling and put it in gear.... I have no real idea what I loaded them too, but they haven't budged since they were installed.

Other than weight... Price on replacement, and it just feels better, but nothing critical. But I will tell you even on a cruising boat the weight is significant. For instance a 50lbs reduction from a 50' mast will see an increase in righting moment of 50lbs*25'=1250foot-lbs of torque. That is the same as having a 250lbs person on the rail at all times ( on a 10' wide boat), or adding 416lbs of lead into the keel (at 6' deep). This makes the boat much more stable, so much more comfortable at anchor, reduces rocking, and pitching, ect... The boat will also be noticeably stiffer upwind, particularly in a blow.

Actually as I was typing I thought of something else. Because there is less total stretch as compared to wire, you reduce the amount of pretension you need in the rig, which help to reduce the static load the chain plates have to carry. In my case i didn't experience this, but I switched from rod, but there are reports of people reducing the pre-tension by 30-40%.

There is also the real ability to carry a backup stay for anywhere on the boat if need be, though you could do this anyway.


I do want to point out the difference in dyneema, and Dynex dux. Though they are made from the same material, Dynex is work and temprature hardened. This makes it stronger, and gives it much less stretch than the dyneema. But it also means it need a larger radius around turns. This is why Dynex while great for standing rigging is no so good for lifelines, and why dyneema for lifelines is not so good for rigging.

[geehaw]

So do you have to use thimbles at the eye splice at the turnbuckles? And what about the attachment at the mast, What is used there? The Colligo lashing fittings are very spendy it seems to me. But they give the boat a more traditional look.