35 year old standing rigging - but rigger says it's ok

[Bradhamlet]

One nice summer day I climb the mast with the mast climber with the intent to install a windex up at the mast head. After the install went well, I thought maybe I should inspect the tangs/wire up there. Sure enough there was a 3/4" crack in the 1" tang(fitting). I almost pissed myself as I slowly worked my way down the mast. The rigging looked great at deck level and there was no way I could have seen this crack at deck level. Any way the rigging was 20 years old and I replaced all the stays.Just saying that deck level is only 1/2 the story.
Brad
Lancer 36

[sww914]

My friend had a similar aged Columbia with original wire. He had it inspected and it passed. A few weeks later a shroud broke and the top 1/3 of the mast landed in the cockpit. Nobody was hurt.

[travlineasy]

Change it!

Gary

[Tim R.]

First, get a new rigger. A professional rigger who is not suspect of rigging that is at least 15 years old and could be as old as 35 is incompetent. I have read quite a few descriptions of riggers cutting open swayed fittings to find cracks that had not yet reached the surface. IOW, just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't lurking under the surface.

Get a new rigger and replace everything. This is your life and you are trying to justify saving a few bucks.

[celenoglu]

Rig failure is a probability. The risk starts to increase at ten years and increases by time. 35 years is really long but your rig seems to bypass the probabilities in 25 years of time. Your rig might still hold for another 35 years but to be on the safe side is better.

[billyruffn]

New wire all around! It's cheaper than a new mast, to say nothing of the people who get hurt when it comes down.

[okapi3]

I am getting ready to re-rig my 1988 PSC 31 which still has its original rigging, just because of its age, even though it "looks good" on inspection. I do ocean sailing.

My question is: If the turnbuckles also "look good" do I need to replace them too?
How often do turnbuckles suddenly fail without obvious signs of weakening?

And is it recommended to replace the headstay furler at the same time (Harken MKIV origianl equipment)? This is obviously a BIG expense which I would like to avoid if not a major safety issue. It is working fine but definitely old.

Thanks in advance for your advice and thoughts.

[SchockT]

It is funny how many different opinions there are on this subject. I seem to recall another thread not to long ago where someone posted pigs of their standing rigging that looked obviously corroded, and yet those of us advising replacement were accused of "trying to scare" the guy, and that it is probably fine! Now we have a situation where a professional rigger has rendered an opinion that something looks fine, and people accuse him of being incompetent and unprofessional! Perhaps he is just being honest? By all means get a second opinion, and pay for a more thorough inspection, but don't panic just because it is old.

My standing rigging is the original rod rigging that came on the boat (as far as I know), and it is in excellent condition. It has been inspected and given a clean bill of health. Naturally I have been given the usual sales pitch and butt-covering statements regarding the possibility that something "could" fail even though it looks fine, but I do take those with a grain of salt.

Having said that, I am budgeting for a major mast overhaul, including standing rigging, but in the meantime I am not worried that my mast is going to fall down just because my rigging is old!

[knothead]

Originally Posted by SchockT

It is funny how many different opinions there are on this subject. I seem to recall another thread not to long ago where someone posted pigs of their standing rigging that looked obviously corroded, and yet those of us advising replacement were accused of "trying to scare" the guy, and that it is probably fine! Now we have a situation where a professional rigger has rendered an opinion that something looks fine, and people accuse him of being incompetent and unprofessional! Perhaps he is just being honest? By all means get a second opinion, and pay for a more thorough inspection, but don't panic just because it is old.

My standing rigging is the original rod rigging that came on the boat (as far as I know), and it is in excellent condition. It has been inspected and given a clean bill of health. Naturally I have been given the usual sales pitch and butt-covering statements regarding the possibility that something "could" fail even though it looks fine, but I do take those with a grain of salt.

Having said that, I am budgeting for a major mast overhaul, including standing rigging, but in the meantime I am not worried that my mast is going to fall down just because my rigging is old!

The other thread that you refer to was about Nico-pressed eyes. The pics that the owner posted showed some surface corrosion. That is normal. The turnbuckle also looked fine.
This thread is about a hypothetical situation where no one has seen any pics and the rigger didn't even go aloft.
I made the statement about not scaring the other fellow because his Nico-pressed eye looked fine in my opinion.
I, and I would guess others are basing their opinions in this case on Tominny's statement that the rigging is probably 35 years old.

Apples and oranges.

[SchockT]

Originally Posted by knothead

The pics that the owner posted showed some surface corrosion. That is normal.

Not in my world! Go for a walk through the average marina and see how many boats have standing rigging covered in corrosion like that! I certainly don't see that, and if I did I would be concerned about the rest of the rigging, including the Nicro fittings! (And it is true, I dislike nicro fittings for that application, but maybe that is just me!)