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increasing and consolidating standing rigging size

8006 Views 17 Replies 14 Participants Last post by blt2ski, Feb 20, 2015

bristol299bob

Discussion Starter · Feb 13, 2015

My boat has a mix of standing rigging, lower shrouds (two on each side) are 3/16" wire. The rest are 7/32". I have Sta-Lok fittings all around.

I am doing more and more ocean sailing and would like to go up a wire size (seems like a good idea and would probably ease my mind a bit when the going gets rough). Up one wire size would mean going to 7/32" on the lowers and 1/4" on everything else.

But I'm wondering if it would be wise (and OK) to go up to 1/4" all around. That would be going up *2 sizes* on the 4 lowers and up one size on the rest. This way all of my standing rigging would be the same diameter wire and it would simplify my spares quite a bit. (both wire and fittings).

However I understand that going up *too* much can overstress the boat fittings. is going up to 1/4" on the lowers too much in this case?

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Jeff_H

· #2 · Feb 14, 2015

Very few boats were built with undersized standing rigging. When standing rigging fails, it is usually a matter of a failure at a terminal, where it passes over a spreader tip, or where there is a bad lead angle at the chain plate or tang. There are downsides to oversizing the rigging or changing to a single size. Lower shrouds are generally smaller than uppers so that the uppers and lowers stretch proportionately keeping the mast straight, or curved the right way. The added weight signicantly makes the boat feel less stabile because it is less stabile. I would therefore suggest replacing the rigging as the boat was designed and built.

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