Job # 9 - Standing rigging - under way!

Progress - and not a little exciting - on this years job # 9, replacing the standing rigging..

It was last done in July 2013, and although she's not been raced, or had what I consider to be heavy usage in the interim (in fact for one year - COVID - she wasn't even in use), it has been 13 years since it was last done. Having suffered a rigging failure and dismast in the past, I am perhaps more risk averse than most, but hey, the insurance companies like us to do it every 10 years, and the forestay in particular gets a hammering from the roller furler, and was showing signs of wear - if I'm doing that, then I may as well do the lot..

So - time to start getting the new stuff done - I'd already decided I was going to Holman Rigging to get it done, as it's probably not an exaggeration to say that they saved my boat after the last dismasting as a result of some innovative thinking. Problem is, they are based in Chichester Marina, and Sparrow is on land at  the opposite end of the harbour. Easiest way to do it then was to strip the rigging myself, and then take it over in the car...

Two hours later, we had the following..

"SU" - starboard upper etc..😏

...fairly painless - the caps for the spreaders were a little stiff to get out, but other than that, it was just seven clevis pins secured by split pins through each of the swage eyes and the uppers, lowers and back stay were free - labelled each as I went along...

Ready for the riggers - note the spreader caps on the uppers - interesting that they make the rigging with them already on as you can't slide them over the fittings at either end..

...what very definitely wasn't easy was the forestay though. What I found was that the furler was constructed round the forestay - so to get the forestay itself out would require a full disassemble of the furler. 

The swage eyes at each end could fit down inside each of the foil tubes, but the forestay wire was fed through a slot in the internal metal plate/butt that fits inside the end of each tube to hold them all together. Bottom line, you'd have to undo each/every tube completely to get the wire out..  more thought was required on that, so I put it off until I'd had a chance to have a chat with the rigger.

I'll be quite honest, even before this point, I'd been considering the possibility of actually replacing the furler for a number of reasons..

1. it's very old and therefore spares are almost impossible to get hold of
2. it was not the right size for the boat - it originally came off a far bigger boat and was just cut down (hence the 6mm forestay required - the clevis pin at the lower connection of the roller furling needed a swaged eye with a diameter of 12mm 😐 which is only available to fit 6mm wire)
3. it was stiff and hard work to roll out and in the foresail

...so I was hoping that in addition to the new forestay, I might be able to get it serviced so at least it would be smoother to operate.

Popped over to the riggers at the beginning of the week, and after a good chat discussing the options, agreed that the only way we could easily get the furler to them, was for me to transport it on a long ladder on the roof of the car. Having said that they were also of the view that on such a small boat, tensioning up a 6mm forestay is difficult, and as I suspected they don't have the parts to service the furler (but they were willing to have a look at it and perhaps cannibalise any old furlers they have laying round). 

So, what are the options for a furler for a 20 foot boat these days I asked.. 😁

Turns out it's one of these..

...and having surprised me at how much cheaper it was than I expected I've signed on the dotted line, and paid the deposit..  👏

Just had to check the diameter of the chain plates for the back stay bridles (5mm as it happens)

... and I came home with the following order..   uppers/lowers are a direct like for like replace, 4mm swaged eye/stud, back stay is almost like for like, Holman advised forks rather than eyes on the bridles...  and then there's the forestay/furler combo..