New high-tech rigging designs may cause sailors to have a false sense of security concerning their sailboat hardware. Boaters still need to regularly inspect their rigging, particularly because these high-tech designs use new lightweight materials which are deceptively fragile.

Standing Rigging

Since stays, shrouds, terminals, and turnbuckles bear the total load of the mast, they should be inspected at least once a year. A good time to do this is when your boat is hauled for the winter or for painting.

If you do not unstep the mast, have a surveyor or rigger climb the mast to inspect wire connections. (If doing your own climbing, be sure to use a bosun chair and have experienced help on deck.) Careful inspection can ensure maximum service life and safety from your rigging. Unless the rigging fails from drastic overloading, it will show warning signs before failure occurs. Such warning signs may include broken wires, heavy stains or corrosion, or small stress cracks in fittings—especially threaded portions. Use a magnifying glass and your fingernail to detect tiny cracks. A routine checkup could save you a breakdown while underway.

Unstepping the Mast

Use proper care and preparation when unstepping to prevent damaging the hardware you're trying to inspect. Since trailered sailboats require more frequent unstepping than larger boats, regular procedures should be established and followed every time. If possible, hold the mast up by hand and release all shrouds and stays. This will avoid kinking, bending, crushing, and nicking when you bring it down. Make up a few pads of carpet and shock cord to wrap around the mast before securing halyards and standing rigging.

Be sure to secure rigging and keep some tension on while trailering to prevent flapping. Always use twine to tie off coils and fasten tags; never use adhesive tape or wire! Remember your environment; if you are near salt water, the best place for your rigging is in a dry basement or attic away from the elements. And always remember to rinse off all rigging with fresh water before storing.

If you don't unstep your mast more than once every two years, you must still inspect the rigging hardware. Remember, if you go aloft, always use a main halyard with a backup halyard. Turnbuckles and chainplates must be angled so that loads are in a direct line with the stays and shrouds, otherwise the chainplate will bend slightly, which fatigues the metal. Cracking or distortion on the deck around the chainplate may indicate a misalignment problem and or a deck leak.

Water leaking around chainplates typically enters the deck's core, which could eventually lead to structural problems. An even more serious structural problem can occur if the leaking chainplate is attached to a wood bulkhead beneath the deck. Water entering the wood will cause rot, which weakens the bulkhead so that it will no longer support the chainplate and the rig's heavy loads. Rot is indicated by dark areas, delamination, and/or a dull sound when the bulkhead is tapped.

Tip: Check all running lights, wiring, and plugs for damage before restepping the mast. It's much easier to repair and replace these items when the mast is horizontal.

Caring for Stainless Rigging

Be sure to rinse standing rigging regularly with fresh water. This can be done routinely when you hose down decks at the end of a day's sail. Use a water-soluble detergent. A mixer nozzle will make this easy and help clean areas beneath the standing rigging as well. Inspect all unusual stain and corrosion spots carefully—before, during, and after cleaning. Don't use steel wool to remove stub- born stains from cable or fittings. It will leave minute particles of steel embedded in the rigging, and these particles will rust. Instead of using abrasive scrubbing pads or bronze wool, use a regular cloth with polish on any stainless steel. If it is so rusted that it needs scraping, replace it. Check your tang/swage fitting alignment. Bad angular alignment puts a bending load on the end of the swage fitting. Ask your local rigging shop about any unusual signs of corrosion, stress, or cracks in terminals. And finally, use commercial "spreader boots" and turnbuckle covers where protection from chafing or snagging is required.

Lifelines

Please note that special care must be taken for plastic-coated cables. Commonly used for lifelines, this is a construction of wire rope with a coating of hard, white vinyl. This cable has been carefully engineered to be durable even when exposed to saltwater. Good brands incorporate ultraviolet stabilizers to deter solar degradation. Avoid cleaning plastic coated cable with chemical cleaners unless you are sure they will not cause damage. Never use kerosene - it will dilute and spread the stain.

Running Rigging

Don't be fooled by the high-tech, lightweight features of your running rigging. Halyards, sheets, guys, and vangs are subjected to enormous abuse. They are generally turned around winches, subjected to extreme loads, and often used in applications where cyclical loading is the norm. Inspect them frequently, and replace them whenever they are suspicious. If trailering, keep them neatly coiled. Where wire-to-rope splices exist, inspect more frequently to detect potential failure of the splice. Periodically wash and rinse blocks in fresh water to clean them thoroughly. In addition, all new polyester lines should be soaked in soapy water overnight before being put to use—this eliminates slipping on winch drums and is more supple.

Blocks should be inspected on a regular basis. Items to look for are a slow-running sheave, shackle elongation, extreme rust, movement of metal (stretching), or plastic or metal cracks. Tropical sailing conditions are even more critical - carefully inspect more regularly. Blocks and rigging should not be put away wet with salt water; wash and rinse with fresh water. Lubricants such as dry Teflon and dry silicone sprays which will not attract dirt may be used.

If you follow these maintenance guidelines faithfully, and remember that even new high-tech rigging designs require careful routine inspections, your sailboat and its hardware will perform to their greatest abilities.

Special thanks to MacWhyte, Schaefer, and the BOAT/U.S. Marine Insurance publication Seaworthy for their contributions to this article.