Subject: Data On The Mast Fittings & Stay Dimensions (from Roger
Pihlaja's 1976 R22)
Rigging:
Fore stay: Pin To Pin On Center From Masthead To Bow Chainplate
Including Turnbuckle: 28' 11"
Note: I have a Harken Unit 0 Roller Furler; but the total length
should be the same
Aft stay: Pin To Pin On Center: 29' 1"
Note: This is the average of the port & starboard dimensions
Note: Backstays also have a shackle that is adjustable in length by
changing the clevis pin location. This shackle adds 2" to the above
dimension to get 29' 3" overall backstay length from masthead to
stern chainplate
Upper Shroud: Pin C.L. @ Masthead To C.L. @ Spreader Tip: 13' 7-3/4"
Upper Shroud: Pin C.L. @ Masthead To Pin C.L @ Chainplate: 26' 3-5/8"
- Note: These are the average of the port & starboard dimensions.
- Note: Includes shackle & turnbuckle.
Length Of Shackle & Turnbuckle: Pin C.L. @ Chainplate To Upper End Of
Turnbuckle: 10-3/4"
Forward Lower Shroud: Pin C.L. @ Mast To Pin C.L. @ Chainplate: 12' 0"
- Note: This is the average of the port & starboard dimensions.
- Note: Includes shackle & turnbuckle.
Length Of Shackle & Turnbuckle: Pin C.L. @ Chainplate To Upper End Of
Turnbuckle: 11"
Aft Lower Shroud: Pin C.L. @ Mast To Pin C.L. @ Chainplate: 11' 10-1/
2"
- Note: This is the average of the port & starboard dimensions.
- Note: Includes shackle & turnbuckle.
Length Of Shackle & Turnbuckle: Pin C.L. @ Chainplate To Upper End Of
Turnbuckle: 11"
Mast Fittings:
Overall Length Of Mast: Butt Of Mast To Pin C.L. @ Masthead Forestay:
25' 6"
Upper Shroud Fitting: Butt Of Mast To Pin C.L.: 25' 1"
Spreader Fitting: Butt Of Mast To C.L. Of Spreader Socket: 11' 8"
Lower Shroud Fitting: Butt Of Mast To Pin C.L.: 11' 4-1/2"
Note: In all cases, Pin C.L. refers to the center of the hole in the
fitting that is swaged onto the end of the cable or turnbuckle.
Note: In all cases, the port & starboard cables at each station were
within 1/2" of the same length. So, we reported the average.
I think this should give you all the data you need to build your new
mast. Good luck!
Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
Sometime ago measurements of different components were discussed.
Some of the measurements on my 1987 boat with IMF:
| Mast | 26' 0-3/8" |
| Toping lift | 60' |
| Upper shrouds | 27' 111/2" |
| Lower forward | 10' 11" |
| Lower rear | 11-11" |
| Fore stay | 27' 101/2" |
| Aft stays | 29' 6" |
Measurements are usually from pin to pin or end of threaded unit.
Rod Ellner
Hudson, Wisconsin
02 May 2000
Subject: Dangers of using copper pipe for spreader material
You didn't say where your boat is located. Assuming it's somewhere
near an ocean, there's salt in the air. There is a particularly
insidious form of corrosion, which occurs between copper and aluminum
in moist conditions when there are also chloride salts present.
Basically, copper will leach off the pipe, dissolve in the water as a
chloride, and be transported in solution to the surface of the
aluminum.
At the surface of the aluminum, an electrochemical reaction takes
place between the copper and aluminum, which results in the copper
being deposited in tiny globules and the aluminum being dissolved
away. Time passes. More water, more chloride, more reaction and the
tiny globules of copper find themselves at the bottom of pits in the
aluminum. Since this pitting is occurring on the inside and outside
of the mast at the same time, it is much more serious since it's only
a matter of time before pits grow into each other from inside and
outside the mast to form holes. Your mast wall quickly becomes
spongy and weak.
I would IMMEDIATELY get the copper tube away from the aluminum mast.
Look around inside and outside the mast with an ice pick, flashlight
and dental inspection mirror. You are looking for tiny pits or
depressions into the aluminum. You may even spot the tiny copper
globules at the bottom of some of the pits. Assuming you have
pitting, go to a pet supply store and buy some sodium ethylene
diamine triamine (EDTA). Make up a 1%wt solution of EDTA in water
and go after the inside and outside of the mast with sponges and a
stiff bristled brush (like a test tube brush or bottle brush).
EDTA is a chelating agent. It will chelate with the copper globules
and dissolve them without harming the aluminum. After the EDTA
treatment, flush the mast inside and out with copious quantities of
fresh water. I would repeat this procedure 2 or 3 times. Now you
can survey the damage. If the pitting is not bad enough to be a
structural problem, then a coat of thickened epoxy will fill in the
pits and smooth out the surface. The mast will need to be painted to
protect the epoxy from the sun's UV rays.
If the pitting is more severe, I would seek the help of a qualified
sailboat rigging shop. Depending upon how long this setup was left
exposed to the environment, your mast may very well be a total loss.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news and good luck.
Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
Is there something systematically wrong with the forestay connection?
When Stan took my family and I out for a test sail on the Albemarle
(15 kts and gusty) the forestay came a drift after about 30 minutes
of sailing. He blamed someone forgetting to put in a split-ring; I
thought it might have been a well planned demonstration of how well
the spar stays up with out the headstay! Anyway, check those clevis
pins and split rings on all the stays.
Dave W
It happens; the boat is trailerable and the mast is stepped often.
The split rings are reused and reused. Sometimes after pliers are
used on them, they open up. Some people also use fastpins for
quicker setup, but they can pop out. Also use the right size pin.
You want the full bearing surface on the hole. Those 9 stays really
work.
MJM
The rigger who is working on my boat has recommended 3/16" for the
upper shrouds and ?" for the lower. He says that the uppers should
always be larger diameter than the lowers. Any opinions (or better
still, knowledge about these things) out there?
Saroj
01 May 2000
I have been going around with this issue too, since I am replacing
the standing rigging on my Gloucester 22 this year. My Gloucester is
about the same size, ballast weight, and keel configuration as the
Rhodes. The Rhodes is about a foot longer on the waterline.
I used both the Sparkman & Stephens righting moment equation and the
rule of thumb displacement method found in Brion Toss's book "The
Rigger's Apprentice".
The righting moment figure I guesstimated from the table in the book
and is probably high.
My boat is rigged with ?" wire, and the Rhodes that I have seen are
also rigged with ?" wire. I was thinking of upgrading one size to 5/
32" wire. My rig is a 6-stay rig, so not as strong as the Rhodes for
the same size wire.
In any case, 3/16" wire is overkill and since the wire tension when
tuned is also relative to wire size, generally 10-15% of breaking
strength, the larger wire can put too much compression on the mast
and deck structures, or too much tension on the chain plates. This
last little fact I discovered when researching my mast which is a
very light section Dwyer and very "bendy".
Sounds like the rigger you are talking to doesn't know his stuff, be
careful. Also the type and quality of wire and the type of machine
used for swaged fittings is important. The upshot of my research that
included e-mail exchanges with another Gloucester owner who used his
boat for extensive coastal sailing in Maine is I am upgrading my
lowers and forestay to 5/32" and leaving the uppers and backstay at
?". I decided to use Sailing Services (800-458-1074) in Miami http://
www.sailingservices.com/ and will take my old rig off and send it to
them for measurement. They have the very best grade 316 stainless
wire and use the strongest and most corrosion resistant swaging
procedures. Servicing boats in a tropical saltwater environment, they
have to use the best for the rigs to last. I got their name from
Brion Toss's site, as that is where he buys his wire.
Typical breaking strength for ?" 316-type stainless 1x19 wire is 1800-
2000#, for 5/32" wire it is 2700-3000#. Depends on exactly what
alloy and whose wire. The 316 wire sold by Sailing Services is about
10% stronger than the wire listed in the West Marine catalog. Their
prices are very competitive, too.
Don't take shortcuts on your rig. The complete replacement rig for my
boat, including new turnbuckles, will be less than $500.00. The only
reason I am replacing the turnbuckles is because the old ones are
very poor quality. You should be able to reuse yours. Keep in mind
that if you go to heavier wire, you will have to drill the mast tangs
for larger terminal pins too, or perhaps even replace the tangs if
they are not big enough to take the larger holes and still have
enough "meat" left to match the strength of the new rig. The same
applies to needing larger turnbuckles and pin holes at the
chainplates too.
Razz
My boat is an '85. I am the third owner, and as far as I know, there have
been no modifications to the mast, or any thing else that would affect the
lengths of the standing rigging. However, even so, USE THE NUMBERS AT YOUR
OWN RISK!!!!
RHODES 22 STANDING RIGGING SPECIFICATIONS
| Shrouds |
Size |
Mast Head End |
Deck End |
Length |
|
Upper Shrouds
|
1/8" Wire
|
Aircraft Fork WM 113383
|
Turnbuckle (RH
Stud WM171704,
Turnbuckle WM
416016)
|
Clevis Pin Center
to Cotter Pin-
26' 2"
Clevis Pin Center
to Turnbuckle
Clevis Center (2/3
Open) - 26' 9"
|
|
Forward Lowers
|
1/8" Wire
|
Aircraft Fork
WM 113383
|
Turnbuckle (RH
Stud WM171704,
Turnbuckle WM
416016)
|
TBD
Clevis Pin Center
to Cotter Pin
Clevis Pin Center
to Turnbuckle
Clevis Center (2/3
Open)
|
|
Aft Lowers
|
1/8" Wire
|
Aircraft Fork
WM 113383
|
Turnbuckle (RH
Stud WM171704,
Turnbuckle WM
416016)
|
TBD Clevis Pin Center
to Cotter Pin
Clevis Pin Center
to Turnbuckle
Clevis Center (2/3
Open)
|
|
Head Stay for Harken
00AL Furler
|
5/32" Wire
|
Marine Eye
|
Turnbuckle
|
28'4" Eye Center
to Lower Turnbuckle
Eye Center (2/3 Open)
|
|
Lifelines
|
1/8" Covered Wire
WM 131862
|
Forward End -
Toggle Jaw WM 543066
|
Aft End -
Turnbuckle (LH
Stud (WM113953)
|
14' 1 ?" Clevis
Pin Hole Center
to Cotter Pin Hole
Center of stud
|
|
Back Stays
|
1/8" Wire
|
Mast Head End
- Thimble
|
Deck End - 1
Shroud adjusters
/side
|
I still haven't
measured, sorry
|
Bill Berner
18 Jun 2001
