Mechanicals and Roller Furling
Hey Oyster,
I have used Norseman fittings for over 30 years with absolutely NO problems whatever. They are not that difficult to assemble but yes, it does help to practice a bit before you "go for it."
I installed roller furling back in 1998 and continued to use the Norseman fittings on the head stay and have never had anything come apart due to rotation.
Having said that--I did almost lose an eye a couple of years ago--while standing in a dinghy talking to someone one of his Sta Loks just went BANG and came within a hair of taking my eye. This fitting was on a hydraulic back stay and over time became unscrewed. It was just on its very last thread and I was "just there at that moment."
We reassembled the fitting and experimented a bit---what happened was that every time we pumped the hydraulic lever we could see the rod from the piston turning just a bit in the counter-clockwie direction and over time it produced just enough pressure on the fitting to gradually unscrew.
On this last re-rig I decided to "retire" the old Norseman fittings and try the Hayn Hi Mods. They are really easy to assemble. And, as I just discovered---really easy to disassemble and re-assemble.
My guess is that if you do a cost analysis of paying someone to build the swaged rig for you and the cost of "doing the mechanicals yourself" you might find it is not as expensive as you fear. Especially if you plan on keeping the boat for a long time. It is in the future re-rigs that you will save the money.
My recent re-rig cost 1500.00 us complete--buying all new Hi Mods and wire.
Good Luck
Ed Zacko
|