Things to look out for.
Here are some solid indicators that some or all the rigging needs replacing:
*Visibly broken strands (running some bronze wool down the wire is an easy way to check for this. The strands of the wool will catch on the edges of the broken wire. Do NOT use steel wool)
*Wire that feels out of round sort of like the way a spiral bound book would feel if you pulled the spiral binding as straight as possible. This could indicate wires broken on the i
inside.
*Cracked aircraft forks or marine eyes or any swaged fitting. A crack on an aircraft fork is common if the lead isn't quite right because of the loads being applied unevenly to the sides of the fittings. look for cracks around the eyes as well as cracks on the swage fittings. These can be VERY small and VERY hard to spot. Look for flowers of rust or lines of rust and then clean them up a bit with scotchbrite and then take a look with a jewelers loop.
*Distended holes at the eyes/forks/toggles/tangs/chainplates. These can indicate excessive loads have been applied or that the clevis pins were undersized for the fitting. If possible (and in most cases it is) match the clevis pins to the fittings being used.
*Cracks in the chainplate. If the chainplates pass through the deck pull them (this can usually be done one at a time with the mast standing) and inspect them COMPLETELY. Severe cracks usually appear at the deckline and are impossible to see either above or below decks. This is most common on saltwater boats but is also a real possibility if the deck is routinely cleaned with bleaches such as soft scrub.
Look for part 2 of this response soon. It's time for my wife's birthday party.
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