replacing rod rigging

[phmccartney]

I have a 1974 C&C 35 Mk II with what im sure is the original rod. Ive had the boat 3 years and know little of its history other than people in my marina describing losing races to this boat in the past.

I was told that sticking with rod (reheadding or even full replacement) would be cheaper than switching to wire because my mast is set up for rod. Then, as an after thought, navtec mentioned that my existing K100 navtangs would be in compatible with any new rod ends and would have to be upgraded to the new ones. those are $600-800 apiece and i need three! Clearly, "cheaper" means differen things to different people.

So now im thinking id rather switch to wire and compresison fittings. the question is - what would be the easiest and cheapest way to convert my mast? could i use stemball fitings for wire on my existing navtangs? IF not, should i look for a differnt type of stemball fitting, t, or just a traditional tang for forks? the holes for the navtangs are approximately one inch round so ideally id like something that involves the least modification of those holes.

The spreaders just had the simple alluminum sleves on the rod and a machine screw to keep it from falling out. wire shouldnt cause a problem there.

thanks to any with advice

Peter