Galvi rod rigging?

[benz]

Has this occurred to anyone else? I'm still researching rigging options, and it seems that if SS rod rigging is superior to SS wire, why would galvanized steel rod rigging not be even stronger and less elastic than SS rod, and cheaper, and easier to inspect for rust than wire, and not given to crevice corrosion?
Has anyone used or seen anything like that in use? Pros and cons?

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
Take a look at a square-rigger sometime; under the tops you'll see galvanized rod rigging, otherwise known as futtock shrouds. These are very short stays that oppose the pull of the topmast shrouds. Together they act much like diamond stays on modern boats. Rod was used here because the runs are so short (too short for spliced wire), and also perhaps because rod, over those short runs, can be loaded in compression, to hold up the lee side of the top under way.
Alas, the prospects for galvanized rod rigging are not great. The alloy used in rod is formulated, not just for strength and corrosion-resistance, but for being cold-formed without fatiguing. As I understand it, plow steel just can't be cold-formed over those lengths, in rod thicknesses, without problems.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[benz]

Thanks, Brion.
I've seen frames for semi-permanent tent structures which were braced with long sections of steel rod whose threaded ends went right into a big turnbuckle, and that is what partly gave me the idea. I suppose for strength they just use an oversized rod since they're not concerned with weight and windage.
Back to my speculations....
Ben Zartman