Swageless Backstay Insulators , replacements

[Douglas]

Thank You , Brion and Ty , as I always try to follow Brion's advice, "to build in a reserve of neglect", on my boat !

This BCC has been in S E Asian waters since 2002 and I am always amazed at how fast plastic and rubber deteriorates over here.

I first noticed this when my onboard rubber bands, were deteriorating alarmingly quickly , not to mention dodger polycarbonate windows , but the gortex thread is holding up very well , phew !

I do have a few more SS deteriorated parts to add to your collection for display purposes , and hope to pass them to you Brion , at the 2014 or 2015 P T Wooden Boat Show .

You can not know , how much your advice and Spar Talk Forum , has helped me repair my BCC after that Asian Tsunami damage of 2004 ,,,, another T Y ,,, and a second , Phew !

[Cayo Quemado]

I regularly run across different SSB antenna configurations, plastic holders that clip over the wires, (not my favorite since they always stay wet), stand-offs on the backstay all the way to the mast-head, and my favorite, for occasional use, the retractable wire raised on a spare halyard.

Then last week a client came by for a rigging inspection whose backstay insulators had pulled apart due to a lightning strike. The threads in the plastic part had melted, then re-congealed around the stainless piece. (I've never cut these open and am not sure of their interior configuration) Dumb luck prevented the mast from going overboard as the failure was not initially apparent.

Is this a common, or common enough occurrence to steer clear of Backstay insulators altogether? If the fairly expensive mechanical insulators aren't even able to be re-used does it make more sense to recommend swage insulators, especially if all upper terminations are swaged?

I have faith in a well installed mechanical terminal but does the possibility of UV degradation or lighting strike resulting in a rig failure mean we should consider an SSB antenna to be an inappropriate addition to the standing rigging?

I haven't read anything like all of the threads here and I hope this isn't something that everyone is sick of talking about.

Tom Gensemer
Izabal, Guatemala