Page 178 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

Comparison of weight for stretch equivalent materials, 1 x 19 316 stainless,
Nitronic Rod, and Dynex Dux (in pounds/foot).
0.350
Key
0.300 ■ 1 x 19, 316 Stainless
■ Nitronix Rod
■ Dynex Dux
0.250

0.200
Weight (lbs/ft) 0.150

0.100

0.050

0.000
¼" wire, 197" Rod, 7 mm Dux 3/8" wire, .296 rod, 11 mm
Figure 5-35. Weight comparisons of wire rope and staying angles, the biggest determinants of rig lon-
rod rigging. gevity are what the stays are made of and how well
they are maintained. A long-lived rig is a good
into 1 x 19 range. For cruisers,1 x 19, HSR, and return on investment, and also provides a sort of

7 x 7 are appealing in that they are more likely than insurance: If it’s healthy enough to last, it’s healthy
rod to give advance warning of failure. Even if you enough to withstand occasional rough going.
do spot a flaw in rod rigging ahead of time, where can In spite of the obvious advantages of dura-
you safely stow the spare’s six-foot-diameter coil? If bility, the world of contemporary sailing is filled
you want to race, and have the money, it can make with tales of spectacular dismastings in moderate
sense to indulge in rod rigging, assuming your hull is conditions. Many of these stories concern racers
bred to benefit from the slightly increased efficiency; who shaved a teensy bit too much weight out of
a cruiser, or even a racer/cruiser, being inherently their rigging or mast, but many others are about
slower than a pure racer, may not have its perfor- sailors who either started out with poor materials
mance measurably improved. And some traditional or let good ones degrade. Some unfortunate real-
craft that roar along nicely with 7 x 7 wire would be life scenarios:
silly with anything else. No doubt there exists some-
where a Norwegian lifeboat with rod rigging and • Some owners choose good stainless 1 x 19 wire
hydraulic backstay, but this sort of design behavior for a corrosive environment, knowing that the
is, as sailing writer David Kasanof once put it, “like small number of strands presents a small total
paring the hooves of a Clydesdale before entering it surface area for corrosion to work on. But then
in the Kentucky Derby.” they get some not-so-good swages applied, and
the small number of strands works against
Cost-Effectiveness Now to consider cost over them—if just one strand is broken, or not
time, a sort of budgetary moment of forces. Aside sharing the load, the wire loses more than five
from proper tuning, scantlings, terminals, and percent of its strength.

157