Dyneema Rigging Q&A: Episode 1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 พ.ย. 2021
- We are completely re-rigging our 1977 Rival 38 with Dyneema synthetic rigging. That includes all shrouds, stays and even chainplates for both masts of our ketch rig.
This series will cover all the design choices, the practicalities of a completely DIY re-rig and then how it works out when we go sailing.
Our goal is a rig that is:
- stronger
- lighter
- cheaper
- allows us to sail faster
- lasts longer
- can be DIY maintained even replaced, anywhere in the world
We are refitting a 44 year old Rival 38 for a Sustainable Sailing retirement in a few years. Two years ago, when we bought Vida she was in a very tired and damp condition with all original equipment and fittings (much of it not working). We have removed all the gas, diesel and paraffin equipment, and are installing all electric (motor, cooking etc).
Our masts are both down and have been almost completely stripped, then painted with
2 coats epoxy primer (with epoxy filler between coats)
1 coat of two part undercoat
2 coats of two part top coat
We have fitted new FR4 backing plates for the mizzen chainplates and are getting ready to do the backing plates for the main mast chainplates.
Our Chainplates are essentially an overhand knot soft shackle with the "eye" above deck (the shrouds get lashed to this). The knot is below the backing plate.
Not only are we fitting Dyneema chainplates we are also having a Dyneema forestay which means no roller reefing. So we are modifying our original sails to be hank on (with webbing hanks). We have upgraded our Bow Roller to support this.
Lots more detail on our blog at sustainablesailing.net/
If you would like to encourage us then you can support us on Ko-Fi! ko-fi.com/sustainablesailing
Or visit our shop at sustainablesailing.teemill.com/
#DyneemaRigging
#DyneemaStandingRigging
#BoatRefit
Back on the boat on Friday and hoping to film some dyneema stretching and testing.
Helped me confirm my views about going this route. My refit will not be near the scope of yours, only the standing rigging (Beneteau 411) but nevertheless it will be a big job. Thank you for your thorough explanation and descriptions.
Ted, so glad it has been helpful! Hopefully next in the series after the weekend.
Very good explaination. Thanks for sharing.
Hopefully it won't be long before we actually get the masts up. Currently (pun intended) our priority is the solar panels and battery connections to reduce our boatyard electricity cost.
Thank you to both of you for a very informative video ,,
Glad you found it helpful 😊
Looking forward to see the rest of the episodes on this! Will look into doing this myself!
Hopefully will be more coming soon. Just editing one on installing AIS and WiFi booster antennas on the mizzen. New router arrived today so we can work on the version 3 tangs
Thanks I am currently in the process of changing my standing rigging so this was helpful. I do have a plan for putting a furling head sail on the Dyneema forestay/s (cutter) but I am having difficulty getting people to understand my plan or willing to help.
Crusader sails spent a lot of time discussing things with us. For us the key issues are:
- without roller reefing you need to think through your sail plan for different wind speeds (and especially how you handle squalls from each base windspeed). It will mean more sail handling unless you have multiple furling sails hoisted and switch between them). We will have some wind speeds where we don't have the optimum sail area. We will need to raise and lower the staysail as wind speed changes.
- getting a tight luff if the headsail is close to a forestay (assuming no expensive halyard locks and hydraulics) is tricky. The furlers often are designed for the torsional rope to be the forestay in order to work correctly. We have several options that we are going to explore.
Did you run into any issues with insurance, since the rig is using custom parts and a non standard chain plate design? I would imagine it is more tricky to prove the setup is adequate if you are not following the original design, or at least using a common configuration of components?
So far we haven't applied formally. We have agreed that we will have a survey before launch. It might be that we agree exemptions.
Where can i get more information about the headsail system you mentioned with webbing that attaches to a forestay?
All I could find was a passing reference on the Rigging Doctor channel. When we recently bought new Crusader sales they recommended dyneema soft shackles (lot less work for the sailmaker i guess).
We might fit webbing ourselves to get a few more miles out of old sails. Basically a long loop on one side, that goes around the forestay and is connected to a shorter loop. Then the connector between them is well away from the sail. Connector could be a standard forestay piston hank or a soft shackle.
how would dyneema rigging react to a lightning strike. would it melt?.
Earlier in the year I had a discussion on our blog about Lightning in comments to this post "Confusing earth wiring" sustainablesailing.net/2021/05/31/confusing-earth-wiring/
I haven't heard about Dyneema rigging melting. But I've also not heard of sails melting and my (non expert) guess is that you might expect a similar effect.
I guess we have bigger issues in terms of lightning protection with our deck stepped mast that has bolts to a metal support post that ends above the lead keel encapsulated in grp. Quite concerned that we are vulnerable to lightning blowing a hole through the hull.
Generally lightning is not a very big issue in the UK so we don't have so much local expertise.
I asked around and got this suggestion re Lightning:
"This is a great podcast with a real lightening expert (jim Thayer worked for NASA)
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jeff-thayer-lightning-strikes-offshore/id711410636?i=1000472898124
Worth listening to multiple times!
Cheers"
dyneema is like mithril great material to make a shirt that stops Rohirrim blades
😊
Theres not much sustainable adding even more plastic to a boat though.
It is always a balance. The total amount of plastic being added by the rigging is relatively small (especially compared to a new boat or this one being scrapped). The fibres have an increasing % of non-petrochemicals. Financially, it is far more sustainable for us. From a safety perspective in terms of being able to carry spares, repair and re-rig ourselves anywhere in the world there is a big improvement.