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As you will see from the links to the right,
maintenance of your standing rigging is essential to prevent dismasting.
Your life depends on having a rig that is durable and above all reliable
in all weathers not just on sunny days. Whilst your rigging may look
superficially OK rust is eating away at the inside of your fittings.
Even slight rust marks are a tell tale that all is not well and you
should investigate problems as soon as they emerge. We are not trying to
be scare mongers but are merely trying to educate the sailing world to
the potential risks of not maintaining the standing rig. Rigging is not
fit and forget but needs constant attention to keep it fit for purpose.
Your life may depend upon it.
I can hear you say but stainless steel doesn’t rust! Well look at the
photos on the website links listed on our web site and you will see that
it does.
Unlike mild steel, stainless steel will rust in the absence of oxygen
and especially when it is in a corrosive atmosphere such as a warm salty
environment. Even in the UK we suffer from such conditions so it pays
to keep an eye on your rigging. The only way to prevent this happening
is to impregnate the fittings and seal the ends with Rigging Guard. No
other proprietary product exists specifically designed for this purpose.
In tropical countries the problem is even worse where standing rigging
can last just three years before it needs replacement. Typically in this
environment fittings can fail very quickly rotting from the inside until
the fitting bursts and the wire rope fails to support the mast.
Additional pressure is put onto other failing fittings and they also
fail bringing down the mast. This can result in serious injury, loss of
life and loss of the vessel.
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