To anyone,

I went to the riggers today to get wire etc. and the kind man asked which wire would I like. Well, ####ed if I know. Does anyone have experience in this area ? Do I get the softer wire or should it be the same as the stays ?

Regards,


Peter

Hi Peter,

don't panic, the rule of thumb is you don't want Diamond wires to stretch, the lower the number of strands the lower the stretch. Only problem is how you want to swage it.

Rod Rigging, lowest stretch but you cant swage it.

Dieform, lowest stretch wire, but it can't be bent around a thimble so only terminal pressed swages can be used.

Standard rigging wire 1 x 19? medium stretch, like sidestays, is difficult to bend around a thimble but can be hand swaged.

Flexible wire 32? strand,highest stretch. Used by some for trapezes, easy to bend and hand swage.

If you have any trouble getting the right wire, speak to Matt at Victorian Sailing Supplies in Frankston (03) 9773 6155. He actualy owns a Mossie, so will know what you are after. He is supposed to be fixing it up to sell one day.

Do you want me to bring the swaging gear to Hazelwood this weekend?

Regards Gary. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Gary,

Thanks for the quick feedback. It is much appreciated and like you have said this forum is great to bounce ideas around and get some great results. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I looked at the fittings today in the rigging shop and thought that if I have the Tee ball on the top end and threaded pressed swage terminal on the bottom end then I won't need to have turnbuckles thimbles etc; just an angle bar at the bottom with a hole through it. All I need to do then is tighten the nyloc nut on the bottom to apply tension. Is that a good idea ?

The kind gentleman at the rigging shop said that minimum stretch was best and that standard stay wire was medium stretch. He uses the mimimum stretch wire on his Tasar. I just wasn't sure that the comparison between a Tasar and a Mozzie was justified. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

While the shop had plenty of Tee ball fittings they were out of stock of the re-inforcing backing plates. They will order some but I don't know if they will have them by the end of the week (fingers crossed).

Thanks for the offer of your swaging equipment this weekend. I may not need it but feel free to bring it along anyway. Pigs do fly sometimes.

Regards,

Peter

Hi Peter,

the system you describe for adjusting diamonds is OK as long as you do not use to much tension. This system is used on A's and Taipans but they lift wire off the spreaders to adjust as it causes thread damage if you adjust under high tension. If you use turnbuckles of a reasonable size they can be adjusted without lifting wires off the spreaders. Mossies cat rigged generaly don't use A or Taipan tensions so it should be OK, although I used higher tensions than most cat rigged.

See you on the weekend Gary. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Gary,

Thanks again. I think I'll go for the turnbuckle option. It seems the least fuss and I can get the mounting tangs anywhere. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> My spreaders have 3 sets of holes in them for wire location so I wouldn't be able to lift them off.

Regards,

Peter

If you are going to use a turnbuckle, you can do the job with just one by putting it on the front of the mast.
You make up one (double length) diamond wire with a t-ball at each end and a ferrul (for swaging) running lose over the whole thing. Like this.



Then you put it on the mast, attach the turnbuckle to the loop at the bottom using a thimble, wind it up tight (with the mast straight - very important), slide the ferrule down and swage it in place.