Rigging advice

Advice on rigging and guard rail

Rigging and guard rail are vital parts of your boat. Good maintenance and regular checks are of the utmost importance. It is wise to check your stay every year at the beginning of the season. Look out for rust, breakage and kinks in the wire rope. If you racing or sail intensively, an extra inspection halfway through the season is wise. Do not forget the guard rail.

To preserve yourself and your gear on board, it is wise to wrap all sharp points, edges and rings with tape. Replace this tape regularly so you can also see if there is damage under the tape. You can use electrical tape, self-adhesive tape or textile tape for this purpose. For further protection, there are also stay protectors on the market.

If your boat is in salt water, clean your boat and the deck fittings, including the tensioners, well with fresh water after every sailing trip.

It is possible that a little rust deposit will form where the stay disappears into the terminal. You can easily polish this away with scotch brite. This does not directly mean that your wire rope or terminal is corroding, but is often purely superficial deposits. There is special tensioner oil on the market that makes sure you can easily loosen the tensioners again at the end of the season. You can replace the split pins in the tensioners with smart pins. These are available in here.

We recommend replacing the stays at least every 15 years.