Before I bought my boat I read all the internet folklore about rod vs wire and how rod fails without warning, needs to be re-headed every 10 years, etc, etc, etc.. Same story on the cored hulls below the water line vs non-cored and all the attendant horror stories of rotten wood incapsulated in a now worthless blister ridden hull, etc,etc.. And I was getting a little dis-couraged about buying this awesome C&C boat I currently own.
Until I talked to experts that have worked cored hulls for 30 years and certified Navtec riggers with the same kind of experience. The fact is: That after a complete strip to the gelcoat and analysis, my 24 year old boat has not one single blister, shows no signs of water intrusion, and the boat is stiff as they come and lightweight like it's supposed to be. Likewise, my 24 year old rod rigging is still of smaller diameter, lighter, and stiffer than a comparable wire rigging. As per professional Navtec certified rigger advice: It needs no re-heading or other extensive maintenance. My Navtec certified rigger (and 20+ years rod rigging boat owner) gave me an assessment of what I have, with actual ways of determining undue stress, and told me we're just fine. He raced his Navtec rod equipped J boat hard for 15 + years in a salt water environment with nominal maintenance and, being a rigger he took down his rig for a destructive test of the heads and had the rods re-headed. Final verdict: (His words) it was a complete waste of time and money. Keep in mind his rods were far from pristine. As mentioned the boat was ridden hard and put away wet for 15 + racing season on the Georgia coast , the rods were showing a fair amount of surface corrosion, and "Other signs of imminent doom" yet when the chips were down and the rods were cut and analyzed, they were as strong as the day they came out of the Navtec factory. His words: If you are going for a transatlantic crossing or circumnavigation, then it's probably not a bad idea to err on the side of caution but for the rest of us coastal cruisers and lake cruisers you just don't put enough stress on those rods to really challenge them. Additional Anectodal evidence: My rigger who's been working the lake for 30 + years has never seen a rod rigging failure on this lake. Period. Simple test: If your turnbuckles are smooth and bind free / the ball pivots on the mast are smooth, that's pretty god evidence that the rods have not been overly stressed. No offense to anyone but : Before you decide to purchase / not purchase a boat or spend serious money on a rig the best thing to do is talk to a professional rigger instead of hearsay on the internet.. -Francois 1990 C&C 34+ "Take Five" Lake Lanier, Georgia.
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