Thought M15 sailors might like to hear about my experience regarding standing rigging. I've decided to replace my shrouds and head stay this winter. The rigging's been around since '86, and there are a couple kinks that bother me. On the M15, a bolt runs through the cable thimble on one shroud, enters the mast, runs through a pressed on terminal on the headstay, exits the mast, and runs through the thimble of the other shroud--all neat and tidy. I removed the rigging the other night in order to measure it, and was surprised to see significant chafe on the mast where the starboard shroud attaches to the mast. The thimble at the shroud end is secured with a nicropressed sleeve (please bear with any errors in terminology--you'll get the idea...). As it happens, the sleeve on the starboard shroud was either attached too close to the thimble, or migrated closer on its own, and deformed the little pointy ends (ah, terminology) of the thimble so they stuck out sideways. This protrusion (and the sleeve itself) actually chaffed a tiny hole in the mast. Even wrapping the sleeve with rigging tape would not have protected the area from this prolonged metal to metal contact. Regardless, a closer inspection on my part would have revealed the problem and I'd have fixed it. When you have the mast down, take the opportunity a couple times a season to look all that aloft stuff over. t Tom Smith & Jane Van Winkle Sandpoint, Idaho M15-345, Chukar -----Original Message----- From: htmills@bright.net [mailto:htmills@bright.net] Sent: None To: >Mboats< Subject: M_Boats: Great Salt Lake sailors SCA editors posted a request from GSL sailors..... Keith? http://members3.boardhost.com/SCABoard/msg/1035.html Tod _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats This message was scanned for viruses.