We noticed a problem with our standing rigging several weeks ago (see Part I Compromised Rigging). Unfortunately, we were several days away from the closest marina so we had to “baby” our rig until we could replace it.
Vuda Marina
Westside Rigging works out of Vuda Point Marina. Prior to now, we had never had an opportunity to stay at Vuda – always a first for everything.
Our main goal is to replace the side stays and fix the furler so we get to work right away.
Removing the Side stays
Sammy and Theo from Westside Rigging arrived at 0900 and had both side stays off within 45 minutes.
We decided to upgrade our side stays after learning that Sammy had stronger wire in stock. So, instead of replacing the side stays with the same 16mm 1×19 wire we went with 34 meters, 16mm dyform 1×25 stainless wire which is 30% stronger!
In addition, we decided to replace our old turnbuckles with new Regatta R/S stainless turnbuckles.
I was cleaning the stainless a few hours before they came and encountered a problem. I was cleaning the port lower gate, opened it, and it fell off in my hand! For duck’s sake! Seriously. The lifeline sheared off right at the pin with no sign of corrosion, rust, or degradation.
So, Westside Rigging took the port side lower gate to repair it as well.
New, Shiny Gear
Sammy was able to swage the pin at the top of each side stay and swage the stud at the bottom earlier that morning. He returned to the boat the next day at 10am and had the side stays and the gate installed by 11am. Super efficient
Not sure if you can tell the difference between the old and new side stays. The new dyform has wire that is a little flatter where as the old wire is round.
The image in the lower left corner shows the difference between the two wires as well.
The Furler ‘s Dead
Our ProFurl (NC43LCE) is original to the boat, 2001. It has lasted a long time! We thought we could replace the bearings and continue using it for a few more years.
However, after the near bearings were installed the furler still had wiggle room. It works, but the bearings will just wear out again with the extra wiggle room.
So, what does that mean? We have to buy a new furler and while we are at it we will purchase new foils to go on the forestay rod. Bleeding money here.
Westside rigging did not have this in stock so he connected us with Wichard Pacific in Australia. We decided to order a Profurl C430 x 18mm furler along with link plates (55mm+ SS Locks C430) and Threaded pin DIA 25mm (63/64).
The parcels arrived from Australia in less than 1 week.
Stay tuned for Part II: Replacing the Furler
Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events. We were in Vuda replacing the side stays at the end of August 2025.
Don’t miss out on our blog post “Vatulele: Curiously delightful“