Turnbuckle inspection and interior paint

[Crazer]

I am going to begin the first phase of a three phase plan to replace my standing rigging. I will be replacing my fore and aft stays on my Pearson Wanderer. The rigging is quite old, possibly original to the boat. I am fairly certain at least the turnbuckles are original, making them 46 years old. I am a bit conflicted, however, on whether or not to replace them. It would be cheaper not to, and I would tend to trust them a bit more IF I could somehow determine that they did not suffer from and corrosion or were otherwise compromised. Does anyone have any thoughts on how best to proceed?

Also, I am going to be painting the interior of my boat. It's mostly formica and bare fiberglass lining, with some painted formica areas. I want something that is, obviously, durable and easily brushed and that will yield a nice even finish with no brush strokes. Spraying is an option, but with the amount of prep work involved I'd rather brush. I've heard exterior latex can be used on fiberglass, and oil paint is commonly used over formica and I assume that's what was done where it was painted on my boat. I did paint a countertop, with oil paint, and it worked well, but didn't yield nearly as even or smooth a finish as I'd have liked. For those who have painted their interiors, what paint did you use and what process worked as far as getting an acceptable finish?

[s/v Faith]

The most common word will be to replace them.  I suppose you have the same open body bronze turnbuckles as I have on Faith.

If you wanted to check them you could have them professionally tested by Nondestructie inspection.  Since they are bronze they can not be tested by eddy current, but they could be xrayed.  I checked into that once, and did not have any luck finding anyone who was willing to do it (mostly big money industrial or aviation related).

  A trick I learned from the guy I learned port and polish from might work.  He would wash connecting rods in dawn dish soap and water.  When they dry you soak them overnight in transmission fluid. 

  Dry with papertowels and sprinkle talc over them.  We did this a few times and I never saw any cracks, but he said that they would show up. The transmission fluid soaks into cracks too small for you to see, the talc sticks to anyplace the fluid stays after it is wiped off.

  If you are going to reuse them, it might be worth it to at least try it out.

[matt195583]

Crazer I would be purchasing a kit similar to this one.

http://www.warrenandbrown.com.au/precisiontools/product-details/960270-dye-penetrant-crack-detection-kit/273

It's an easy process much the same as what Faith has described and will definitely show any cracking.

[w00dy]

Not sure if your rigging is bronze. If so, disregard. If they are stainless, then they are definitely suspect.

The dye penetrant is good and is what professionals use, but it is quite expensive. What we have done, you can too for a low cost and a minimum of effort. Unless you have poor vision, you should be able to see the cracks without the dye. You will only need to buy some oxalic acid from your hardware store and a magnifying glass.

Assuming you will be removing the rig, isolate all the load bearing hardware which you want to inspect. You will want to look at not only your chainplates, but the connecting toggles and clevis pins, mast tangs, and the bolts that hold everything together. Before you begin to clean them, inspect them as is. Look for any places where rust stains are present. These are the places where your crevice corrosion will most likely be occurring, so mark them for future inspection.

Next, fill a bucket with water and a quantity of oxalic acid powder, which should be sold at your local hardware store. This is commonly used as a wood bleach and for cleaning metals. Let the hardware soak for a day or so. You can leave it in longer. Your hardware should come out looking bright and shiny. Now that the rust stains are removed, you should be able to see the underlying cracks in your hardware. Mechanically or physically polish any remaining stubborn stains. Use a magnifying glass anda bright light. Look for cracks. You will find them. When you find them, replace the hardware. :)

You may want to save yourself the time and trouble and replace everything. Remember that rigging may be expensive in the short term, but consider the importance of keeping your stick up and prioritize accordingly.

You can read a little about our rigging inspection project here: http://peanutbutterdiet.blogspot.com/2013/06/slowly-reassembling.html

[Crazer]

Fortunately my turnbuckles are bronze. Massive too, at least a size up from my previous boat with was only a foot shorter. I'll still figure out a way to inspect them, carefully. The wires are all getting replaced, half now, half in the spring. Also, I'm building new spreaders to replace the old rotting ones. Definitely prioritizing keeping the stick up!

[Sea Rover]

I understand prioritizing keeping the stick up. I just had a lower shroud part on my all original Cape Dory. The need to replace rigging jumped to the top of the list. I have those horrible old barrel turnbuckles which I wanted to replace with open face ones anyways. I'm not going to risk anything and will be replacing it all. I'll keep some of the old stuff for emergency backups if I can find space to stow them. In my experience with old standing rigging it's better to just redo it all and breathe a little easier. You'll also step lighter without all that money in your wallet.