fittings were designed and custom made to interface seamlessly with Southern Spars’ internal tangs. ‘We also built the threaded interfaces – threaded seats – at an early stage and tested them on the mast before we produced the rigging,’ Strauss says.
The completed rigging was coiled onto a pallet – forestay uncured and elliptical lateral rigging part-cured – and delivered by truck to Galateia’s shore base in Palma. The cables were then fully cured on site and stored ready for dressing and stepping. Final curing on site had already been factored into the manufacturing schedule and all materials included in the package price. The elliptical hybrid carbon backstays were delivered fully cured and coiled, ready to go.
The dressing was managed by
Galateia’s team, assisted by Carbo- Link’s Murray Jones. Every cable fitted as designed and after checking all of the interfaces, the boat was launched and sea trials commenced with a full race crew in the Bay of Palma. ‘On the first day of sailing with the new rigging and rig modifications, the rig was tuned and locked-in better than it has been in the past,’ says Mike Hall, captain of Galateia.
Rigging for a new mast Rambler 88 upgraded to a new, cutting-edge mast together with a Carbo-Link rigging package which included elliptical solid carbon laterals, forestay and elliptical hybrid
Above: the Wallycento Galateia went back in the water this spring after a major refit that involved retrofitting new Carbo- Link elliptical solid carbon rigging to an existing Southern Spars mast. Right: the new rigging cables have significantly smaller sectional sizes and frontal areas than the bundled
carbon cables that they replaced, resulting in a useful
reduction in aerodynamic drag. The new rigging also won’t ever need to be sent away for servicing, so Galateia should now spend less time out of action and more time sailing
running backstays.
‘We chose Carbo-Link because of their technical expertise,’ says Mick Harvey, Rambler’s team manager. ‘We required a robust package capable of offshore sailing, but performance orientated. We believe Carbo-Link have delivered this with their rigging package.’
A part of the design process was optimising the size and strength of the cable end fittings to the required working load, using Carbo-Link’s GL certified safety factor of 2.35. Carbo-Link engineered the rigging terminations to fit the mast interfaces. As with Galateia, the two companies collaborated closely on spreader bend detailing. Rambler’s lateral rigging and hybrid backstays were delivered fully cured and coiled, ready for dressing. The forestay was delivered uncured at the same time and cured on site prior to dressing. After technicians from Carbo-Link and the mast supplier, working alongside the Rambler team, had dressed the mast and thoroughly checked all the details, the new mast was stepped and sea-trialled over three days. Rambler then headed directly to St Tropez and was racing in the Rolex Giraglia Regatta only five days after stepping day.
‘The success and smooth running of this project is a testament to the efficient collaboration between the Rambler team, Carbo-Link and Southern Spars,’ says Carbo-Link’s Murray Jones.
Two successful outcomes Both yachts’ crews were impressed with the performance of their Carbo- Link rigging in sea trials and in race conditions. They reported much improved mast and sail stability, no creep or bedding-in issues, and no concerns about chafe. ‘The masts were set up to dock tune numbers and only few minor adjustments were required during sea trials’ says Carbo-Link’s Murray Jones. Galateia experienced minimal vibration under sail on one of the running backstays and this was eliminated altogether with the installation of a Carbo-Damper. ‘Both teams value the robustness and chafe resistance of their new rigging,’ Wilkinson says. There are other benefits besides performance. ‘Many race teams spend a lot of time and effort managing service schedules for their rigging. With Carbo-Link solid rigging that can be reduced to the absolute minimum as rigging health can be monitored on-site. We look forward to following both Galateia and Rambler in their offshore and inshore regattas.’
www.carbo-link.com
q SEAHORSE 71
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