If you buy a used sailboat it’s probable that you’ll end up with a boat that is a few years old - and most likely the halyards, mainsheet, backstay, jibsheets and other running rigging will look a little old, dirty and frayed.

You might well want to replace this old stuff with some of the bright new high tech line you can find in your local chandlery.

But think carefully before you go ahead and buy any high tech replacement running rigging. You could be setting yourself up for some serious problems, as well a spending a lot of unnecessary money into the bargain

The biggest problem with high-tech lines to control the sails on an older sailboat is that the lines are too strong for the boat. Your old deck hardware is just not capable of handling the loads you can exert using high tech line.

Discover the right way to renew the running rigging on an older sailboat

Filed under: Sailboat Maintenance