Colligo Tech
The Material: Colligo Dux ™ Dyneema standing rigging
What are the benefits of Colligo Dux?
Performance
Colligo Dux™ Dyneema Standing Rigging is sized for equivalent stretch to wire or rod. Elastic Stretch is the parameter that controls your mast movement. Less stretch means more efficient transfer of wind energy to boat speed. Our rigging is designed to minimize stretch. You will never have more stretch than you would with a steel system with Colligo Dux ™ Rigging. In addition you will get a long replacement interval of 5-8 Years in the tropics.
Carbon VS. Colligo Dux™
Carbon is great, but the cost is 5x that of Colligo Dux™ Standing rigging.
Safety
Colligo Dux is the safest standing rigging you can buy! It is fully inspectable. Both Failure modes, chafe and UV present visible cues, the line gets fuzzy. Just set up an inspection schedule and you will know when to change the rigging out. No more changing your standing rigging out early just to be safe! Get the most value for your Dollar. In addition, our rigging is sized for stretch and this means that it is at least 2-5 times stronger than steel systems. This gives a much higher strength factor of safety than steel systems. Colligo has rigged several charter boats now that have been inspected by the US Coast Guard and the inspectability feature is very important to charter boat owners. In addition, Dynice Dux from Hampidjan is certified by Lloyds of London for strength.
Engineering
Colligo Dux™ Standing rigging uses heat stretched SK75 Dyneema or Dynice Dux from Hampidjan. This provides virtually NO constructional elongation issues in a braided line that is still splicable. We meticulously splice and pre-stretch to high loads to insure that tensioning systems, like short travel turnbuckles, can be used. Colligo Dux™ Standing Rigging performs like steel systems. Install it and tension once or twice and you're DONE.
The other Dyneema chemistries . . .
It is important to note that later chemistries of Dyneema including, SK90, SK99, and DM20 have issues with Constructional Elongation and have limited value in terms of standing rigging. Also, Dyneema has compressive strength that is 10% of Tensile strength, which means that bending in a tight bend or kinking the line can damage it and then when put under tension, it is not as strong. Significant strength reduction can be seen if bent around too small of fittings for end terminations.
SK75 remains the best Dyneema for heat stretching over the newer chemistries of Dyneema. SK90 and SK99 both are heat stretched at the fiber level and therefore do not heat stretch at the braided level as well as SK75. Just take a piece of heat stretched SK90 or SK99 and cut it with a very sharp knife on a board, the strands fall apart in your hands. If you cut a piece of Dynice Dux (heat stretched SK75) in the same way, you get what looks like a single line of 12 cells that stays together. The SK75 has virtually no space between the strands so no room for compression or elongation. Not so with SK90 or SK99.
We skipped SK78 but the differences from SK75 are minimal and it is more expensive. The company we get heat stretched Dyneema (Dynice Dux) from, Hampidjan, understands that SK75 is the best product for heat stretching and that is why they insist on still using SK75.
DM20 is about 25% more elastic that SK75 so needs to be 25% larger in diameter for the same performance. This is why we do not use it.
Constructional Elongation
Constructional Elongation is the movement involved in the strands in a braided line trying to align themselves with the load path. This results in a longer line after a load has been applied, UNLESS you do things like heat stretch the line to get the densest braided product you can which leaves no more room left to compress the braid so no more elongation. We also Pre-stretch the line after splicing to reset the loose bury portions of the splice and add shrink tubing to keep the splices compressed. Our post processing results in a shroud or stay that acts just like steel, put it on the boat and maybe adjust the turnbuckle 2 or 3 times after sailing and then you are done!
Creep in Dyneema
Many people confuse constructional elongation with creep. They are 2 very different things. Creep is a material property and is permanent elongation over time. Our creep target is a maximum of 0.1 " per year, 1" in 10 years. Most boats we provide rigging for are much less than this target. View the creep chart below. We have a creep equation for SK75 Dyneema and do the math so you will not have creep issues. We rig boats with short travel turnbuckle (bottlescrews) tensioners all the time.
Breaking strength.
If the stretch sizing is correct, then your rig should be 2-5 times stronger than steel in the same usage on your boat. Check this to be sure from the strength table here. Post-stretching to reset the braid after splicing. When heat stretched Dyneema is spliced, the braid is upset at the bury portion of the splice. This needs to be re-stretched before you put it on the boat so you do not experience any elongation of the line after installation.
The re-stretch loads we use are as follows:
Line size / Minimum re-stretch load
7mm & 9mm / 2,000 lbs
11mm / 3,000 lbs
13mm / 4,000 lbs
16mm / 8,000 lbs
Sizing your rigging.
Please contact us for any questions as we want to insure you have a great performing rig.
Size for stretch equivalent to what you have now. Click here for a printable PDF of the stretch chart. Do not put a line with more stretch in place of what you have now, regardless of how strong it is.
Many people have mistakenly sized Dyneema for break strength and ended up with a very stretchy rig.
This is why you hear some say it is too stretchy for standing rigging, when in fact they did not size it for equivalent stretch. Stretch is a function of cross sectional area, so all you need to do is pick the right diameter of dux for your application. Really, what you care about for your standing rigging is stretch, as long as it does not break.
Creep sizing.
Our creep target is less than 0.1” per year of creep. We use the static load or pretension that a rig sees as the load number to use for creep. Most sailboats sit upwards of 95% of their time so Dynamic loads are ignored, most of the time. This has proved successful as we have rigged more than 750 boats around the world at this time.
If you have a boat that you feel will have more use and dynamic loads will be more significant, simply oversize the line to accommodate that usage. Use the creep table bottom right for determining your creep loads and thus the line size you need based on creep.
Colligo Dux™ UV Data
We have tested rigging from many boats now around the world and this is what the data says. Based on this we have a very conservative recommendation of 5-8 years of life in the tropics. More in the higher latitudes.
Colligo Dux™ Thermal Expansion
For a 50ft long shroud or stay a 15 deg C (27 degree F) change in temperature means about a 3 mm or 1/8” change in length. This is about the same as an aluminum mast but in the opposite direction. What this means is that you need to adjust your rigging in the coldest temperature you will be sailing in and you will never see an issue. This will not mean you have over tension issues in hot weather. We have had several boats now at Cape Horn and even in Antarctica with no issues.
Colligo Dux™ Standing Rigging
Engineered for success!
Watch the Youtube “Respect The Rope” Video Playlist, to learn more!