Since you are going to have your rig down here are some things that I would recommend doing:

1) Order the halyard chaff stopper from Buzz. It attaches to the crane and will save some life on your main halyard. 2) Make sure your topping lift exits above the top spreader and the reinforcements are installed. You should see 4 rivets on either side of th topping lift shive. If it diesn't have them, now is a good time to install them. Buzz sells a kit or you can do it yourself. 3) Check to make sure the bolts through your chainplates are hex head and not phillips. The phillips head screws are known to shear off. Now is a good time to replace them. 4) Remove the chain plates and check for wet core around the deck area. Most boats will have the wet core if they have not been sealed properly. What we did was to use a bent nail on a drill to get the core out. Then fill with epoxy resin. Measure and redrill the slot that the chainplates fit through. Keep sealed with maring silicone, and now if it does leak it will not get into the core of the deck. 5)Check all your shives to make sure they run smoothly and are not wire shives. All of our boats originally had wire halyards and unless they have been changed out over the years, they still have the wire shives in there. These will eat up your halyards over time.

That is all I have off the top of my head, but feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Cheers, Jason

:: I will be ordering replacement rigging from Buzz. I've
:: learned that the rods have different attachments
:: depending upon the mast's year of make. No problem
:: there, I've got pictures to send to him. I've read our
:: articles on Mast and Chainplate maintenance, but would
:: also like to hear additional advice from others who have
:: done this job already. Thanks!