Tami,
thanks. My shrouds are relatively new and don't show any signs of wear so I am mainly curious. They are 3/8 dynex which has a breaking strength of 24000lbs... which seems excessive but I guess better safe than sorry!
I see what you are saying about falling off the boat when it is on the trailer... long way to go. I think I will probably do the raising on the water, just need make sure I understand the rigging for it.