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Berthon Winter CollectionLatest issueAugust 2024In the August 2024 issue of Yachting World magazine: News Few finish a tempestuous Round The Island Race European rules are eased for cruising to France and Greece Olympic sailing… Yachting WorldPip Hare explains when to check and replace your standing riggingTo prepare my IMOCA 60 Medallia for the Vendée Globe race, I have completed a full change of all the standing rigging If the mast is stepped, the only way to thoroughly inspect rig fittings at the masthead is to go up there... Photo: James Mitchell This was a ‘no brainer’ decision as my rigging has been around the world once already and I would never take it into the Southern Ocean for a second time. In some ways it is easier to estimate the life of synthetic rigging, as it comes with a recommended mileage or stated lifespan if it can be UV damaged. For those with stainless steel rigging the decision on when to replace can be a harder one. The main difficulties boat owners face when assessing the condition of the rig is the inability to see the first signs of wear, partly due to the majority of our rigging being out of sight in the sky, and partly due to the nature of metal fatigue itself. Professional rig checks often lead to last-minute repairs for transatlantic ARC sailors. Photo: James Mitchell The fact is that metal fatigue is inevitable and cannot be avoided. The only thing that will vary is the time a component takes to fail. So how can we make a good assessment of when rigging should be replaced? There are a number of factors that will affect the lifespan of your standing rigging, most notably the initial quality of the rigging used and the type and frequency of sailing that you do. Rigging qualityThe quality of both wire and rod rigging is important because in both the crack initiation and growth phases of the fatigue process can be accelerated by metal impurities or unseen manufacturing defects in the component itself. Using high quality wire rigging from a well known supplier is a bigger initial outlay but the grade of metal used and manufacturing process should prolong the life of your rigging. Article continues below… How to prepare your yacht for anything: Preempting chafe, rig and crew problemsThis is Part 2 of Vicky Ellis’ guide to preparing your yacht for any eventuality. You can read Part 1… Ocean damage – tales of chafe, jury rigs and a shark on the rudder in the ARCCrossing the Atlantic is hard on your gear, as the reports of ocean damage during the annual Atlantic Rally for… When buying a secondhand boat, find out when the rigging was last replaced and try to get a copy of the invoice detailing who the supplier was – if you’re not sure, ask a rigger to take a look at it. How you sailIn crude terms, every time your boat is used it is advancing the process of metal fatigue through the application of cyclical loads, so a boat that is raced regularly and hard will be approaching the point at which rigging failure could occur faster than a boat which is cruised intermittently. This doesn’t mean that lightly used boats will never have to consider changing their rigging; even a dormant boat will be experiencing load cycles in some form when the mast is up. Just the action of the wind on a mast is enough to load up the rigging and any stays left loose will move with wind and wave action. It’s not unusual for rigging wires to fracture around the swage collar To minimise the stress caused by these load cycles while sailing it’s important to tune your rig regularly so the rigging is always at optimum tension. This will help ensure that changes in load are less extreme. If you are not confident to set up your own rig tensions then ask your rigger to help, and later be sure to check your rig throughout the season. Regular rigging checksThere are a couple of ways to test for early signs of fatigue not picked up by the naked eye; they include dye and NDT (non-destructive testing). Water can enter swage terminals leading to crevis corrosion. Photo: Rupert Holmes Both these surveys need to be carried out with the rig down and it may be worth balancing the overall cost of carrying out the test against the additional cost of re-rigging the boat, especially bearing in mind that if any faults or impurities are discovered your insurance may then require you to change the rigging anyway. Regular visual checks should pick up the first signs of crack growth. Look for rust on T-terminals and at swage ends, check for powdery corrosion where T-terminals insert into the mast and any signs of cracking in the same area. Run your fingers up and down the last metre of wire above or below the swage, feeling for deformities; if the wire is not uniform the chances are that one of the individual wires has broken, even if you can’t see it, and the stay and its partner should be replaced immediately. Visual checks for rust and powdery corrosion are your first line of defence. Photo: Rupert Holmes Checking the head of T-terminals is a harder job as they are inside the mast itself. This will need to be done with the mast removed so a full ‘mast down’ survey carried out by a professional rigger should be scheduled at least every three years. Picking up early signs of corrosion or replacing select components after a thorough inspection is a worthwhile exercise because it may extend the lifespan of your standing rigging. Inevitably your insurance policy will play a big part in your decision making about whether to replace your rigging. There has been a general assumption within the sailing community that insurance companies require rigging to be replaced after ten years, but I’ve found this is not actually the case; it’s far less prescriptive than that. A small crack has developed in this stemhead fitting just above the forestay clevis pin The IPID (Insurance Product Information Document) with your policy should give you a clear indication of what is covered in the event of a dismasting and may also provide some food for thought on when you should replace. Insurance companies do not stipulate a timeframe at which your standing rigging should be replaced, but they do stipulate that all parts of the boat should be regularly and appropriately checked and maintained. In the event of a dismasting claim, the insurance company would expect to see evidence of rigging maintenance and checks carried out at appropriate intervals by a qualified person; DIY inspections will not be accepted. It is also worth taking note that in most insurance policies a depreciation element will be applied. This normally constitutes a deduction of one third of the new value of a rig and would start to come into play when a rig approaches 10-12 years old. Emotional costThere’s a consequential impact of a dismasting which cannot be covered by an insurance claim, and that is the human and emotional cost. In my own sailing career I’ve had two failures of standing rigging components which I spotted while sailing and was able to jury rig for a safe return to port. I’ve also experienced a dismasting, and I can vouch that it’s not a pleasant experience. As a regular racer I take the health of my rig very seriously, perform checks before every major race and take my rig down annually for a thorough inspection. But this is the schedule that is right for me and the miles I sail, and would be considered overkill for the average sailor. Only you can give a proper evaluation of how often and how hard your boat is used, but that makes you ultimately responsible for setting the maintenance and replacement schedule. Metal fatigueWires can break, unseen, within swaged terminals Crack initiation starts when the metal first gets put to work and is caused by the cyclical loading of metal components. In the case of standing rigging on a sailing boat, this is the loading and unloading of shrouds and stays. Think about the windward shrouds loading up, while the leeward side relaxes: this cyclical loading causes cell structures to develop within the metal, these cells gradually harden and then develop microscopic cracks. The crack growth stage follows next and these microscopic cracks will develop into larger ones, which may eventually be visible to the naked eye on the surface of the metal component. The speed of the crack growth phase will alter depending on how often and how hard your rigging is put under load. Ultimate failure is caused when a crack exceeds a size that results in the component no longer supporting load. Failure will be sudden. First published in the September 2020 issue of Yachting World. Running Rigging CalculatorGet an instant estimate for your boat, select your boat brand. Leaves warehouse: 12 business days - Copyright 1998-2024 SB Owners, LLC. All rights reserved.
Average Sailboat Maintenance Costs (with 4 Examples)A lot of new boat owners overlook the maintenance costs of sailboats - and maintenance can get pricey quickly. To save you from surprises, here's a full overview of costs you can expect when owning a sailboat. What is the average sailboat maintenance cost? The average annual maintenance cost of sailboats is between $2,000 - $3,000. However, larger boats of 30 feet and up will cost considerably more. The actual total annual cost is $3,000 to $7,000, due to other recurring costs like docking and insurance fees. However, what you'll actually pay really depends on the type of boat you have and what you do with it. Not all maintenance is as important. If you're on a budget, you can maintain your boat reasonably well for just $1,000 / year. I'll explain how below. On this page:Breakdown of yearly maintenance cost, different costs for four situations, seasonal maintenance, recurring longterm maintenance, incidental maintenance costs, other costs to keep in mind. Let's start by getting a good overview of the different maintenance costs. Here's a full overview of all the recurring maintenance from most to least frequent. I'll explain each line item in detail later on. The average maintenance cost will be roughly $255 dollars per month for boats under 30' or just under $3,000 per year. Maintenance item | Frequency | Cost | Winterizing | each fall | $500 | Dewinterizing | each spring | $100 | Bottom paint | 2 years | $500 | Batteries | 4-6 years | $600 | Running rigging | 5-10 years | $5,000 | Sails | 5-10 years | $2,000 - $5,000 | Standing rigging | 10 years | $4,000 | Safety equipment | 10 years | $500 | Engine | 20 years | $5,000 | Deck hardware | 20-30 years | $1,500 | | | | As you can see, most of these costs are longterm recurring maintenance costs. Some of these might not apply to your situation. Also, there are a lot of costs you can save on substantially if you do simple maintenance yourself or have a simple boat. Let me explain. The total maintenance cost varies a lot, depending on the following factors: - length of the boat
- saltwater or freshwater use
- racing, cruising, or liveaboard use
- sail area and rig type of the boat
Still, we want a general feel of what to expect. That's why I've calculated the average maintenance costs for four different types of boat below: Maintenance cost for four boat types: Situation | What do you do? | Average cost | 40 ft bluewater cruiser | everything except winterizing | $3,225 | 24 ft daytripper | seasonal maintenance, hull, engine, rigging | $1,600 | 34 ft liveaboard | batteries, hull | $1,550 | 30 ft budget | only bare essentials | $275 | Your specific maintenance cost will vary depending on what type of boat you have and how you'll use it. Below, I'll go over four different situations and explain what type of maintenance you'll most likely will and won't do, and what the price tag is for each situation. 24 ft DaytripperMost people starting out will get a smaller size boat and use it for day trips and weekend trips. These boats have less moving parts and less critical parts. It will be important to maintain a couple of parts, though: With a first boat, you most likely won't invest in new sails or the standing rigging if you don't have to. The total maintenance cost for a small daytripper will average around $1,600 per year or $133 per month. Maintenance item | Frequency | Cost | Winterizing | each fall | $50 | Dewinterizing | each spring | $50 | Bottom paint | 2 years | $500 | Batteries | 4-6 years | $600 | Running rigging | 10 years | $5,000 | Sails | 10 years | $4,000 | Standing rigging | 20 years | $4,000 | Safety equipment | 10 years | $500 | | | | 30 ft Budget SailboatWhat would be the maintenance cost if you were on a tight budget? Well, for starters, I'd recommend doing most small maintenance yourself and ignore all non-essential. On sailboats, however, there aren't a lot of non-essential parts. But here are some things we could do out to save some big bucks: - don't set aside money for long-term recurring maintenance (rigging, sails, hardware, and batteries)
- don't outsource engine maintenance, instead do oil changes ourselves
- antifoul less frequently (every 4 years)
- budget DIY winterization
Winterizing your boat yourself can cost you as little as $50 for antifreeze and an oil change afterward. The total maintenance cost on a tight budget can get as low as $275 per year, or $23 per month. Maintenance item | Frequency | Cost | Winterizing | each fall | $50 | Dewinterizing | each spring | $50 | Bottom paint | 4 years | $500 | Safety equipment | 10 years | $500 | | | | 34 ft LiveaboardLiveaboards that don't really sail that much have less maintenance to do in one way, and more in another. The sails, rigging, and engine will be less critical if you won't take her out very often. Also, you'll have plenty of time doing odd jobs yourself, since you'll be living on the boat. On the other hand, it will be very important to maintain hull health, as even small leaks will lead to condensation and mold, which is horrible for your health and living standard. Replacing electronics won't be very important - however, your batteries will need to be replaced more often. Important maintenance: - hull cleaning and painting
- replacing batteries
If you live on a boat in a location where it falls below freezing temperature (good luck!). Maintenance item | Frequency | Cost | Winterizing | each fall | $500 | Dewinterizing | each spring | $100 | Bottom paint | 2 years | $500 | Batteries | 4-6 years | $600 | Safety equipment | 10 years | $500 | Engine | 20 years | $5,000 | | | | The total maintenance cost for a liveaboard will average around $1,550 per year or $129 per month. 40 ft Bluewater CruiserIf you own a bluewater cruiser, your maintenance cost will go up a lot. Saltwater is a lot more corrosive, and the stress on your rigging and sails will be higher. Sun wear and constant use will wear down the sails and rigging even more. Your engine will wear out faster, and you'll need more incidental repairs as well. The interval of longterm maintenance will increase dramatically in these conditions. On top of that, maintaining your boat properly is critical. In marine environments, everything can go wrong exactly one time for it to be critical. You want a reliable boat, which means you'll fix anything that needs fixing immediately. Your sail area will most likely also be larger, which means your sail replacement will be more expensive. One advantage is that you might not need to winterize if you're a fulltime cruiser since you'll probably spend your winters in Bermuda. Maintenance item | Frequency | Cost | Bottom paint | 2 years | $500 | Batteries | 4 years | $600 | Running rigging | 5 years | $5,000 | Sails | 5 years | $4,000 | Standing rigging | 10 years | $4,000 | Safety equipment | 10 years | $500 | Engine | 10 years | $5,000 | Deck hardware | 20 years | $1,500 | | | | The total maintenance cost for a bluewater cruiser will average around $3,225 per year or $269 per month. There are three types of maintenance:- seasonal maintenance - yearly recurring jobs
- long-term recurring maintenance
- incidental maintenance
Let's go over each type and break down which costs to expect exactly. WinterizingWinterization is an often-overlooked cost, but it can be one of the largest expenses each year. If you're like me, and not so lucky to live in Florida, you need to winterize your boat. Failing to winterize it will increase your maintenance cost over time, as the engine wears out more quickly, and your plumbing and equipment will fall apart. Winter storms and ice can damage the hull and mast as well. Learn all about the dangers of failing to winterize here . It's the best way to protect your boat in wintertime, period. It consists of two parts: - Winterizing - costs $500 to $1000 - This is the preparation for winter storage. You flush the cooling system with anti-freeze, and the boat gets wrapped in a shrink wrap cover.
- Winter storage - costs $50 per ft on average
Here's the full winterizing checklist For dry storage, part of the process can be to shrink wrap your boat. Now, this is expensive, and it is hard on the environment. Some boaters don't shrink wrap in the winter because of it. Here's the average cost to shrink wrap a boat AntifoulingYour boat will need bottom paint roughly every 2 years (could be longer, but to be safe, let's keep it at two). It's also called antifouling paint because it helps to protect your hull from weeds, barnacles, and so on. Barnacles can slice through your boat's bellow! So you don't want them on there. On average, it costs about $15 to $20 per foot to get your sailboat hull painted professionally. For a 26' sailboat, that's just 500 bucks. Money well spent. Read more on the cost of antifouling your boat Batteries have a limited number of charge cycles. Deep cycle batteries (which are best for household functionality) need replacing every 4-6 years and will cost roughly $600. If you use your batteries extensively, they will most likely need replacing after 3-4 years, for example, for liveaboards or full-time cruisers. Replacing the sailsGood quality cruising sails will need to be replaced every 10 years or so. The cost of new sails is on average: - 26' Bermuda Sloop rig will cost you about $1,000 - $2,500.
- 34' Bermuda Sloop rig will cost you about $3,000 - $5,000.
I won't go into detail, but I have written an in-depth article about the cost of new sails (opens in new tab). It's a really helpful post (with a formula) if you want to know what to expect. Replacing the standing riggingMost people that own a sailboat will have to replace the sails and rigging at least once in their lifetime. Replacing the mast is uncommon, but if you're unlucky and get demasted, it will need to be fixed. So I've added it to the "be aware this might happen" list - but won't add it to the monthly recurring costs. Standing rigging are the cables that support the mast. Click here for a full walkthrough with diagrams. If you need to replace the mast and boom, prepare to spend anywhere between $15,000 - $25,000. The cost of replacing the standing rigging is, on average, $4,000 every 10 years. Running riggingThe running rigging consists of all the lines, sheets, and so on that is used to haul and operate the sails. It wears with time due to UV exposure, flogging, strain from the wind, and regular use. In most cases, you'll only have to replace your running rigging every 5-10 years, but it will cost you $5,000 on average. Deck HardwareDeck hardware consists of the bullseyes, tiller , eye straps, cleats , and so on. All this small hardware needs to be replaced every 20-30 years and will amount to about $1,500. Engine & Engine PartsGas engines run for about 1,500 hours, diesel engines run for 5,000. After that, you'll need to change them out. Most engines will last you about 20 years, depending on the amount of use and whether you use it properly. Gas engine will last a lot less long than diesels. A standard 15HP or 20HP outboard gas engine will cost you about $5,000 - $6,000 and needs replacing every 20 years or so. If you do the work yourself, it's more something like $1,000 - $1,500. Read more on the lifetime expectancy of marine diesels here Replacing the engine- sailboats with inboard engine: $5,000 - $10,000
- sailboats with outboard engine: $1,000 - $1,500
- most powerboats (inboard engine): $15,000 - $35,000
- small outboard engines (2-5 hp): $1,000 - $1,500
- large outboard engines (100+ hp): $10,000+
- installation cost: $200 - $2,000
Installation PricesThe installation of the engine will cost a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars. With inboard engines, this is not something you can easily do yourself - it isn't just unscrewing a motor and screwing a new one in. The deciding factor of how much will this cost exactly is whether you can simply bolt the new engine in or whether you have to adjust all other parts, including shaft logs, exhausts, electrics, and so on. Of course, if you have an outboard engine the installation price will be nothing more than a few drops of sweat, swearing, and back pain for a day or two. Read more on boat engine replacement costs here. Risers and Manifolds- cost of 1 riser : $140 - $200
- cost of 1 exhaust manifold: $150 - $300
- cost of labor: $500 - $1,500
Most people need 2 risers + 2 exhaust manifolds. Parts total: $600 on average That's just what it is. Where you can really save some money, is on the labor. Labor total: $1,000 on average It's about a days worth of work. A professional needs roughly 8 hours to get the job done. Read more about the cost of replacing risers and manifolds here. Boat starter replacementInboard engine (and generator) starters cost from $40 - over $1,000 depending on the engine. Outboard starters run from about $100 - $500. Skilled marine technicians charge from $75 - $150 per hour. Your costs will range from a couple of hundred dollars for a small outboard up to over a thousand for a large or difficult to reach inboard. That's a broad range, but if you know what you need for your boat, then you can get a better idea of the cost. The final price depends on two things - what type of engine you have, and how hard it is to get to the starter. Read more on the average cost to replace a boat starter here. Replacing safety equipmentUSCG safety regulations require you to replace safety gear regularly. - Lifejackets have to be replaced every 10 years.
- Flares have to be replaced every 42 months. You could consider buying a LED electric distress light instead, which will last you a lifetime.
- If you carry a life-raft you'll need to replace that every 12 years as well.
Adhering to the minimum safety requirements shouldn't cost you more than 150 - 250 dollars every 5 years. But if you want the good stuff, need more fire extinguishers, plan on spending more like $600. If you want a life raft, that's another $1,500. To avoid you have to go cheap on your safety gear, I've put it in the budget for $500. If you want to know exactly what the USCG safety requirements are, including checklists , definitely check out my article here. - Hull repairs
- Electronics update
- Recovering a sunken boat
- Sailboat mast replacement
- Keel repairs
- Rudder repairs
- Replacing or refabricing boat cushions
One-time costs:- Registration : costs of registration differ per state, but usually run anywhere from $3 - $10 per foot.
- Taxes : differs per state and country. Most governments want you to pay property tax and sales tax. Sales tax is usually about 5%. Property tax varies and is more complex, so I'll leave that up to you to figure out.
- Trailer : $1,000
- Sailing club initiation fee : $1,500 - $4,000
Recurring costs:- Mooring : $10-15 per foot per year (can be much higher for prime locations)
- Insurance : typically 1.5% of the total value of the boat. So a $50,000 26' cruiser will cost 750 bucks.
- Maintenance : a good rule of thumb is 10% of the boat value. Expect to spend anywhere between $500 - $2,500 per year for small to mid-sized boats.
- Fuel : depends on how much you use the boat and the engine, but on average something between $100 - $150. - Find out how much fuel a sailboat uses in my article here (opens in new tab).
- International License : if you want to sail on international waters, you have to get your ICC (International Certificate of Competence ). Plan on spending anywhere between 400 to 500 dollars.
- Safety equipment : plan on spending anywhere between 150 to 600 bucks for lifejackets, first aid kit, and distress signals.
- Winterize boat : $2,000
- Sailing club: $800 - $1,500
Vonnie HarringtonDear improvesailing.com webmaster, Your posts are always well-supported by facts and figures. Tressa ValenciaTo the improvesailing.com admin, Your posts are always well-referenced and credible. Leave a commentYou may also like, how much sailboats cost on average (380+ prices compared). Turns out that owning a sailboat is pretty affordable. OK, it isn't cheap, but it can absolutely be done on a budget. In this article, I'll show you exactly what to … How Much Does it Cost to Dock a Boat for a Year?How Much Do New Sails Cost?The Average Cost to Shrink Wrap a Boat (per foot)The Cost of a Boat Engine ReplacementThe LogbookThe captain's notebook, first mate's journal, ports of call, the book locker, photography by laura, cruising lealea on youtube. I have now replaced the standing rigging on Lealea, V1860, twice. The first time only because a number of years had passed since the original rigging was set up and I figured that it was better to renew the rig before the mast came crashing down. The second time was because the wire I had used the first time turned out to be defective and started unraveling half way between Honolulu and Cape Flattery. I am not an expert rigger but I am capable of learning from my own mistakes as well as from the experience of others. Lessons learned: I learned that all stainless steel wire is now made in Asia. Even though the spool may be marked “Made in USA”, that only means that the wire rope was laid up in the US. The strands used and the steel they are made of comes from offshore. Caveat emptor. The original rigging was made in Europe and is vastly superior to anything available on the market today, as are most of the original equipment pieces on the Vega. We must keep in mind, however, that even the best quality rigging will eventually reach the end of its useful life and must be replaced. As a result of our experience and after examining the wire we replaced after our Pacific crossing in 2007, now recommends that new wire be examined inch by inch under a microscope before use; a tedious and time consuming process. To inspect your existing standing rigging, the best way is to take it down so you can easily access both ends and the entire length comfortably and safely. This may not be practical. A good alternative is to carefully inspect the areas most subject to failure which are the lower end fittings and the first few inches of wire. First clean and polish the fittings then examine them with a powerful magnifying glass. You are looking for cracks or deep pitting. If you find any, in any of the swaged end fittings or in any of the individual strands of wire it is time to replace the rig. While you are at it, check the turnbuckles, toggles and chain plates. It is my opinion that if you still have the original turnbuckles on your Vega, it is probably time to replace them but it will be difficult, if not impossible to obtain replacements of equal quality steel today. If the rig checks out you are probably good for another season of day sailing and weekending in local waters. If your plans include serious racing, extended voyaging to distant shores or if you found defects in your rig it is time to replace it. This is no place to scrimp or cut corners. While it is possible to replace the rig with the mast standing, it is much easier and safer to work with the mast on sawhorses at waist level. If you are preparing for cruising or a season of racing, you should already have the mast down as part of the inspection process. This is a good time to completely inspect and recondition the mast. I’ll cover that another time. With apologies to Bree, there is more than one way to skin a cat. This article assumes that you are not going to simply call the boat yard and tell them to replace your standing rigging but there are several options for the do-it-yourself Skipper. Which option you choose will depend on your budget, how involved in the process you wish to be or how much of the work you want to do yourself, what geographic area you sail in and what your long term sailing plans are. The easiest way would be to simply take your old wire to a rigging shop and have them make up new stays and shrouds with swaged end fittings. The lowest cost would be for you measure the old rigging and order new stays and shrouds with swaged end fittings from a chandlery (West Marine offers a rigging service that has proved satisfactory for many sailors). The highest cost and most work would be to buy the wire and cut and assemble the rigging your self using mechanical end fittings. The advantages of swaged fittings installed by a rigging shop are that the end product is less costly and less work for the boat owner. You have no doubt noticed that all new boats come with swaged end fittings on the standing rigging. This is not because they are better. It is because they are cheaper, both in materials and in labor, providing you have the machine and a trained operator. If you decide on swaged fittings, shop around. Swaged fittings are as good as the swage machine used and the skill of the operator. Properly done they are as strong as the wire itself but there will be no way for you to tell. Choose your rigging shop wisely. The other option is to buy the wire and make up your own rigging using mechanical end fittings like Sta-Lok or Norseman brand. These two are slightly different but work on the same principle. The same skills and tools are required and the same procedures apply. We used Sta-Lok fittings on Lealea but everything here applies equally to Norsemans. After you have decided on swaged vs. mechanical fittings comes the choice of wire. The stainless steel alloys most commonly used in rigging are 304, stronger and cheaper, and 316 more corrosion resistant but more expensive. If your long term plans include sailing in the tropics, choose 316. If in doubt, check with your local chandlery, rigger or marine surveyor which is best in your area. I have been asked for the specifications as to length of the shrouds and stays for the Vega. Yes, it would be nice if you could just look up the specs and order the whole rig. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. All the riggers I have talked to have told me that manufacturer’s specifications, especially on a boat as old as the Vega, are meaningless. The boat may have been re-rigged or modified by a previous owner. There may have been differences between individual boats during production. They want the actual measurements from the individual boat to be rigged. Before you take the mast down make sure the mast is straight and the shrouds are properly tensioned. The stays are less critical if your Vega has an adjustable backstay. Take note of each turnbuckle. Measure the overall length of the turnbuckle. Record the pin-to-pin length for each. If any are “Two blocked” or let all the way out you will have to take this into account in your measurements for the new wire. If you are replacing turnbuckles or adding toggles don’t forget to take that into account. When the new rig is adjusted the turnbuckles should all be approximately at the mid point of their adjustment range. If your rig does not include toggles at the bottom of the shrouds, consider adding them. Don’t forget to factor them into your measurements. Once the decisions are made and the mast is resting on sawhorses the first step is to get a roll of masking tape and tag each shroud and stay. Mark them: “Port Aft Lower”, “Port Upper” and so forth. In theory, and no doubt in the manufacture of new boats, both sides are the same length. Yours may or may not be. You need to know. Mark them before you take them off the mast. Once they are marked, get a one quart yogurt or cottage cheese container and a pair of needle nose pliers. You will probably need a can of penetrating oil or WD-40 and a non-metallic mallet and drift as well. Starting at the masthead, remove the cotter pins from the clevis pin that holds the head stay to the toggle. Leave the toggle there but soak the pin that holds the toggle with penetrating oil or WD-40. We’ll get to that later. Throw the cotter pin away. Put the clevis pin in the cottage cheese container and coil the stay. Secure the coil with masking or duct tape and lay it aside. Easy, wasn’t it? Now that you’ve built some confidence remove the pin from the back stay at the masthead and soak the large pin like before. You will have to disassemble the split backstay so move back down to where the upper and lower backstays are connected and take a look. I have seen two or three different set ups for the connection. Lealea originally had a nicro-press fitting forming a loop in the middle of the lower backstay wire with swaged fittings on the ends. We replaced that the first time we re-rigged with two triangle plates and two separate lower backstays. However your backstays are arranged, they will be held together with clevis pins and cotter pins. Remove the cotter pins and throw them away. Put the clevis pins in the cottage cheese container. Coil and tape the wires. OK. Now you know the drill. Remove the shrouds. Throw away the cotter pins and save the clevis pins. Coil and tape the wire. If you are having your new rigging made up at a rigging shop just bundle up all the wire and take it to them along with the notes and measurements you took of the turnbuckles before you took the mast down. Let them know if you plan to replace the turnbuckles or add toggles. Put it all in writing and make sure you both clearly undersand what is to be done. If you are going to order your rigging made up from a chandlery or West Marine, its time to take some careful measurements. If you are lucky, you have access to a wooden wharf or pier where you can lay out your old rigging, get some large nails and a hammer. Drive a nail into the wharf leaving an inch and a half or so sticking up and put the eye of the end fitting over it. Stretch the wire out tightly along the wharf and nail the other end. Measure. Record. Repeat. Put on your thinking cap. Get out the notes you took when the mast was up and the rig adjusted. Do the math. Don’t stress out too much. This is not rocket science. A half inch one way or the other won’t make much difference but there is no reason to be sloppy either. Be as accurate as you can, check your work and go with it. Are the measurements of the shrouds, left and right, the same? Close? Within and inch? Good. You know what to do. Fill out the form or whatever and place your order. OK, You two guys just chill out for few minutes. I’ll get back to you in a bit. You are probably wondering; if swaged fittings are both less expensive and easier and are universally used as original equipment on new boats, why would anyone choose anything else? The main reason, and it is a big one, is that with mechanical end fittings you don’t need a big machine to make up new rigging or effect repairs. You can do it yourself. Also, if you keep your boat long enough to do the job twice, the second time is vastly less expensive than any other option because the end fittings are re-usable. You can re-rig the boat for just the cost of the wire and new wedges. If you have decided to go with mechanical fittings, lay out your old rig and measure the eye to eye length of each piece, do the math, make the adjustments and record the results. Go to the chandlery or rigging shop and buy the wire and end fittings. You may want to discuss the project with the riggers. It can’t hurt. They may have some advice or be willing to help. Port Townsend Rigging was a big help to us. They insisted on cutting the shrouds and stays for us, let us use their shop and inspected Lealea’s old fittings to make sure they were good enough to re-use. After we finished they came to the boat and checked my work. If you come back with one long coil of wire instead of individual shrouds and stays pre-cut to length. Here is a way to cheat a little: Drive two nails side by side in the wharf about two inches apart. Slip the eye of one of your old wires over one of them, stretch it out and nail down the other end. Install a new fitting on one end of the new wire and slip it over the other nail, stretch it out alongside the old wire. If the old wire is the correct length, just cut the new wire and install the new fitting. If not, make the adjustment. A clean cut is essential. If you have to cut the wires yourself, you will either have to buy a heavy duty, good quality cutter; or use a guide block and hacksaw. A guide block is nothing more than a piece of 2”X2” lumber with a hole drilled lengthwise and a guide cut halfway through bisecting the hole. I have had the best results with the hacksaw and block method and it has the advantage of not requiring a tool you probably will need to go out and buy. Tape, measure and mark the wire. Slip the end to be cut through the hole in the block. Line up the mark with the guide cut and cut off with the hacksaw. Now that you have a good clean cut, disassemble one of the new end fittings and slip the nut over the end of the wire. Un-lay the outer layer of wire from the core and slip the wedge over the core. Re-lay the outer wires over the wedge, sliding the nut up as you do to hold the wires in place while being careful not to get any of the strands in the slot in the wedge. This will prevent the wedge from compressing and the fitting will not assemble properly. Once the wire is neatly re-layed, screw the other half of the fitting, the eye, down over the wedge and the wire to form the outer layer over the wedge. Not too tight, Just enough to begin to form the outer wires. Remove the end and check to make sure the strands are evenly spaced around the wedge and none of them have fallen into the slot. Fill the socket of the eye end with sealant. I used silicone, the riggers from PT Rigging use Sikaflex. Take your pick. Screw the fitting together. This time hold the nut in a vice or large adjustable wrench and use a wrench to tighten but don’t use anything longer than six inches to crank the fitting down. Too much force will deform the relatively soft 316 stainless steel fitting and render it unsuitable for re-use later. Sealant should squeeze out around the wire at the base of the fitting. Wipe the excess off with a rag. Good job. One down, nineteen more to go. Back to the mast. At the masthead we left the pins that hold the toggles for the head stay and back stay soaking in penetrating oil. With luck, they will now come out without too much effort but you may need a mallet and a drift. First remove the cotter pins and throw them away. Then remove the large pins and the toggles and put them in the cottage cheese container Leave the toggles that secure the upper shrouds in place. Moving down the mast to the spreaders, remove the bolts that hold the spreaders and put them in you container. Put the spreaders someplace where they won’t get stepped on, tripped over or sat on. Now remove the toggles for the lower shrouds. These are just stainless steel tabs that fold over pins swaged or peened into aluminum ears welded to the mast below the spreaders. Just push them off with your hand. You may need to spread them a little but it shouldn’t take too much effort. If you are going to re-use your turnbuckles, go get them and bring them and your cottage cheese container full of stainless steel bits back to your garage or workshop. Bring along the spreaders too. For this next step you will need a bench motor with a buffing wheel and some jeweler’s rouge and a polishing disc (like a green pad only brown). Don’t forget your eye protection. (You can do without the power tool but the process will be very time consuming) Clean and polish all of the toggles, turnbuckles and the large pins until they look like new. Using a good magnifying glass, carefully examine each piece for cracks, excessive pitting and deformed or elongated holes. If you are too cheap to buy new clevis pins start polishing them too. When you’re done inspect for pitting and cracks. Otherwise, throw them away and buy new ones. On Lealea there are 36 3/8 inch pins in the standing rig. At $5 each as of September 2007, it’s worth considering. The spreaders need a bit more care than the stainless steel stuff. Being made of aluminum, they are a bit more fragile. Remove the steel bales from the tips and the bolts that hold them. Clean and polish the tips and bases and inspect for cracks. Some corrosion, especially at the tips is inevitable. The spreaders are nothing more than aluminum tubes with end fittings attached. If the end fittings are cracked or badly corroded you will have to repair or replace them. This could present a problem as new replacements are not readily available. You may have to have them fabricated. I was able to have a machine shop weld up and re-machine a cracked inboard spreader fitting. The machinist commented “Lucky they used such high quality alloy in this”. You may have to get creative to find alternative solutions if your spreaders are damaged beyond repair. When you go to pick up your new rigging from the shop, don’t forget to pick up new clevis pins and a box of cotter pins sized for the pins you buy. If you are re-using your old clevis pins, bring one along so you can be sure to get the right size cotter pins. If possible spring for the higher price 316 stainless cotter pins. You will be glad you did. Regardless, use a magnet to test the cotter pins before you use them. When buying in bulk, it is not uncommon to find mild steel (Which will quickly rust away to nothing) mixed in. Pick up marine grade stainless steel replacements for the bolts that held the spreaders and spreader tip bales and stainless steel nylock nuts to secure them. Before you leave the chandlery there is one more thing you will need: A tub of Lanocote, AKA “Sheep grease”. Pick up some ice and beer on the way back to the boat. Time to re-install the pins and toggles at the mast head, re-attach the spreaders and the toggles for the shrouds below them. Remember how hard it was to get those pins out at the masthead? Use Lanocote liberally anywhere stainless steel comes in contact with aluminum as well as on the threads of your turnbuckles. Attach the shrouds, head stay and upper back stay to the mast. You may or may not want to assemble and attach the lower back stay at this time: Your call. It depends mostly on how high above the deck your upper and lower back stays connect. I attach my lowers to the chain plates and connect the upper and lower last. In part, how you do this will depend on whether you raise your mast yourself using a tabernacle or call for the crane. Run the upper shrouds over the spreaders and attach the bales. Spreader boots will protect your sails from chafe and hold water against the spreader tips causing corrosion. Port Townsend Rigging recommended leather boots. If you use plastic boots make sure they are slit open on the underside of the spreader to allow moisture to drain. Regardless, coat the spreader tips liberally with Lanocote. When the rig is set up, the spreaders should be angled upward slightly. The angle should bisect the triangle formed by the shroud and the mast and is fixed by the inboard spreader base fitting. On the Vega, the spreaders are free to fold upward. Tug on the signal flag halyards to ensure the spreaders are seated against the mast at the pre-set angle. If you don’t have flag halyard blocks on the spreaders, you will have to rig a light line over the spreader to seat it or go up in a bosun’s chair to push it down. Once the mast is up and everything is connected, set up the shrouds to the desired tension by holding the eye fitting on the end of the wire with a wrench so as not to disturb the lay while you turn the body of the turnbuckle. You may think that this is obvious but I have seen too many boat owners setting up rigging by twisting the body of the turnbuckle with a screwdriver and ignoring the wire. You may want to have a rigger check the tension of your rig but beware the rigger or anyone who wants to tune the rig as if it were a violin. Too tight is not good and can contribute to mast step compression. Everyone has their own idea of how tight the rig should be so I won’t go into that here. I tune mine on the loose side but I don’t race and I sail conservatively. Once you are satisfied with the adjustments, safety wire or cotter pin the turnbuckles. That beer should be nice and frosty by now. | powered by Network Solutions® | - Forums New posts Unanswered threads Register Top Posts Email
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Replacing standing rigging- Thread starter Berkeley 30
- Start date Nov 8, 2023
- Catalina Owner Forums
- Catalina 30
Berkeley 30We've got a 1985 Catalina 30 with standard rig and the standing rigging needs to be replaced. It has a roller furler and there's basically no way we can replace it ourselves (you have to cut off the fitting at the bottom of the stay, slide the sections off, put them back onto the new stay, and then swage on the new fitting after putting the foil onto the stay). So, off to the rig shop. We were horrified to discover that the yards we called around here (SF Bay Area) wanted upwards of $8,000 to do the job, including a place that planned to do it with the mast in the boat. Does this sound as crazy to others as it does to us? Is there a more affordable way to do this? I know we could take the other wires off the boat ourselves and schlepp them down to the rigger to have new one's fabricated, but I'm guessing that wouldn't take a huge amount off the cost. (I'm waiting for a quote on that.) Are we missing something? Don S/V ILLusionThe cheapest way to re-rig is to remove the mast. You can replace the forestay yourself if you use swageless fittings such as Sta-Lok for one or both ends. The cheap part of re-rigging is the cost of the wire and fittings. The expensive part is paying for the labor to install the rigging. For reference the total cost of the wire and swaged end fittings for our 36' boat was only about $3500. We removed the rigging and sent it to Rigging Only in Fairhaven, MA. They duplicate the rigging and sent it back. We did not replace the turn buckle barrels or the deck studs. It is easiest, and a DIY job if the mast is down. This also gives you the chance to replace any wiring or lights that may need attention. Using Standard-lock fittings is also a DIY option. Rigging Only dlochner said: Using Standard-lock fittings is also a DIY option. Rigging Only Click to expand In 2018 I paid $1900 for my C30 standing rigging, except the forestay. The mast was down so the rigger took off all the rigging, went back to his shop to make up the new and back to the boat to install. When inspected the fuller he determined it was less than 10 years old so the forestay didn’t need to be changed. Tally Ho said: Is that Sta-Loc ? Spell check correction? Or a new fitting it was not aware of? Greg Click to expand SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & JohnIt is one of those Boat challenges that happens on a 38 year old rig. Noted you are in the San Francisco Bay. Your rig gets a work out greater than some sailing only on sunny moderate wind days. In the Bay Area $8K is not a surprise. My 35ft boat was $11K. Mast was down for 3 months (boat was in it’s slip no need for the boat to be out on the hard all that time). I had the mast stripped and rebuilt by a master rigger to ocean passage standards. This carried a higher cost. I know a Catalina 36 that had the standing rig replaced in Canada 2 years ago. Cost was about $4K USD. The mast stayed in place and the rig was replaced one line at a time while at the dock. I believe it was a 3day project. I started with the info about your sailing location. You want to careful about how the work is done. How long you want to sail and what type of sailing you plan to do on the boat. A rig failure is not a good option in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. Project_MayhemCatalina Direct has new standing rigging for the tall rig for less than $1200. Since your in SF, lets jack up the price for mast stepping and call it 3k. Add in some wiggle room and we're at $4500 Standing Rigging Kit for C-30 Tall Rig, Custom Match - This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Accept Learn more…
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Rigging Redo: A Switch to Synthetic- By Behan Gifford
- August 23, 2024
Updating the standing rigging on our Stevens 47, Totem , wasn’t an intentional part of the 40-year refit that we recently completed. We had re-rigged in 2019, anticipating our departure to the South Pacific in spring 2020. The pandemic scratched that, and we embarked on a significant refit in 2021 that instead left this rig on saw horses for a year and a half. Putting the rig back up was among the last tasks during our extended stay at Cabrales Boatyard in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. As we neared mast-stepping day in November 2023, my husband, Jamie, busted out his rigging kit. That’s how we refer to the 10X loupe that serves as the key for scrutinizing components at a level that human eyes just can’t do without magnification. Some halyards showed age and wear, but we already knew this and had a replacement Dyneema/polyester double braid replacement line on hand. The one surprise? Totem ’s backstay. Our Backstay’s Weak LinkNew in 2019, the wire still looked fine, as did the swages. But two Sta-Lok insulators on the backstay —an assembly that enables that aft wire to be used as an antenna for single sideband radio—didn’t. Surface crazing on the black nylon portion of the insulators, which were added in 2008, suggested ultraviolet degradation. During our 2019 rerig, we chose to reuse the backstay insulators. The fittings inspected well. Some people consider mechanical rigging terminals such as Sta-Lok, Hayn Hi-MOD and Norseman to be indefinitely reusable. They’re not. Jamie considers their lifespan at two rigging cycles (or about 20 years) maximum. Our old insulators met safe criteria, so we saved money by keeping them. Still, we knew to look out for trouble. In the past few years, friends on two different cruising boats had rig failures due to broken insulators. Both crews practice good seamanship and don’t skimp on safety. Melissa White has written about losing the backstay on Galapagos (in her blog, Little Cunning Plan , and also in 48°N magazine ), three weeks into a passage from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest. With only 500 nautical miles to Cape Flattery, Washington, their insulator snapped in half in the rolling swells of the North Pacific Ocean. They were in conditions that allowed them to stabilize the rig, and they altered course to a closer point of landfall. The crew of Miles wasn’t so lucky: When their insulator failed, their rig came down . Never mind the fact that they’d had a rigging inspection only months before, and no faults had been found. When they dismasted, they were in degrading conditions approximately 100 miles east of Eleuthera, Bahamas. In an admirable effort, they secured the wreckage and bashed overnight to the nearest safe harbor in San Salvador. So, Jamie took another look at our setup last November, and he condemned Totem ’s insulator. The conclusion was easy, but the decision about next steps was not. We were days from putting Totem back in the water, looking for a weather window to sail south. Five family members were flying to meet us in a bay 800 nautical miles south of the boatyard. Any delay in stepping would make us late for the family Christmas. Could we get to Puerto Vallarta with the existing backstay, or could the rig be compromised on our trip south? And, in the time between putting insulators on the new rig in 2019 and wrapping an extensive refit in 2023, we had changed our stance on single sideband use. Once our only offshore communication, the hardware no longer earned a place on Totem because multiple satellite options are available today. Since we weren’t installing the SSB , we didn’t need new insulators. This opened options to consider in replacing the backstay. One of those options was Dyneema, which is a strong, lightweight line made from synthetic ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers. Dynex Dux is Dyneema that’s put through another cycle of heating and stretching to get every fiber in every yarn bundle to be exactly the same length. It’s lightweight, super strong and has virtually no stretch, making it a great alternative to wire for rigging. We knew this because in 2008, Jamie had installed a Dynex Dux solent stay and inner forestay on Totem . He had also installed a Dux backstay on a friend’s boat in Puerto Rico in 2017, and loved the results. With Totem now our focus, we reached out to Colligo Marine, the US distributor for Dynex Dux, rebranded as Colligo Dux . Colligo’s founder, co-owner and lead engineer, John Franta, helped us. Picking up the backstay became a perfect excuse for us to drive to Southern California for Thanksgiving with cousins. (Shipping into Mexico is fraught with issues.) Barely a week later, we were on our way back to Mexico with the new backstay in hand. Shifting forward a few weeks, Totem was in Banderas Bay in time for family Christmas, after a conservative sail south with the old backstay in place. The new one was installed in the slip at Marina Riviera Nayarit. The hardest part of replacing the backstay with the mast up? Detaching and lowering the old backstay, because it was so heavy. The new stay was in place minutes later. Wire vs. Synthetic RiggingIf Dux is so great, why didn’t we replace all of our standing rigging with it back in 2019? Well, we did think about it. At the time, Jamie chose wire because of the cost of additional hardware necessary in the shift to synthetic rigging. We simply didn’t have the resources to consider the upgrade. There are other considerations for a switch to synthetic rigging, too. They include abrasion, chafe, ultraviolet longevity and thermal expansion. Stainless steel wire has just as many issues and is harder to inspect well. Our new backstay was an easy choice this time around because of the weight savings, ease of installation and absence of chafe points. We’re now getting ready to sail around 2,000 nautical miles from Hawaii to Micronesia. We aren’t sure yet if we’ll make landfall in Tarawa, Kiribati, or sail the slightly shorter distance to Majuro, Marshall Islands. Ideally, we can visit Tarawa first (it’s harder to get there later), but the weather will make the decision for us. Meanwhile: Totem Talks will be on again before we sail west. For this next free livestream, we’ll have a circumnavigation roundtable with our friend and neighbor here in Hawaii, Dustin Reynolds . He didn’t just circumnavigate: Dustin holds a Guinness World Record for the first solo voyage around the world by a double amputee (arm and leg).Bring your voyaging questions, and sign up to be notified by email for the date of the livestream. - More: DIY Projects , Hands-On Sailor , How To , rigging , Sailing Totem
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running rigging replacement cost for a 30ftI had an idea to hire out running rigging replacement on a 30ft sloop, with nothing fancy, just a double braid polyester. The estimate turned out to be 1700-2000+. So I told the rigger to replace just the main halyard for now (and I will do the rest by myself). He wants close to $500 for the halyard. This seems like at least 4x or 5x the cost of materials. Does this seem reasonable or am being taken for a ride? Don't know about the price but you may want to consider sta-set-x for the halyard as it is only a few penny's more than stay-set (double braid) but with less stretch. Also I would want to know if the shivs need replacing as that would up the cost. So if your mast is what less than 40' and you have the halyard run back to the cockpit you have maybe 90' of line probably 5/16" or 3/8" at about a $1.00 a foot retail and possibly a new shackle and about two hours maybe three at $100 an hour it looks like 3 to 4 hundred might be closer unless you are not telling us something. Like the boat is on a mooring a mile out in the harbor and the line parted and the mast needs to be climbed. Here is a tip: do it yourself. It is actually pretty easy to do. Halyards are pretty easy to replace by stitching the new line onto an end of the old line and pulling it through. David is right that if your sheaves at the top of the mast are messed up this can be much more difficult to do. Most of the lines on your boat are easy to replace but the line may cost a significant amount of money. I'd guess that you could replace ALL your running rigging on a Tartan 30 for under $500 in materials. I'd consider getting this sewing tool to attach the 2 lines together: BAINBRIDGE INTL Needle at West Marine be smart about burning the ends of each line you cut. When we got our Taran 27' about 8 years ago the PO spent the day with me and we replaced a sheet and and a halyard together. It was not difficult to do without going up the mast in a boasuns chair. There is also the trick of using a paper clip that has been bent into a double hook arrangement to grab each end of the line. You don't really want a joint between the lines that is fatter so splicing might or might not work as well as just sewing the two bitter ends together and covering with the rigging tape of your choice. I also really like to know how my running rigging lines are routed. DIY makes sense to me. CalebD said: There is also the trick of using a paper clip that has been bent into a double hook arrangement to grab each end of the line. You don't really want a joint between the lines that is fatter so splicing might or might not work as well as just sewing the two bitter ends together and covering with the rigging tape of your choice. I also really like to know how my running rigging lines are routed. DIY makes sense to me. Click to expand... I replaced the main halyard and spin halyard on my previous boat. Had the eye splices done by Defender's rigging service and pulled them through using a light messenger with the mast up. Pretty easy job. Zib, I'm with Caleb on this one. $300 worth of labor, hell, I'd be ashamed if it took me a single hour to replace an existing line with a new one. Buy an extra ten feet of line and a splicing kit and video, spend some time learning how to splice in whatever the end fitting will be and consider yourself well paid by the savings. Or run a messenger line with the old halyard, then drop the new line and eye off at a shop and have someone make the splice. That surely can't cost more than $75....and you can still feed the new halyard "backwards" with the messenger line that way. The rigger's time is certainly worth money, but three hours at a hundred apiece to run a halyard...I hope that includes a titanium shackle, because the price of gold is only $1600 an ounce these days and 24k plating doesn't need a dollar's worth of it. I just spent an inordinate amount of time researching and then purchasing new running rigging. Fortunately I have all the original specs for my sailboat ... if you don't try looking here Sailboatdata.com is the worlds largest sailboat and sailing yacht database with more than 8000 sailboats, sailing yachts, and sailing dingies listed. I'm modifying deck layout and running everything back to the cockpit ... no real existing hardware (I have to purchase) so it was relatively easy to spec size. I sketched out each and every line ... measured what I could to determine what I wanted/needed ... read as many posts as I could here and on Cruiser's Forum and Anything Sailing regarding grade and quality ... personally spoke with 2 riggers and 3 chandleries ... got quotes from Cajun Rope (good place to look and compare notes as they have premade kits id'd for many size boats) and two other places as well as searching ebay for bulk ... and in the end ... ending up purchasing at R&W Rope ... (as suggested by SailingDog somewhere here awhile ago) ... great helpful people and very competitive pricing ... You might just give them a try ... (no affliation) and yes ... do it yourself ... I'm 63 and not the most mechanically inclined ... but it sure aids in learning ... hope this helps ... John zibadun, 900 is out of the question. And why would you feel obliged to do business with someone who didn't give you a good faith quote on work you offered him? Your request for quote shouldn't be considered "bothering him" since he should be in business to be bothered by customers and happy for it. If you are not rerouting lines on deck and needing new hardware, running rigging should cost you not much more than the cost of the line. Splicing is easy with a little practice. I had never spliced double braid until last year. I picked up a couple of books and the splicing tools needed and practiced a bit, and now can put an eye splice in a line in just a few minutes. Also learned to back splice to terminate the ends of my running rigging. You should be able to re-use your halyard shackles if you are using the same size line you currently have. It's great to be self sufficient in every area you can be, and splicing running rigging is a skill you'll be happy to have. All the best, Will I replaced all my running rigging w/ sta set custom ordered thru west marine for about 750. My boat is a 27 catalina and this included: main halyard w/ shackle jib halyard w/ shackle main sheet jib sheet travelers headsail furling line lazy jacks topping lift w/ shackle boom vang line also, it takes about 5 minutes to replace a halyard, assuming the new one has the shackle and you dont have to go up the mast. I used twist tie wire that i removed the plastic coating from and "sewed" both ends together. Then i finished it w/ electrical tape. Worked great. 'Cept I got lazy and didnt bother sewing the lazy jack line since the halyards went so easy. I jerked hard on the wrong end of the line by accident and it did indeed separate. I had a guy from the marina reach the block with the line, which was about 10' off the deck with a ladder. cost me about $500 to do Main, jib ,spinnaker halyards, topping lift and spinnaker pole topping lift, all with 3/8 Sta-Set line on my Alberg 30. I of course did this myself and lit took all of a morning. This also was buying 3 new shackles. I could never afford to sail if I had to pay someone repair simple things. I think you should try and tackle it.....Should be no problem! Sta-set is cheap. are you asking for a replacement shackle? New splice in the line? Is it parallel core? If it's a double braid then it should be something like $60-$80 for the line. 70 for the splice 50ish for the install. So at the high end, it'll be $200. Where are you located? I do rigging on the side, and could do it for less than 1/2 with better materials. For future reference, replacing an existing halyard is a piece of cake. Quick and cheap. It takes all of 10 minutes and $5.00 worth of supplies. 1. Go to Home Depot and buy some super 33+ electrical tape- regular tape works but this stuff is 7 mil vinyl and stretchy. 2. Cut the shackle off the old halyard. 3. Butt the old halyard head end and the new halyard tail end together, wrap a couple of turns of tape tightly around the joint. 4. Spiral wrap (with gaps) from a foot above the joint to a foot below the joint. Wrap tightly. 5. Spiral wrap as above in the opposite direction. 6. Test by pulling as hard as you can. The joint shouldn't come apart as the spiral wrap compresses when you load it. 7. Pull halyard through mast. 8. Cut the tape off and you are done. Works every time- easy and very little skill. My suggestion for your halyard would be 8MM Novabraid Syntec from R&W Rope Warehouse. $.74/foot. Lower stretch than Sta=Set X for less money. I have no affiliation with anyone in the cordage business. To be official I checked with my rigger and he said he would figure an hour plus materials. Sta-setx is about $1.00 a foot retail, the high-tech stuff can be 3 bucks or more so unless there is more to the job than we know it should be closer to $200 than to $500 for the standard cordage based on these calculations. I used Sampson XLS Extra T and did the main and jib sheets, main, 2 jib and spin halyards, boom lift, ie 2nd main halyard for lack of better term. Probably spent 1200-1500 including new shackles and having Fisheries in Seattle do the eye splices at about $20 per. I have a 38' mast on my 30' boat! 50-100' jib, AS sheets, do not remember the main sheet or halyard off the top of my head, will swag halyards at about 70-80', inlcuding 10' for running back to cockpit along cabin top........I did the work myself other than the eye splices! Marty all understood about the job cost. I have pointed the rigger to this thread and he can reply, if he likes. Thanks guys so much for your help, especially for tips on how to DIY. Top Contributors this Month | | |
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Small sailboat (up to 30 feet) A 25-foot sailboat may require replacement of the forestay, backstay, and upper shrouds, which could cost around $2,500 to $3,500, including the cost of the rigging and labor. For small sailboats, the cost of replacing standing rigging can range from $2,000 to $5,000.
Good question. Yes, doing it yourself will theoretically save money. For an average 40-foot boat, Cockerill estimates about $100 per foot to re-rig with wire rigging ($4,000), as well as the round-trip cost to haul and launch the boat and unstep and step the rig (an additional $2,500 or so).
The estimated cost of replacing your boat's running rigging with sheets is around $1,700-$2,000+. For an average 40-foot boat, you can expect to pay around $4,000 for wire rigging replacement, which may include control lines. The average maintenance cost for boats under 30 feet is around $255 per month, or just under $3,000 per year, so you ...
For a small boat (under 30 feet), you can expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $2000 for standing rigging replacement. For a medium-sized boat (30-50 feet), the cost will be somewhere between $2000 and $4000. And for a large boat (over 50 feet), you should budget for at least $4000, and potentially much more depending on the size and condition ...
The cost of replacing the standing rigging will vary greatly depending on the size of your boat and the location you get the job done. For my 41 feet sloop, I did most of the installation myself and paid approximately $4700 for the entire rig replacement.
The cost to replace standing rigging obviously varies from boat to boat. Give us a call, and we can give you a rough quote. With proper measurements (wire diameter, pin sizes, wire lengths), we can give you a very accurate price for the standing rigging itself, but there are often unforeseen complications during the job (bad spreaders, corroded ...
The cost of rod rigging replacement ranges from $8,000 to $20,000. The cost of materials averages from $5,000 to $10,000, while the cost of labor is between $2,000 and $5,000. Expenses for equipment range from $1,000 to $2,000, while the cost of permits or inspections is estimated to be around $500 to $1,000.
Aug 14, 2015. It's one of the most important features on a sailboat, but many owners put standing rigging at the back of their minds when it comes time to do their pre-season safety checks. A prudent sailor should inspect his or her standing rig at least once each season and should know when the time comes to replace most or all of it.
Inadequate rig tension can lead to excessive wear on other components such as sails or mast fittings, increasing their replacement frequency and cost. In conclusion, understanding and valuing the importance of standing rigging on a sailboat is essential for sailors of all levels.
Once you have confirmed the wire diameter, the approximate length and identified the terminals, top and bottom, it is a simple online exercise to get an accurate estimate of the replacement cost on Standing Rigging. Alternatively, Team Jimmy Green can produce a costing based on the same information.
3,705. Catalina 30 Mk II Cedar Creek, Bayville NJ. Jan 7, 2019. #7. Doc, I had all new standing rigging put on my 93 C30 TR last spring. $1795 plus tax by professional rigger. I like to and mostly have done my own work but when it comes to standing rigging, I know my limitations.
That's what I call a no-brainer. Following are approximate costs per foot (in 2014) for standing rigging from several popular sources compared to the rigging company in my area. Popular online Catalina parts retailer: $4.00/ft. complete. West Marine: $1.02/ft. cable only. McMaster-Carr: $0.85/ft. cable only.
Swaging and splicing. Running rigging replacement. Standing rigging replacement. Lifeline and stanchion repair and replacement. Deck hardware sales and service. Spar and boom service and painting. Hydraulic service. Liferaft and man overboard equipment service. Hatch and portlight replacement and re-bedding.
Seems like a lot for a 40' boat. I have got quotes for sails for my 40' boat and they range from $8k for a jib and a main and I replaced the standing rigging on my boat. That cost me $10k. This was rod rigging and increased the price quite a bit. if it were wire you could get away for about half that price.
Run your fingers up and down the last metre of wire above or below the swage, feeling for deformities; if the wire is not uniform the chances are that one of the individual wires has broken, even ...
Please note: Returning custom-made rigging will incur a 35% stocking fee. Does your boat have wire-to-rope halyards? This calculator specifies only all-rope halyards. Go to wire-to-rope halyards. 1-2-3 Done So select your boat, choose a color, decide if you want a shackle spliced on, and you're done.
The average annual maintenance cost of sailboats is between $2,000 - $3,000. However, larger boats of 30 feet and up will cost considerably more. The actual total annual cost is $3,000 to $7,000, due to other recurring costs like docking and insurance fees. However, what you'll actually pay really depends on the type of boat you have and what ...
Sailboat standing rigging maintenance, repair and replacement with photographs. Helpful information on re-rigging your boat by Chuck Rose. Home. The Logbook. The Crew. ... The lowest cost would be for you measure the old rigging and order new stays and shrouds with swaged end fittings from a chandlery (West Marine offers a rigging service that ...
A broken headstay led to a full rigging overhaul. Learn how one sailor transformed his broken boat back into a sailing machine. Standing Rigging Replacement Ronnie Simpson. Reaching out of the channel in a moderate breeze, Quiver leaned on her big, overlapping genoa and accelerated up to hull speed. Surrounded by a fleet of vessels of similar ...
The cheap part of re-rigging is the cost of the wire and fittings. The expensive part is paying for the labor to install the rigging. For reference the total cost of the wire and swaged end fittings for our 36' boat was only about $3500. We removed the rigging and sent it to Rigging Only in Fairhaven, MA. They duplicate the rigging and sent it ...
Why we chose synthetic rigging for the backstay on our sailboat, Totem. By Behan Gifford August 23, 2024 ... why didn't we replace all of our standing rigging with it back in 2019? Well, we did think about it. At the time, Jamie chose wire because of the cost of additional hardware necessary in the shift to synthetic rigging. We simply didn ...
running rigging replacement cost for a 30ft. I had an idea to hire out running rigging replacement on a 30ft sloop, with nothing fancy, just a double braid polyester. The estimate turned out to be 1700-2000+. So I told the rigger to replace just the main halyard for now (and I will do the rest by myself).