The easiest way to prevent line from chafing all the way through is to simply look at your line. I would think at the first notice of a few broken strands in more than two of the wires. The customer had had the boat re-rigged, and during a trip to the BVI, the new wire stretched. For a small boat (under 30 feet), you can expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $2000 for standing rigging replacement. If the existing is frayed and faded - then a decision should be made to contract a rigger, preferably to x) inspect and give a written report on the condition of all the running rigging; to y) provide a written quotation to supply and fit new line; to z) provide a written quotation to replace sheeves and other running rigging components with new. I should have changed mine sooner than I did. Most sailors choose to leave this to a professional rigger, but theres no reason why you shouldnt attempt it yourself if you know the best way to go about it. To save you from surprises, here's a full overview of costs you can expect when owning a sailboat. Let's start by getting a good overview of the different maintenance costs. Most people starting out will get a smaller size boat and use it for day trips and weekend trips. If the baseplates, for example, are leaking, water will penetrate the deck, making the surrounding deck core mushy and weak (if a core exists) and possibly compromising supporting bulkheads and structures belowdecks. There is minor chafe on all sides of the line and along the entire length. Don't forget that this site will also replace your rigging. On this site for example someone posted the specs for a Catalina 27 and they were bang on and agreed fully with the specs I got from the Catalina owners association. The owner didnt adjust the rigging to compensate for the stretch for several seasons. Do you want to earn money to write on our website? Another factor in your DIY decision-making process is simple: peace of mind. NEW FLAT SCREEN 36" TV IN THE V-BERTH - 2019 Replace Running Rigging, Lifelines and Engine Repairs 3/2018. Do disconnect them and inspect them very carefully for cracks on a well-lit workbench. That cost me $10k. Still a lot of people single braid nylon for docklines, its a little more flexible. Now, let's return to the original proposition, which was a complete replacementon three different cost levelsof basic running rigging for a 32 sloop. You want a reliable boat, which means you'll fix anything that needs fixing immediately. A smaller loop is a makeshift chainplate attachment you can attach it to a neighboring chainplate and attach the stay to it. This halyard had been wrapped around a shroud and tightened to prevent it from slapping against the mast while at the dock. On longer boats, you can opt for a furling-line material of more esoteric double-braids with less stretch. Its best to slacken them off, giving them a few turns each way and removing any clevis pins for close inspection before re-tensioning the shroud or stay and then locking it off with new split rings or cotter pins. Sailors' hands are busy with the running rigging most on a sailboat. The total maintenance cost for a liveaboard will average around $1,550 per year or $129 per month. Check and make sure the sheaves run freely, that the bearings are not worn oval and that the retaining pins are secure. I can only assume this is due to the risk of rocking the hull off its jackstands. Replacing Running Rigging on an Older Sailboat If you're thinking of buying a used sailboat it's probable that your final selection will be a boat that is a few years old - and the halyards, mainsheet, backstay, jibsheets and other running rigging will probably look a little old, dirty and frayed. Your first thought may be to replace this old stuff with some of the bright new high tech line you can find in your local chandlery. Our selection runs the gamut, from economical polyester single- and double-braids to high-tech, low-stretch line made from materials such as Dyneema, Spectra, Technora, Kevlar and Vectran. Whether you are setting up the hardware for a trapeze or trying to create the perfect mast rake before a big race with your tension guage, we at MAURIPRO Sailing will meet your Rigging needs. if it were wire you could get away for about half that price. Running the halyards Both the Jib and Main halyards are purple , high-load, Marlow Spectra line. Enough tape to cover a cotter pin suffices; otherwise, leave the metal open to the air. Average installation and setup takes around 30 hours (at $105 per hour), which would add another $3,105 to the bill, bumping the cost to re-rig up to $8,010 for an average re-rig. For dry storage, part of the process can be to shrink wrap your boat. Click here for a full walkthrough with diagrams. The biggest thing we like to have is the history of the boat: what kind of boat it is, how its been sailed and where has it been sailed, says Jay Herman, owner of Annapolis Rigging. I live in Friesland, The Netherlands, which is famous for its great lakes and lots of sailing opportunities. ImproveSailing is compensated for referring traffic and business to this companies. Bluey Williams's yard was a cowshed in Lawnton near the North Pine River, on the northern side of Brisbane and inland from Redcliffe. Replacing the running rigging on your sailboat seems like it should be fairly simple, and a decade or two ago, it was. It requires more careful consideration of condition, usage, and inspection for signs of failure. Liveaboards that don't really sail that much have less maintenance to do in one way, and more in another. I ended up just replacing all of the standing rigging through rigginonly.com in Fairhaven Ma. Running rigging varies between vessels that are rigged fore and aft and those that are square-rigged. [advertisement]. However, larger boats of 30 feet and up will cost considerably more. On average, it costs about $15 to $20 per foot to get your sailboat hull painted professionally. You can see the difference between the old line on the right and the new line on the left. My belief is that you should be replacing your sailboats standing rigging every 10 to 15 years. But this time frame also is variable, depending on the boats purpose and use. Included in every new DragonFlight 95 v2 kit : v2 DF95 Rigging Instructions. Leave each line with extra length, and coil the lines up. Exhausted In Singapore, For All the Wrong Reasons, Cruising World Takes Multiple Honors in Annual Writing and Photography Contest. The Tartan 30 is an ideal used boat choice for a small family looking to sail offshore in varying sea conditions or simply wanting to have fun racing around the buoys with line-honors confidence. 9034 GD Marsum The total maintenance cost varies a lot, depending on the following factors: Still, we want a general feel of what to expect. The diameter of the sheets and halyards will depend on what fits the blocks that you have. There are some obvious answers to this one for instance, if your wire rigging has broken strands or if its suffering from candy-striping, i.e., rust-colored streaks swirling down the wire. and about a 200' " anchor .line. On this page you will find both rigging hardware and rigging tools. The average price of a used cruising sailboat is between $10,000 and $100,000. And if you get a young, strong, enthusiastic gorilla on a halyard winch, he could pull the headboard out of the sail, damage the sheave at the masthead or pull the turning block at the base of the mast out of the deck. Your mainsheet probably sees more use than your spinnaker halyard.Our spinnaker halyards- on a boat that races frequently- are about 18 years old, and do not need replacing. Strong, durable lines are essential for controlling the sails on your boat without risking your own safety, or that of the sails. Sometimes it can be very obvious, but other times it is not. Swaging must be professionally done, and the result is extremely strong and generally has a long life. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about your running rigging. It was this mistakefailing to untie the read more, After four long months poised to spring into action at the first sign of the right weather window, Spindrift has announced that its record-breaking circumnavigation attempt wont be possible this year. The annual maintenance cost is $2,000 - $3,000 for most boats, but the actual total annual cost is $3,000 to $7,000. With chainplates its often not the actual hardware that fails, but the structure that supports them. 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. read more, 2023 Active Interest Media All Rights Reserved. Some have an extra light sheet for real light winds so the sheet doesnt weigh the jib down. Sun wear and constant use will wear down the sails and rigging even more. Get it wrong, and your boat could wind up on the beach in a bad blow. Read more on the average cost to replace a boat starter here. Regardless of how it happened, the integrity of the line has been compromised and it needs to be replaced. Before re-tuning the rig the mast base, turnbuckles and stay fixtures should be inspect. Tests done by the magazine Practical Sailor and others show that if you tie any type of knot in a high-tech line, you can reduce the breaking strength of the line by up to 80%. Then theres just age, and this factor as a reason to re-rig is more subject to a boats history than anything else. But you know what is more expensive? A rope with a Dyneema core (SK 78 or better) with a polyester cover that can be removed from the working ends would be best. All standing rigging, whether rod or wire, has to end in a fitting that attaches to the deck and mast. All rod rigging terminates in a cold head, which accommodates the end fitting or is encapsulated by the end fitting. These specific components likewise reinforce the spars against increased loads when wind interacts . But if you want the good stuff, need more fire extinguishers, plan on spending more like $600. Double Braid: A braided core inside a braided cover. For each diameter of rigging wire your boat requires drill a hole that size near the corner of the block. We only sell guaranteed-content, guaranteed-process wire, Herman says. The screw threads and locking nuts need regular cleaning and some light greasing to prevent corrosion. Inspect the area around tang plates and toggle fittings for cracks, preferably using a magnifying glass. Its good enough to get you to safety and someplace you can make a more permanent repair. Riggers say very few sailors re-rig from wire to rod or the reverse, but if switching is on your mind, have a professional make a full assessment first. In marine environments, everything can go wrong exactly one time for it to be critical. Sailboat Running Rigging You don't want to have faulty sailboat running rigging. Tag each line with a sticker noting which line it is. 2. I've read that the inner stays rarely snap. That said, some sailors prefer wire over rod for a number of reasons. They can provide a higher percentage of nominal capacity than lead-acid batteries, without shortening their life. Click here for a full walkthrough with diagrams. That said, it is perfectly possible, though somewhat tedious, to change shrouds and stays in pairs with the mast up by using halyards and intermediate tackles to support it. A little less than the semi-circular groove on the sheave (or pulley).Generally its not strength issue for diameter but rather thick enough to be easily handled. Headed by Dona Bertarelli, the Spindrift team has been on a mission to set a read more, In some stunning footage from onboard reporter Antoine Auriol, Boris Herrmann and his team aboard Malizia decided to cut their Code 0 free after it came loose and got tangled in the keel last night. FWIW, I just replaced all my running rigging on my 30' with 3/8" Sta-Set for thr halyards and 3/8" XLE for topping lift and downhaul, the halyard were wire-rope but now all rope. Any line that you have to handle such as jib sheets, halyards and mainsheet should be about half inch (12mm) diameter for a good grip, and jib sheets and mainsheets should be one of the softer feel products. Its imported and sold through distributors like Alps Wire Rope. If your running rigging has seen better days, now might be the time to replace it. Down Haul. If you live on a boat in a location where it falls below freezing temperature (good luck!). When I thought about it this way, it seemed easy to give ourselves 20 years of confidence for our Lake Erie boat, rather than take the risk of waiting. It rolls the end fitting through two opposing dies and compresses the fitting on the wire so tightly that it cant pull out. Preparing The Boat For Rigging. Batteries have a limited number of charge cycles. Theres no real way of measuring that. Replacing Running Rigging on an Older Sailboat, a bowline or other knot in a high tech line reduces the breaking strength by up to 80%, for jib sheets you must increase the line size to account for the reduced strength more $$$$, an eye splice is required to attach a shackle to a halyard. A dormant maneuver has both ends fixed at each end. Although the hull actually read more, It was March, and Id made it through another Maine winter. In the past, long-distance cruisers typically chose wire rigging with mechanical fittings for all of these reasons. Outboard starters run from about $100 - $500. The idea is you come on deck with this small canvas bag and make it happen, Cockerill says. If you're like me, and not so lucky to live in Florida, you need to winterize your boat. I think the owner needs to replace those but there's a Covid problem. Sailboat rigging very rarely fails from being overloaded. About us As a basic rule, the replacement of the standing rig should be done every 10 years, except for multihulls or regattas, and rod or composite fiber rigging. Clean and lubricate them, then refasten them, and remember to mouse them with new galvanized wire and tape over the ends to avoid chafe. Lifejackets have to be replaced every 10 years. Mount the masts. This halyard definitely needs to be replaced. Inevitably. But here are some things we could do out to save some big bucks: Winterizing your boat yourself can cost you as little as $50 for antifreeze and an oil change afterward. Well, for starters, I'd recommend doing most small maintenance yourself and ignore all non-essential. Now is a good time to install all new cotter pins or rings to leave no doubt as to the integrity of your connections. Your subscription could not be saved. 1. This small cruiser is well built, easy to handle and relatively economical to maintain. Perhaps a rogue cotter pin sticking out of a turnbuckle. You mean all together don't you? And if you see evidence of wear, ask yourself (or your local rigger) What could have caused this? The cost of having a professional rigger inspect your running rigging can save you more money down the road. If you want to know exactly what the USCG safety requirements are, including checklists, definitely check out my article here. If you go DIY, you will be limited to mechanical end fittings unless you hire a rigger to swage your end fittings. JavaScript is disabled. The golden rule has always been never to work on a rig with the boat out of the water. Most insurance companies reckon you should replace your standing rigging about every 10 years. Proper size and material components for the rig are further consideration. For over 40 years we have specialized in manufacturing standing rigging for all of the major sailboat manufacturers nationwide. When we talk about sailboat rigging, we mean all the wires, ropes and lines that support the rig and control the sails. ImproveSailing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. If your standing rigging is . Place the top of the sail in the mast track and pull on the halyard. How do you know when its time to re-rig? Do a few turns on one side before going to the other and applying an equal number. Likewise, if you already have wire with fittings that accommodate your boat and mast, stick with wire. Skilled marine technicians charge from $75 - $150 per hour. I used the Sta-Set solid color line to easily identify the lines. 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. The condition of this halyard is likely due to UV degradation. The three most commonly used types of attachments are swaged and mechanical fittings for wire, and cold heads for rod. . NEW FLAT SCREEN 43' TV IN THE SALON - 2019. For all remaining running rigging, you can use polyester double-braid rope. You must log in or register to reply here. To differentiate the frame from the current, remember that the current is mobile (it runs). ImproveSailing is compensated for referring traffic and business to this companies. Would you replace this? how much fuel a sailboat uses in my article, ICC (International Certificate of Competence, Average Cost of Buying & Owning a Sailboat (With 4 Examples). This was seen on a brand new boat at the 2020 Seattle Boat Show. Money well spent. Sasker van Heringawei 16E The mast stayed up, but it sounded like a gun shot and was scary as hell. I've read that standing rigging should be replaced anywhere from 10 all the way up to 20 years and also simply based on condition. Buy some light line and run it as you would your sheets and halyards and measure that.