replacing running rigging on a sailboat

Good question. Cracks are hard to see (use a magnifying glass), and sometimes marks that look like cracks can be left by the machine used to create the swage. Generally, end fittings fall into a few classes: studs, eyes, forks and hooks, each of which comes in a dizzying array of sizes and configurations. It's a good idea to replace wire running rigging with high-modulus rope, but the reality is that in most cases we can't because many masts that were designed for wire have sheaves that are: Grooved for wire. Usually the owner's manual gives you the specifications of all the running and standing rigging. Cruising World may receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site. 3. Ive had some snafus out there to be sure, and they loom large when theyre read more, When One Wrong Makes a Right Everybody knows youre not supposed to sail up the Pacific Coast! Your sail area will most likely also be larger, which means your sail replacement will be more expensive. Swaging must be professionally done, and the result is extremely strong and generally has a long life. If you're on a budget, you can maintain your boat reasonably well for just $1,000 / year. This line wont last long in these conditions. Generally, they consist of either three or four parts (Sta-Lok has three; Hi-MOD has four), including a sleeve; a cone; in Hi-MODs case, a crown wheel; and the terminal (an eye, fork, stud, etc.). Read more on the lifetime expectancy of marine diesels here. Kinks in wire is like chafe on a line. The running rigging consists of all the lines, sheets, and so on that is used to haul and operate the sails. The average maintenance cost will be roughly $255 dollars per month for boats under 30' or just under $3,000 per year. and about a 200 anchor .line. The Out Haul can be simply a single line the pulls the foot of the sail toward the free end of the boom or the Out Haul can consist of an elaborate arrangement of blocks. The life span of rigging depends on how heavily a boat has been sailed and on the care taken with tuning. 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. I used the Sta-Set solid color line to easily identify the lines. Whether youre buying a used sailboat thats new to you or youve owned your boat for decades, the standing rigging is what keeps the mast in place, and thus requires particular attention. Would you replace this? This video illustrates how to change your halyard rope in your sailboat. Wendy Mitman Clarke is currently between passages. The easiest place to work on your rig is on the ground. If you don't have that you may be able to find it on line or on line at your boat class owners' association. Small dents in either the mast or the boom are often hotspots for failure, as they weaken the form of the spar. The diameter of the sheets and halyards will depend on what fits the blocks that you have. There is minor chafe on all sides of the line and along the entire length. 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 average price of new sailboats is $250,000, ranging from $96,000 to $654,000. Let's go over each type and break down which costs to expect exactly. Do you want to earn money to write on our website? Top manufacturers of swaged fittings are Hayn Marine Rigging Products, Alexander Roberts and C. Sherman Johnson. These boats have less moving parts and less critical parts. On modern boats, chainplates are fitted outboard (right) and covered with a plate that lets water drain. Most insurance companies reckon you should replace your standing rigging about every 10 years. [1] Depending on the spreader joint, cap shrouds can sometimes prove troublesome as well, often requiring the spreaders to be disconnected at their roots. I ended up just replacing all of the standing rigging through rigginonly.com in Fairhaven Ma. This halyard definitely needs to be replaced. Account. But Cockerill says it quickly becomes evident whether an owner feels comfortable enough to do the work. USCG safety regulations require you to replace safety gear regularly. On our old boat we had the Port Aft lower shroud fail while sailing. OK, it isn't cheap, but it can absolutely be done on a budget. Madden says that cost isnt linear, though; as you go up in size (a bigger boat needs heavier wire and larger fittings), youll spend more. I have broken more than my share of components in newer boats while a lot less in older boats. A forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Another trouble spot on keel-stepped masts is where the spar enters the deck, especially if water has leaked under the mast collar. A swaged fitting is a terminus thats attached using a machine called a swager. Bluey Williams's yard was a cowshed in Lawnton near the North Pine River, on the northern side of Brisbane and inland from Redcliffe. You could be setting yourself up for some serious problems, as well a spending a lot of unnecessary money into the bargain. When we talk about sailboat rigging, we mean all the wires, ropes and lines that support the rig and control the sails. 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. I just replaced all the rope running rigging on a Catalina 27 for about $300. You cannot use a mechanical fitting on rod rigging. What is the average sailboat maintenance cost? WE SHIP WORLDWIDE: More Info. With a spare mechanical end fitting, wire and the proper tools, you can replace a stay pretty much anywhere. Turns out that owning a boat is pretty affordable. 34' Bermuda Sloop rig will cost you about $3,000 - $5,000. Sometimes it can be very obvious, but other times it is not. All rod rigging terminates in a cold head, which accommodates the end fitting or is encapsulated by the end fitting. But a newly cracked sheave or an exposed cotter pin can quickly shred a line that otherwise would have lasted much longer. The most important determinant would be the boat's use; a boat used for racing or offshore cruising would require the wires to be inspected and replace more often. This number is reached by assuming that the average cost for materials is around $1,500, 32 hours to fabricate the rigging, and 30 hours to install the rigging. Over time, UV exposure weakens the fibers and eventually, even the slightest friction will cause chafe that will damage and break the fibers of the cover. Ensure swivels are working and remove any shackles. Most people need 2 risers + 2 exhaust manifolds. RIGGING TIP: Why not fit a pair of mast steps a few feet from the masthead to give you a solid base on which to stand while youre working up there, rather than hanging uncomfortably in the bosuns chair? Well, for starters, I'd recommend doing most small maintenance yourself and ignore all non-essential. Additionally, a DIY sailor needs to do plenty of research, particularly when it comes to wire quality, which is something professional sailboat rigging companies watch like hawks. Overall, this halyard looked relatively new compared to some of the other lines on this boat, and this sheave probably caused the demise of the previous halyard. Contact us If you want a life raft, that's another $1,500. A standard 15HP or 20HP outboard gas engine will cost you about $5,000 - $6,000 and needs replacing every 20 years or so. Winterization is an often-overlooked cost, but it can be one of the largest expenses each year. Do you hire a pro or go it alone? This produces an easy-to-handle rope that is strong and durable. Lastly, check your boom, starting with the gooseneck, mainsheet and vang fittings, where huge forces are applied when the rig is under load. They aren't even worn enough to require end-for ending yet. Skilled marine technicians charge from $75 - $150 per hour. They can provide a higher percentage of nominal capacity than lead-acid batteries, without shortening their life. Having to hire a rigger to climb your mast to run a new halyard after the old one breaks. Let's hoist the sails and get started! A stripped cover dyneema halyard is a great way to reduce the splice diameter and weight aloft for racers, however, they do have their downsides. When youre happy everything is in place, its time to tune your rig. That cost me $10k. Although anyone can walk into a local chandlery and buy wire, that doesnt mean the wire is of the highest quality. Just a FYI. Redoing the running rigging on a cruising sailboat involves measuring, measuring and measuring. Do a few turns on one side before going to the other and applying an equal number. First the desired end fitting is chosen (left), and the fitting is slid onto the end of the wire (center). By taking on the labor yourself, youll probably save as much as $2,000 on the re-rigging cost, he says. Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat 's masts standing rigging, including shrouds and stays and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they are attachedthe running rigging, including halyards, braces, sheets and vangs. On this eye splice, the core has herniated out of the cover. Their solidworks simulations revealed the rigging was on the lighter side. For instance, the Rigging Company makes a spare-stay kit that can accommodate either wire or rod rigging repairs, Cockerill says. Replacing electronics won't be very important - however, your batteries will need to be replaced more often. For sheets, if you're happy with the length take the old ones off determine the gauge and and match them up. When inspecting your rig you should also make an inventory of all its parts and their dimensions. Listing Results for Shore Support & Services, Sailing & Rigging and ENG1 Medical Certificate in Marans, Levallois Perret and Cap D'Agde Then the swager is used to compress the fitting so tightly that the wires merge into a solid piece of stainless steel and cant pull out (right). The Down Haul consists of a line attached to the mast end of the boom. For a medium-sized boat (30-50 feet), the cost will be somewhere between $2000 and $4000. The worst-case scenario, of course, is that the chainplates pull right out of the deck, with catastrophic consequences. A third visual indicator are cracks in swaged fittings, some of the most common end fittings for wire. It's the best way to protect your boat in wintertime, period. The November 1969 Modern Boating magazine . Shrouds and stays should be replaced in pairs, applying just enough tension to support the mast with you climbing it, but not tuned to sail. A Bonnier LLC Company. Sailboat Rigging. if it were wire you could get away for about half that price. It wears with time due to UV exposure, flogging, strain from the wind, and regular use. 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. The fastest route to crevice corrosion is to cover the metal with plastic or leather turnbuckle covers or to coat the fittings in tape. Generally its much better to stay with the more traditional line for the running rigging of older boats. This could be a marine eye, a marine fork, a T-head or a J-hook, among others. The easiest way to prevent line from chafing all the way through is to simply look at your line. Over time, the halyard still moved in the wind and the shroud chafed through the cover, exposing the core. Copyright 2023 Cruising World. Customize your boat, or put it back in its original factory condition with parts and gear from MacgregorOwners.com. . We only sell guaranteed-content, guaranteed-process wire, Herman says. 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. This is the furling line for an in-mast furler. 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). First, its easier to fix in remote places and on your own. Most recent receipt was for lower stays 10 years ago. For instance, for an offshore bluewater boat, Madden recommends 10 years, and for a serious coastal cruiser, more like 12. Since each one is 34' and then add another 6-10 to be safe? I won't go into detail, but I have written an in-depth article about the cost of new sails (opens in new tab). Running rigging is the rigging of a sailing vessel that is used for raising, lowering, shaping and controlling the sails on a sailing vesselas opposed to the standing rigging, which supports the mast and bowsprit. In this article, I'll show you what to expect. Every five to six years, the mast should be pulled out of the boat so all fittings and wire or rod can be carefully inspected. Swaging is a strong and durable way to attach end fittings to wire rigging. Today, with the advent of super-strong synthetic line such as AmSteel and Dyneema, the need for that extra wire and gear is eliminated. For all of these reasons, most riggers agree that when your sailboats standing rigging approaches 15 years old, its a good time to consider replacing it. As you work your way down the mast, take a glance at the mainsail track to see if its in good condition and well secured. However, they generally cost more than a swaged fitting; Herman says while Hi-MODs newer mechanical fittings are definitely more user-friendly to assemble, theyre twice the cost of a swaged fitting. Some riggers will recommend swaged fittings for the mast end of the rigging and mechanical fittings at the deck level: Corrosion is less prevalent at the top of the mast, and you can more easily and regularly inspect mechanical fittings at deck level, where theyre frequently subjected to salt water. This process . SailboatOwners.com, 605 NW 53rd Avenue, Gainesville, FL, 32609 The cost of replacing the standing rigging is, on average, $4,000 every 10 years. They might have swollen, so the new will appear to be a smaller gauge. It sounds to me that the question is when, not if you will go for new rigging. It would help if we knew what your boat was! 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. If the wire in a stay or shroud has stretched to the point where theres no room for further adjustment, make sure you compensate for this when replacing the wire so that at least one-third of the turnbuckle body is open to accommodate adjustments when the rig is fully tensioned. Next check the back and forestay fittings where they connect to the mast, ensuring any clevis pins are straight and secure. Get it wrong, and your boat could wind up on the beach in a bad blow. Double braid lines are used in running rigging and dock . Write the diameter near the hole with sharpie. If you suspect a possible crack, try running some dye over itthe crack will become much more obvious that way. Dyneema is especially susceptible to UV degradation. It is comprised of fixed lines, wires, or rods that are designed to support each mast or bowsprit on sailing vessels. Strong, durable lines are essential for controlling the sails on your boat without risking your own safety, or that of the sails. If you need to replace the mast and boom, prepare to spend anywhere between $15,000 - $25,000. For an idea of the costs involved to replace your standing rigging, here are some examples of sets of rigging we have made for customers in the past 12 months (prices as of Sept 2022). Marine sailboat supplier of running rigging - halyards, dock lines and halyar=ds shackles. . Many boat owners are reluctant to replace their running rigging, and for good reason, it can be expensive! Make Wire cutting Jig. All standing rigging, whether rod or wire, has to end in a fitting that attaches to the deck and mast. You can see that the chafe is only occurring on one side of the line, the side that comes in contact with the sheave. PACESHIP PY26 Sailboat details on sailboatdata.com. This small cruiser is well built, easy to handle and relatively economical to maintain. A lot of new boat owners overlook the maintenance costs of sailboats - and maintenance can get pricey quickly. To avoid you have to go cheap on your safety gear, I've put it in the budget for $500. Run the shrouds and attach them to the deadeyes on the hull. If you want to know exactly what the USCG safety requirements are, including checklists, definitely check out my article here. And although rod rigging may be able to last longer than wire, it too needs to be serviced every five to six years to get the most life out of it. A good boat supply store will be able to help. Hi, I'm Shawn, and when I was 2 years old, I was sailing (with my parents) on the English Channel during a proper storm (and by proper I mean something along the lines of force 10). Gas engine will last a lot less long than diesels. This halyard had been wrapped around a shroud and tightened to prevent it from slapping against the mast while at the dock. On average, it costs about $15 to $20 per foot to get your sailboat hull painted professionally. Probably the trickiest will be the forestay and backstay, as these carry the greatest loads, although all the standing rigging can be loosened to some degree when at rest. Liveaboards that don't really sail that much have less maintenance to do in one way, and more in another. Sampson Ropes make a double braid dacron called XLS, New England Ropes make a similar product called Sta-Set and Yale Ropes product is called Vizzion. Complete, illustrated 16 page instruction guide to get your new DragonForce 95 rigged, setup and on the water! On top of that, maintaining your boat properly is critical. The cost of replacing the standing rigging is, on average, $4,000 every 10 years. Running Rigging & Cordage to Order . Shes the director of media relations at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, and she and her family continue to pine and plan for the day they can return to the cruising life. Some boaters don't shrink wrap in the winter because of it. These carry a good deal of compression load, so check their roots for damage and make sure the spreaders arent bent in any waythey should exactly bisect the angle of the shroud. But if you want the good stuff, need more fire extinguishers, plan on spending more like $600. The annual maintenance cost is $2,000 - $3,000 for most boats, but the actual total annual cost is $3,000 to $7,000. The boat owner or previous rigger had clearly replaced the old line without looking for the source of the chafe. Saltwater is a lot more corrosive, and the stress on your rigging and sails will be higher. The only thing we can really do is regularly inspect lines to look for wear. There are also a few spots where the chafe is more serious. Plus, this line won't harden with age. It's also called antifouling paint because it helps to protect your hull from weeds, barnacles, and so on. The next area deserving close scrutiny is the spreaders. What kind of end fittings? Start at the bottom, working your way up from the lowers, to the cap shrouds and finally the stays. Any requirement to re-tune the rig more often than that would point to wires been stretched beyond their tensile strength minimums. If your running rigging has seen better days, now might be the time to replace it. Barnacles can slice through your boat's bellow! 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 you own a bluewater cruiser, your maintenance cost will go up a lot. I would think at the first notice of a few broken strands in more than two of the wires. That's just what it is. Depending on the answers to those questions and others, a professionally done re-rig for a 40-footer could be closer to $6,000 or more. With all of these factors in mind, what can you expect to pay for standing rigging replacement? In the past, long-distance cruisers typically chose wire rigging with mechanical fittings for all of these reasons. If you want to go for super low stretch halyards look at Spectra but the stretch isnt much more for a lot more bucks. Also, you'll have plenty of time doing odd jobs yourself, since you'll be living on the boat. You could consider buying a LED electric distress light instead, which will last you a lifetime. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Installing the new standing rigging is simple for a trailer sailor after the mast is unstepped. Also look to see if there are any broken wires where the shroud enters the terminal. When we brought our Oday 25 home ,I knew judging from the lack of care the previous owner shown the rigging might also be suspect. Read more on the cost of antifouling your boat. Here's the average cost to shrink wrap a boat. The sheave in the halyard exit box is chipped and has sharp edges. 1. Click here for a full walkthrough with diagrams. I think the owner needs to replace those but there's a Covid problem. 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. There is no hard and fast rule for when to replace your running rigging. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Learn all about the dangers of failing to winterize here. A boat in the water is in constant motion and the rigging experiences constant micro shock loads even when sitting in the slip. Regardless of how it happened, the integrity of the line has been compromised and it needs to be replaced. Sasker van Heringawei 16E Before re-tuning the rig the mast base, turnbuckles and stay fixtures should be inspect. Now, let's return to the original proposition, which was a complete replacementon three different cost levelsof basic running rigging for a 32 sloop. While its often difficult to know whether, say, a swaged terminal is in good condition, there are a few common signs of possible failure to look for. Our sailboat running rigging includes sailboat mainsheets, sailboat halyards, and all major sailboat lines. Sometimes they let you go longer if you have the rig professionally inspected, particularly if you have an electronic check carried out on the terminals and other crucial fittings. Remove old lifelines and frayed running rigging. 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. In other words, if your boat already has rod rigging, with all of the end fittings to terminate the rods both on deck and in or on the mast, then sticking with rod will ultimately be less expensive than making the switch to wire. Do disconnect them and inspect them very carefully for cracks on a well-lit workbench. If line is properly taken care of, it can last many decades. Allow at least a foot for each splice or knot. Use a low stretch Dacron such as Sta-Set-X for halyards. 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. If in doubt, get a professional opinion. Aside from the relative cost differences between rod and wire (rod is more expensive), what also makes a switch pricey is having to significantly modify the mast to accept the different rigging. Thus the standing rigging is made up of all the cables and . Read more on boat engine replacement costs here. 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.

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