If you want to learn how to make your sailing dream reality within a year, leave your email and I'll send you free updates. All standing rigging, whether rod or wire, has to end in a fitting that attaches to the deck and mast. 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. The task of replacing the standing rigging on a sailing yacht may seem daunting but there is a procedure to follow that can make it a relatively straight forward process for anyone who is reasonably practical. The sheave in the halyard exit box is chipped and has sharp edges. 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. 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 first decision is whether to tackle the job with the mast up or down. 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%. Just because a line or even the whole boat is new, doesnt mean there isnt something wrong with the running rigging. Next check the back and forestay fittings where they connect to the mast, ensuring any clevis pins are straight and secure. 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! Top manufacturers of swaged fittings are Hayn Marine Rigging Products, Alexander Roberts and C. Sherman Johnson. Fisheries Supply is your premier supplier of sailing and rigging rope from top brands like Samson, Marlow, Robline and New England Rope. Copyright 2023 ImproveSailing.com I don't like spam - I will only send helpful content. Exhausted In Singapore, For All the Wrong Reasons, Cruising World Takes Multiple Honors in Annual Writing and Photography Contest. Specific Gravity is 1.38, so it does not float. The biggest problem with rigging and older sailboat with high-tech lines to control the sails is that the lines are too strong for the boat. Also look to see if there are any broken wires where the shroud enters the terminal. All rod rigging terminates in a cold head, which accommodates the end fitting or is encapsulated by the end fitting. I am going to be getting new jib sheets with will be 7/16" for ease of handling. A third visual indicator are cracks in swaged fittings, some of the most common end fittings for wire. When inspecting your rig you should also make an inventory of all its parts and their dimensions. No signs of corrosion or stray strands anywhere. Marine-suitable stainless wire is called 316 grade, but even that doesnt mean youre necessarily getting high-quality wire. The sails, rigging, and engine will be less critical if you won't take her out very often. This way you wont risk deforming the mast or pulling a fitting out of line. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. Normal rigging knives and hot knives are almost useless, all turning blocks and sheaves must have a diameter of at least 8 times the line diameter, old sheaves, turning blocks and other hardware will probably not be strong enough for high tech line, high tech line can cost up to $10 per foot. If you're hoisting the sail on land, make sure the bow of the boat is pointing towards the wind. The simple answer is to measure it. A good boat supply store will be able to help. Good quality cruising sails will need to be replaced every 10 years or so. 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). If in doubt, get your deck buddy to rig temporary stays using the halyards and check each stayone at a timewith it slackened off. 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. Your subscription could not be saved. On our old boat we had the Port Aft lower shroud fail while sailing. As with electronics, safety gear, and even sails, technology has significantly improved cordage. I live in Friesland, The Netherlands, which is famous for its great lakes and lots of sailing opportunities. Run the remaining standing rigging. There is minor chafe on all sides of the line and along the entire length. Do you want to earn money to write on our website? Most insurance companies reckon you should replace your standing rigging about every 10 years. Just tell us the best email address to send your tips to: Improve Sailing A smaller loop is a makeshift chainplate attachment you can attach it to a neighboring chainplate and attach the stay to it. Still a lot of people single braid nylon for docklines, its a little more flexible. How much does a used sail cost? The golden rule has always been never to work on a rig with the boat out of the water. SKIRMISH was built for Clarence Noble in Brisbane. Many boat owners are reluctant to replace their running rigging, and for good reason, it can be expensive! Theres no real way of measuring that. 34' Bermuda Sloop rig will cost you about $3,000 - $5,000. Send messengers up mast for in-mast rigging - 3/2018 Marlow Ropes in the UK produce Marlowbraid. Small dents in either the mast or the boom are often hotspots for failure, as they weaken the form of the spar. In a tropical area, or high sunshine location, you should replace the running rigging every six to eight years. The Average Cost to Shrink Wrap a Boat (per foot), seasonal maintenance, hull, engine, rigging, 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, seasonal maintenance - yearly recurring jobs. Every sailboat has an Out Haul and a Down Haul. The actual total annual cost is $3,000 to $7,000, due to other recurring costs like docking and insurance fees. Three strand is referable and less expensive than braid for dock and anchor lines also a lot easier to splice. What would be the maintenance cost if you were on a tight budget? The cost of replacing the standing rigging is, on average, $4,000 every 10 years. Do you hire a pro or go it alone? For a medium-sized boat (30-50 feet), the cost will be somewhere between $2000 and $4000. Most engines will last you about 20 years, depending on the amount of use and whether you use it properly. Let me explain. 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. Final words Congratulations! My boat has been in fresh water all its life. If you look closely at the line right before it wraps around behind the spindle, youll see that it is starting to chafe because there is not a fair lead for the line running into the slot. The warm trade winds in the West Indies were calling; time to go sailing. On a sailboat, a distinction is made between running rigging and standing rigging. This halyard has minor chafe right now, but the chafe is acute and has an identifiable source. At minimal cost you can rig a permanent preventer that is easy to use, is fully adjustable, and does not require going forward on deck. 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. Boats used for coastal cruising, week ending or day sailing may go longer. A forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. 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. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. A swaged fitting is a terminus thats attached using a machine called a swager. Click here for a full walkthrough with diagrams. The Estimated Costs of Replacing a Jibs and Genoas Sails for boats measuring 42' to 50' can cost around $5,500-$9,000 Sails for boats measuring 36' to 42' can cost around $4,000-$7,000 Sails for boats measuring 32' to 36' can cost around $3,000-$5,000 Sails for boats measuring 24' to 32' can cost around $2,500-$4,000 Dyneema is especially susceptible to UV degradation. 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. Installing the new standing rigging is simple for a trailer sailor after the mast is unstepped. The Down Haul consists of a line attached to the mast end of the boom. It requires more careful consideration of condition, usage, and inspection for signs of failure. 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. The Netherlands We replaced the line AND the sheave box to ensure that the new halyard wont chafe. This halyard definitely needs to be replaced. How do you know when its time to re-rig? A boat spending most of the last 10 years on a trailer with the mast in a cradle has only corrosion to consider. Turns out that owning a boat is pretty affordable. Get it wrong, and your boat could wind up on the beach in a bad blow. They aren't even worn enough to require end-for ending yet. On sailboats, however, there aren't a lot of non-essential parts. 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. LUBE SAIL TRACK MATERIALS 3/2019. Yes, doing it yourself will theoretically save money. Your sail area will most likely also be larger, which means your sail replacement will be more expensive. The wire itself rarely fails midway along a shroud, so this makes good sense. Although anyone can walk into a local chandlery and buy wire, that doesnt mean the wire is of the highest quality. I won't go into detail, but I have written an in-depth article about the cost of new sails (opens in new tab). 9034 GD Marsum Enough tape to cover a cotter pin suffices; otherwise, leave the metal open to the air. Money well spent. After that, you'll need to change them out. Sometimes it can be very obvious, but other times it is not. The two primary manufacturers of mechanical fittings presently are Sta-Lok and Petersen Stainless, which produces Hi-MOD. . That's why I've calculated the average maintenance costs for four different types of boat below: Your specific maintenance cost will vary depending on what type of boat you have and how you'll use it. Just a FYI. The average price of new sailboats is $250,000, ranging from $96,000 to $654,000. Inboard engine (and generator) starters cost from $40 - over $1,000 depending on the engine. The total maintenance cost on a tight budget can get as low as $275 per year, or $23 per month. 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. Most masts have integral sheaves, which are rarely serviced except when the mast is unsteppedoften only at five-year intervals. Well, for starters, I'd recommend doing most small maintenance yourself and ignore all non-essential. What kind of end fittings? If you do the work yourself, it's more something like $1,000 - $1,500. Contact us Spreader tips that are covered can often encourage and hide corrosion as they can trap water and reduce air flow over stainless steel fittings, causing them to corrode. The diameter of the sheets and halyards will depend on what fits the blocks that you have. The rig or rigging on a sailboat is a common term for two parts, the standing, and the running rigging. It rolls the end fitting through two opposing dies and compresses the fitting on the wire so tightly that it cant pull out. If you want to go for super low stretch halyards look at Spectra but the stretch isnt much more for a lot more bucks. From knowing the parts of the sails to understanding the need for tension, I'll go over everything you need to know about rigging sails. The average price of a used cruising sailboat is between $10,000 and $100,000. For each diameter of rigging wire your boat requires drill a hole that size near the corner of the block. Another trouble spot on keel-stepped masts is where the spar enters the deck, especially if water has leaked under the mast collar. Run the shrouds and attach them to the deadeyes on the hull. SailboatOwners.com, 605 NW 53rd Avenue, Gainesville, FL, 32609 Every time I think Ive seen it all, my people outdo themselves and serve up the unexpected. To be more precise, the highly tensioned stays and shrouds that support the mast are known collectively as standing rigging, whilst the rope halyards, sheets and other control lines come under the heading of running rigging. Polyester double braid works great for frequently adjusted lines, like main and jib sheets, or moderately loaded control lines. The new Dufour 37 slots in just above the 32-foot baby of the family, and it replaces the previous Dufour 360 from three years ago. You can see that the chafe is only occurring on one side of the line, the side that comes in contact with the sheave. I'm the owner of ImproveSailing. So youve determined your sailboats standing rigging needs work. On modern boats, chainplates are fitted outboard (right) and covered with a plate that lets water drain. The latter may indicate two things: one, that its simply surface rust, which you should be able to polish off, or two, that as the wire was being manufactured, a strand might have picked up some contamination during the process and is compromised, which is cause for concern. Check your spreaders, chainplates and turnbuckles for cracking, fatigue, missing cotter pins/rings, etc. Replacing electronics won't be very important - however, your batteries will need to be replaced more often. 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). Clean and lubricate them, then refasten them, and remember to mouse them with new galvanized wire and tape over the ends to avoid chafe. 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. For dry storage, part of the process can be to shrink wrap your boat. 0 www.rigbos.com. The theory is that youve crushed it so tightly that all the wires inside have just merged into one solid piece of stainless, Madden says. There are multiple combinations and variations: For instance, if your mast has double tangs, most likely the end fitting will be an eye although it can be a marine eye or an aircraft eye, which differ primarily in shape. Do this by placing a wrap of tape 3 up from the upper chainplate pin hole on each upper shroud. 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. Thus the standing rigging is made up of all the cables and . Then theres just age, and this factor as a reason to re-rig is more subject to a boats history than anything else. Youll need about 500 feet for an average 30 footer. I can only assume this is due to the risk of rocking the hull off its jackstands. 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. The total maintenance cost varies a lot, depending on the following factors: Still, we want a general feel of what to expect.