To avoid you have to go cheap on your safety gear, I've put it in the budget for $500. Polyester double braid works great for frequently adjusted lines, like main and jib sheets, or moderately loaded control lines. With a spare mechanical end fitting, wire and the proper tools, you can replace a stay pretty much anywhere. If you suspect a possible crack, try running some dye over itthe crack will become much more obvious that way. Your boat will need bottom paint roughly every 2 years (could be longer, but to be safe, let's keep it at two). Listing Results for Shore Support & Services, Sailing & Rigging and ENG1 Medical Certificate in Marans, Levallois Perret and Cap D'Agde You want a reliable boat, which means you'll fix anything that needs fixing immediately. The total maintenance cost for a bluewater cruiser will average around $3,225 per year or $269 per month. Winter storms and ice can damage the hull and mast as well. Its 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. If line is properly taken care of, it can last many decades. With all of these factors in mind, what can you expect to pay for standing rigging replacement? Rig inspections, rig replacement and rig upgrades is how we can help. Skilled marine technicians charge from $75 - $150 per hour. We are cruisers who sail around 500 nm per year, and are able to avoid frequent encounters with heavy weather by laying over if storms are in the offing. I'll explain each line item in detail later on. I live in Friesland, The Netherlands, which is famous for its great lakes and lots of sailing opportunities. Riggers say the question of whether to rig with wire or rod is usually fairly easily answered: Run what you brung. The screw threads and locking nuts need regular cleaning and some light greasing to prevent corrosion. Some boaters don't shrink wrap in the winter because of it. They also would carry a piece of wire as long as the longest stay on the boat coiled and stowed, which undeniably was sometimes easier said than done as well as spare end fittings and the tools needed to replace a broken shroud or stay. Kinks in wire is like chafe on a line. Start at the bottom, working your way up from the lowers, to the cap shrouds and finally the stays. Since then I've enjoyed sailing very much - and I've never been afraid of the water again. Deck hardware consists of the bullseyes, tiller, eye straps, cleats, and so on. You should be able to get the specs off the internet. Die testing wont pick it up, and its rare that a wire will give you warning before breaking.. 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. I agree with a general average of 20 years for replacing the standing rigging. Also, you'll have plenty of time doing odd jobs yourself, since you'll be living on the boat. The reason it is a scheduled item is that a visual inspection prolly won't detect defects. 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. I push the boat hard whenever conditions allow and am always a bit leery of its old rigging. A swaged fitting is a terminus thats attached using a machine called a swager. Parts total: $600 on average Small dents in either the mast or the boom are often hotspots for failure, as they weaken the form of the spar. 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. 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. Redoing the running rigging on a cruising sailboat involves measuring, measuring and measuring. I ended up just replacing all of the standing rigging through rigginonly.com in Fairhaven Ma. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. 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. 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. OK, it isn't cheap, but it can absolutely be done on a budget. Youre out there offshore and theres a squall coming and you start worrying about the craziest of things, and you dont want to have any unknowns. Thats especially true of the system that keeps the mast and sails up. Top manufacturers of swaged fittings are Hayn Marine Rigging Products, Alexander Roberts and C. Sherman Johnson. Click here for a full walkthrough with diagrams. . The easiest place to work on your rig is on the ground. The breaking strength of this line is now significantly reduced. Put together both the pieces of your mast. Send messengers up mast for in-mast rigging - 3/2018 If your standing rigging is . Perhaps a rogue cotter pin sticking out of a turnbuckle. Much depends on where it is manufactured; Herman and other riggers say the best wire today is coming from South Korea through a manufacturer called KOS, making wire to military specifications. Finally, rod rigging requires a particular type of terminus called a cold head that can be fabricated only with a purpose-built machine, which only a rigging shop will have. Chafe occurs when line rubs against a sharp or rough surface. Best Price Opti Running Rigging Sheets Halyard Line Sailboat Kit 100% Original + FREE Delivery discount activity gsmsharmaji.com, US $174 sail ties Lower Spirit Halyard 1 ea and shock cords One of the best ways to improve an aging Opti is to overhaul and replace all the running rigging Upper Spirit Halyard 1 ea, Free shipping on all orders . Keep the tension equal on each side by counting the turns on each turnbuckle. And never forget the golden rule: if in doubt, sling it out. The theory is that it can take 10 to 15 years of cycling, but this continual motion when its unloaded is what fatigues the wire, Madden says. The benefits of rod are less stretch, less weight, less windage, and arguably longer life than wire, because theres less possibility for corrosion of the rod itself. It rolls the end fitting through two opposing dies and compresses the fitting on the wire so tightly that it cant pull out. The warm trade winds in the West Indies were calling; time to go sailing. 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. 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. Theres no real way of measuring that. We're looking for writers! and about a 200' " anchor .line. I'm on Lake Michigan. 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+. The boat owner or previous rigger had clearly replaced the old line without looking for the source of the chafe. Now, let's return to the original proposition, which was a complete replacementon three different cost levelsof basic running rigging for a 32 sloop. If you own a bluewater cruiser, your maintenance cost will go up a lot. Now would also be a good time to change those old cotter pins and circlip rings as well. Depending on the spreader joint, cap shrouds can sometimes prove troublesome as well, often requiring the spreaders to be disconnected at their roots. 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). In this article, we'll break down the average prices of different sailboats by type, age, condition, and size. 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. It is comprised of fixed lines, wires, or rods that are designed to support each mast or bowsprit on sailing vessels. This way you wont risk deforming the mast or pulling a fitting out of line. You cannot use a mechanical fitting on rod rigging. Your engine will wear out faster, and you'll need more incidental repairs as well. Gas engine will last a lot less long than diesels. Batteries have a limited number of charge cycles. For a small boat (under 30 feet), you can expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $2000 for standing rigging replacement. Running the halyards Both the Jib and Main halyards are purple , high-load, Marlow Spectra line. Proper size and material components for the rig are further consideration. If you live on a boat in a location where it falls below freezing temperature (good luck!). Modelers Central guide you through the importance it adds to the beauty of your finished model. The average maintenance cost will be roughly $255 dollars per month for boats under 30' or just under $3,000 per year. Likewise, if you are re-rigging your sailboatboat, use the opportunity to check your chainplates (easily the subject of another article entirely), since thats one of the most common points of rigging failure. You could consider buying a LED electric distress light instead, which will last you a lifetime. What is the average sailboat maintenance cost? The former requires someone with a swage machine to fit terminals, the latter you can fit yourselfwith care. Generally its much better to stay with the more traditional line for the running rigging of older boats. Your subscription could not be saved. It will always be a judgment call. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. If you use your batteries extensively, they will most likely need replacing after 3-4 years, for example, for liveaboards or full-time cruisers. Buy some light line and run it as you would your sheets and halyards and measure that. Free shipping on $90+! So youve determined your sailboats standing rigging needs work. Contact us Chafe usually happens gradually over long periods of time and it is only a serious problem when it goes unnoticed. A forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. The number one destroyer of line is chafe. Replacing the running rigging on your sailboat seems like it should be fairly simple, and a decade or two ago, it was. Most racers that use stripped cover halyards are diligent about inspecting these lines and some even replace them every season. How much does a used sail cost? Gas engines run for about 1,500 hours, diesel engines run for 5,000. Theres a rule of thumb, but it varies rigger to rigger, says Steve Madden, co-owner of M Yacht Services in Annapolis and the head of its M Rigging division. Sailors' hands are busy with the running rigging most on a sailboat. Overall condition is good with some kinks here and there. Outboard starters run from about $100 - $500. 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. Good question. 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. 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. 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. Click here for a full walkthrough with diagrams. Note wire and pin diameters and measure the wires as accurately as possible between pin centers with the rig fully tensioned. Running rigging varies between vessels that are rigged fore and aft and those that are square-rigged. Have a feel for any rough or sharp edges, especially cotter pin ends that might chafe lines or sails. Replacing electronics won't be very important - however, your batteries will need to be replaced more often. They can provide a higher percentage of nominal capacity than lead-acid batteries, without shortening their life. Connect the halyard to the head of the sail, here we are looping the halyard back over its plastic stopper to lock it in place. 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. 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. Although rod rigging is more common on racing boats, many well-known cruising-boat builders, such as Valiant, Bristol, J/Boats and Hinckley, have rod-rigged models. Don't forget that this site will also replace your rigging. The total maintenance cost for a small daytripper will average around $1,600 per year or $133 per month. The customer had had the boat re-rigged, and during a trip to the BVI, the new wire stretched. But Marissa and Chris Neely on Avocet saw a weather window and jumped, making their first big offshore passage the wrong way from Santa Barbara to San Francisco and loving itmostly. Next check the back and forestay fittings where they connect to the mast, ensuring any clevis pins are straight and secure. I would think at the first notice of a few broken strands in more than two of the wires. Adhering to the minimum safety requirements shouldn't cost you more than 150 - 250 dollars every 5 years. Most engines will last you about 20 years, depending on the amount of use and whether you use it properly. and about a 200 anchor .line. Winterization is an often-overlooked cost, but it can be one of the largest expenses each year. 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. To avoid excessive wear, make sure your halyard sheaves are the proper type for whatever line you select. if it were wire you could get away for about half that price. Privacy Policy, Improve Sailing helps you to make your sailing dream actionable, by writing in-depth articles on practical questions. The owner didnt adjust the rigging to compensate for the stretch for several seasons. Enough tape to cover a cotter pin suffices; otherwise, leave the metal open to the air. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. 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. 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. To the best of my knowledge it hasn't had a trailer until last year so the mast was up through the winter. 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.). On sailboats, however, there aren't a lot of non-essential parts. They can also crack under the constant tension, particularly if the rig has been pumping in rough seas or if the toggles that ensure proper shroud alignment have seized and cant move freely.