replacing running rigging on a sailboat

We're the first and last stop for parts and accessories. Most of my clients say to me without any prompting, This is one area I feel should be done by a professional, Madden says. On average, it costs about $15 to $20 per foot to get your sailboat hull painted professionally. 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. Before you contemplate the task of renewing your standing rigging you need to thoroughly inspect all components at close quarters to find out exactly what needs to be replaced and what items can be safely transferred to the new rig. If line is properly taken care of, it can last many decades. USCG safety regulations require you to replace safety gear regularly. Inexpensive, double-braid Dacron is a fine choice for furling lines on most boats shorter than 40 feet. Adhering to the minimum safety requirements shouldn't cost you more than 150 - 250 dollars every 5 years. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. 1. This could be a marine eye, a marine fork, a T-head or a J-hook, among others. A forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. It wears with time due to UV exposure, flogging, strain from the wind, and regular use. As with electronics, safety gear, and even sails, technology has significantly improved cordage. Well, for starters, I'd recommend doing most small maintenance yourself and ignore all non-essential. Included are halyards, main sheet, headsail sheets, and topping lift. The idea is you come on deck with this small canvas bag and make it happen, Cockerill says. Steps. Today, with the advent of super-strong synthetic line such as AmSteel and Dyneema, the need for that extra wire and gear is eliminated. Sun wear and constant use will wear down the sails and rigging even more. The total maintenance cost on a tight budget can get as low as $275 per year, or $23 per month. The diameter of the sheets and halyards will depend on what fits the blocks that you have. Another factor in your DIY decision-making process is simple: peace of mind. The three most commonly used types of attachments are swaged and mechanical fittings for wire, and cold heads for rod. Too narrow for equivalent ropeshould be 10% wider than the diameter of the rope. 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. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. 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. Most people need 2 risers + 2 exhaust manifolds. . 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 . And if your boat is in the the Seattle area, wed love to come take a look at your running rigging. 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+. Just because a line or even the whole boat is new, doesnt mean there isnt something wrong with the running rigging. 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. Opti Running Rigging Sheets Halyard Line Sailboat Kit. 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. Do a few turns on one side before going to the other and applying an equal number. It is comprised of fixed lines, wires, or rods that are designed to support each mast or bowsprit on sailing vessels. Free shipping on $90+! 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. I would think at the first notice of a few broken strands in more than two of the wires. 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. You mean all together don't you? 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. How the rigging has been tuned is also part of a boats story. This was most likely caused by something sharp and pointy that poked through the cover and caught on the core. Small dents in either the mast or the boom are often hotspots for failure, as they weaken the form of the spar. We replaced the line AND the sheave box to ensure that the new halyard wont chafe. They can provide a higher percentage of nominal capacity than lead-acid batteries, without shortening their life. 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. The customer had had the boat re-rigged, and during a trip to the BVI, the new wire stretched. Just tell us the best email address to send your tips to: Improve Sailing Generally its much better to stay with the more traditional line for the running rigging of older boats. 2. 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. No signs of corrosion or stray strands anywhere. The only thing we can really do is regularly inspect lines to look for wear. Let's hoist the sails and get started! The owner didnt adjust the rigging to compensate for the stretch for several seasons. Top manufacturers of swaged fittings are Hayn Marine Rigging Products, Alexander Roberts and C. Sherman Johnson. I just replaced all the rope running rigging on a Catalina 27 for about $300. I dont want be a scaremonger, but standing rigging has so many possible failure points that regular inspections should really be part of every pre-cruise integrity check. Before long this will create slack in the rig, generating bends and stresses elsewhere. The average price of a used cruising sailboat is between $10,000 and $100,000. 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 reason it is a scheduled item is that a visual inspection prolly won't detect defects. On top of that, maintaining your boat properly is critical. The short answer is, lithium batteries perform better and last longer than many lead-acid batteries. Dyneema is especially susceptible to UV degradation. Dear improvesailing.com webmaster, Your posts are always well-supported by facts and figures. For a medium-sized boat (30-50 feet), the cost will be somewhere between $2000 and $4000. 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. Technical support for boat owners and maintenance yards servicing Sabre sail and motor yachts | Sabre Yachts Technical Support Contacts in Sabre's After Sales Service Department may be reached by calling 207-655-3831 or by filling in the contact form. If you have (reasonable) evidence that the PO replaced only the worst sections, it's safe to assume that the rest of the rig is getting ancient and failure prone. You should be able to get the specs off the internet. This line wont last long in these conditions. The total maintenance cost for a bluewater cruiser will average around $3,225 per year or $269 per month. Why do you want to suddenly replace all your running rigging? The sails, rigging, and engine will be less critical if you won't take her out very often. Sailboat rigging very rarely fails from being overloaded. But if you want the good stuff, need more fire extinguishers, plan on spending more like $600. Running rigging varies between vessels that are rigged fore and aft and those that are square-rigged. The warm trade winds in the West Indies were calling; time to go sailing. For instance, the Rigging Company makes a spare-stay kit that can accommodate either wire or rod rigging repairs, Cockerill says. 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. 34' Bermuda Sloop rig will cost you about $3,000 - $5,000. By taking on the labor yourself, you'll probably save as much as $2,000 on the re-rigging cost, he says. I recently sailed on a boat that had rust around the wire/swage on all the shrouds. A lot of new boat owners overlook the maintenance costs of sailboats - and maintenance can get pricey quickly. Whether you want to replace aging and questionable rigging, be able to handle a wider range of weather conditions, or add sail trimming upgrades for more speed and better pointing to windward, this ebook will show you . The average price of used sailboats is $111,000, ranging from $19,000 to $518,000. Although the hull actually read more, It was March, and Id made it through another Maine winter. If you replace the rigging preventively, you should never experience the failure I did. The November 1969 Modern Boating magazine . 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. The sheave in the halyard exit box is chipped and has sharp edges. 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. Prices for new boats typically range from $100,000 to $500,000. To avoid excessive wear, make sure your halyard sheaves are the proper type for whatever line you select. Then we head over to Bacon Sails and Marine Supplies for a tu. Did you find the answer to your specific question? This way you wont risk deforming the mast or pulling a fitting out of line. Note wire and pin diameters and measure the wires as accurately as possible between pin centers with the rig fully tensioned. 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. 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.

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