replacing running rigging on a sailboat

Swaging is a strong and durable way to attach end fittings to wire rigging. After that, you'll need to change them out. Attach as many of the rigging lines as possible to the masts, booms, and gaffs. I ended up just replacing all of the standing rigging through rigginonly.com in Fairhaven Ma. 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. . USCG safety regulations require you to replace safety gear regularly. Deep cycle batteries (which are best for household functionality) need replacing every 4-6 years and will cost roughly $600. You can take a masthead halyard from side to side to ensure that the masthead is on center. As you can see, most of these costs are longterm recurring maintenance costs. Learn all about the dangers of failing to winterize here. PDF Rigging Manual Rev - Club 420 9034 GD Marsum So youre sailing offshore and youre looking at the windward shroud thats taut, and thats not the one to worry about. The easiest way to prevent line from chafing all the way through is to simply look at your line. It sounds to me that the question is when, not if you will go for new rigging. Stainless steel needs oxygen to prevent crevice corrosion, so dont overdo it with tape (left); enough to cover the cotter pin will suffice (center). Switching to Lithium Batteries on Your Boat - Power & Motoryacht . Before long this will create slack in the rig, generating bends and stresses elsewhere. Do you hire a pro or go it alone? The reason it is a scheduled item is that a visual inspection prolly won't detect defects. It's a really helpful post (with a formula) if you want to know what to expect. Wendy Mitman Clarke is currently between passages. Most recent receipt was for lower stays 10 years ago. That cost me $10k. I'll pull the standing rigging and as much hardware as reasonably possible (tangs, bolts, pins, turnbuckles, etc) and drop it off to a local rigger. Step 1 - Hire a professional rigger with a good reputation to do a thorough survey of your standing AND running rigging. Copyright 2023 Cruising World. With chainplates its often not the actual hardware that fails, but the structure that supports them. The 150 Genoa sheets were 35 feet each as Faster suggests but my halyard lines, which are wire and rope were only 40 feet of rope. But not just any kind of sailing. This way you wont risk deforming the mast or pulling a fitting out of line. The cost of replacing the standing rigging will vary greatly depending on the size of your boat and the location you get the job done. There are some question as to whether or not you should replace your turnbuckles along with the wire. This is a very serious problem for the average sailor. For a 26' sailboat, that's just 500 bucks. How Much Do New Sails Cost? | Life of Sailing Click here for a full walkthrough with diagrams. Few places on the planet have such a devoted, diverse, and downright joyful yacht racing season as the island read more, Ive never laughed so hard as I have on some of my charters, but its typically only funny after the fact. 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. read more, 2023 Active Interest Media All Rights Reserved. Seems like a lot for a 40' boat. Now, let's return to the original proposition, which was a complete replacementon three different cost levelsof basic running rigging for a 32 sloop. Sailors' hands are busy with the running rigging most on a sailboat. Since each one is 34' and then add another 6-10 to be safe? 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. (Deck-stepped masts are less prone to corrosion as the foot of the mast is open to the air and can dry quickly.) It requires more careful consideration of condition, usage, and inspection for signs of failure. Get all your parts together. When the rig is tuned the wires are stretched. These specific components likewise reinforce the spars against increased loads when wind interacts . Rigging Your Cruising Sailboat Yourself - Sailing Eurybia All rod rigging terminates in a cold head, which accommodates the end fitting or is encapsulated by the end fitting. The cost of replacing the standing rigging is, on average, $4,000 every 10 years. Still a lot of people single braid nylon for docklines, its a little more flexible. Start by digging out the bosuns chair and finding a trusted (and hopefully fit) buddy to help you. Old turning blocks, padeyes, sheaves and cam cleats as well as genoa tracks and rope clutches are just not capable of handling the loads you can exert using high tech line. The short answer is, lithium batteries perform better and last longer than many lead-acid batteries. 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. Preparing The Boat For Rigging. Liveaboards that don't really sail that much have less maintenance to do in one way, and more in another. Learn all about the dangers of failing to winterize here. How Much Does It Cost to Replace Standing Sailing Rigging? Good question. You want a reliable boat, which means you'll fix anything that needs fixing immediately. With the forestay removed, take the opportunity to fully service your headsail furling gear as well. If your running rigging has seen better days, now might be the time to replace it. Another trouble spot on keel-stepped masts is where the spar enters the deck, especially if water has leaked under the mast collar. 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. 1. Check your spreaders, chainplates and turnbuckles for cracking, fatigue, missing cotter pins/rings, etc. 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. This line is double braided polyester, so the cover is responsible for carrying up to 30% of the load. 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. Look for cracks, corrosion and worn clevis pins or shackles, removing any tape and replacing cotter pins and split rings where necessary. The total maintenance cost for a liveaboard will average around $1,550 per year or $129 per month. On longer boats, you can opt for a furling-line material of more esoteric double-braids with less stretch. If you suspect a possible crack, try running some dye over itthe crack will become much more obvious that way. Similarly, its easier to find usable replacement parts far from busy ports. You will most likely also need (or want) to replace toggles and cotter pins, even if you keep the turnbuckles. Double Braid: A braided core inside a braided cover. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more! Yes, doing it yourself will theoretically save money. As I have done a fair amount of club racing, my personal preference would be to use any of the above products for everything except the halyards and then go for a lighter, low stretch, high tech product such as New England Ropes T-900 for the halyards and get the eye splices done professionally. How the rigging has been tuned is also part of a boats story. 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. Included are halyards, main sheet, headsail sheets, and topping lift. Its common to choose to fit lighter swaged terminals at the top of a stay or shroud and mechanical ones at the bottom, where swaged terminals are more vulnerable to corrosion. how much fuel a sailboat uses in my article, ICC (International Certificate of Competence, Average Cost of Buying & Owning a Sailboat (With 4 Examples). Most racers that use stripped cover halyards are diligent about inspecting these lines and some even replace them every season. Cut a square piece of wood about 3-4 on each side. Double braid lines are used in running rigging and dock . In the past, long-distance cruisers typically chose wire rigging with mechanical fittings for all of these reasons. A boat in the water is in constant motion and the rigging experiences constant micro shock loads even when sitting in the slip. Copyright 2023 ImproveSailing.com To the best of my knowledge it hasn't had a trailer until last year so the mast was up through the winter. 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. If you want to know exactly what the USCG safety requirements are, including checklists, definitely check out my article here. So you don't want them on there. Lastly, check your boom, starting with the gooseneck, mainsheet and vang fittings, where huge forces are applied when the rig is under load. There is no hard and fast rule for when to replace your running rigging. And never forget the golden rule: if in doubt, sling it out. For dry storage, part of the process can be to shrink wrap your boat. The running rigging consists of the halyards, sheets . Take a look at your mast stepparticularly if your mast is keel-stepped, as bilge water can cause serious corrosion at the foot of the mast. I personally take stock of a pleasure boat's components and their age and will not load an older boat's rigging as much as I would a newer one. If line is properly taken care of, it can last many decades. The simple answer is to measure it. But a newly cracked sheave or an exposed cotter pin can quickly shred a line that otherwise would have lasted much longer. Redoing the running rigging on a cruising sailboat involves measuring, measuring and measuring. How to: replace a halyard - Yachting Monthly But you should think carefully before you go ahead and buy any high tech replacement running rigging. Lifejackets have to be replaced every 10 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. 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. For all remaining running rigging, you can use polyester double-braid rope. How to Rig a Laser Sailboat: 12 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow if it were wire you could get away for about half that price. 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. The easiest place to work on your rig is on the ground. Check the deck around the chainplates and mast for cracking and delamination. Strong, durable lines are essential for controlling the sails on your boat without risking your own safety, or that of the sails. 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.

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replacing running rigging on a sailboat