Renewing Standing Rigging

[coldar1]

The standing rigging on my 2006 built Lagoon 440 is original and I'm planning on an East to West Atlantic crossing early 2015. Can anyone perhaps advise of locations in the Western end of the Med where they have had rigging work done, and any additional comments that might help my search to find where I can have my standing rigging renewed? Kind regards

[robert sailor]

You can get rigging work done in Marmaris, Kusadasi and the Greek Island of Sumas, I'm sure there are other places as well but I know of these. There are other shops further east but if you are going to have rigging done I would do it here as at least you will get it done when you want it done rather than long waits.

[S/V Alchemy]

May I ask if you have reasons to assume that the standing rigging is compromised? Even in briny Florida, allegedly the harshest place for rigging, I understand that 10-12 years is the generally accepted lifespan of the usual sort of wire rigging.

[TacomaSailor]

Here is an optimistic note about older standing rigging.

In October 2013 we had the standing rigging on our 1994 cutter inspected. The shrouds were 18 years old and the backstay/forestay 15 years old. The boat had been in the hot salty environments for 8 years. There was a lot of rust and what I thought corrosion. I had planned on replacing everything.

Two professional riggers spent three hours inspecting the entire rig.

The only part needing replacement was the toggle at the base of the forestay. All the rest of the rig was in perfect condition.

You can hope!

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by TacomaSailor

Here is an optimistic note about older standing rigging.

In October 2013 we had the standing rigging on our 1994 cutter inspected. The shrouds were 18 years old and the backstay/forestay 15 years old. The boat had been in the hot salty environments for 8 years. There was a lot of rust and what I thought corrosion. I had planned on replacing everything.

Two professional riggers spent three hours inspecting the entire rig.

The only part needing replacement was the toggle at the base of the forestay. All the rest of the rig was in perfect condition.

You can hope!

The news is even better in fresh water. I replaced my standing rigging last spring after 39 years:The world encompassed: Rigging: The game

I need to polish one tang and replace one pin. Cost was under a grand, a rare case when it comes to boats. Also, I'm going to recycle the original rigging for strops and lifelines, etc.

[Tynesider]

Interesting post on rigging!

Here in the UK most insurance companies will not be impressed with rigging over 14 years old and if anything happens to the mast etc you can be sure they will ask for proof of when it was last replaced.

Like many other places the North Sea is not the most user friendly at times to yachtsmen and there has been many a day I was sure glad I replaced my rigging!

[coldar1]

Thanks for all the very useful comments. I think the first thing I need to do is have the rig surveyed and make a call from there. I am concerned about what view my Insurance company would take if the rigging fails but I'm guessing a survey certificate giving the rigging an "all-clear" should satisfy any concerns in that regard.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by coldar1

Thanks for all the very useful comments. I think the first thing I need to do is have the rig surveyed and make a call from there. I am concerned about what view my Insurance company would take if the rigging fails but I'm guessing a survey certificate giving the rigging an "all-clear" should satisfy any concerns in that regard.

If you anticipate hard driving your boat for weeks at a time, it's bordering on sensible to consider an early rerigging. If you've been going around with slack stays and indifferent tuning, it's also sensible as the movement of slack tuning will have strained and damaged the various fittings. But unless you anchor off a salt pan or downwind from a chemical plant, I find it unlikely that barely eight years of typical use would eat up standing rigging, unless, perhaps, it was undersized or poorly assembled in the first place.

I will rerig before we cross the oceans, but I won't bother for the Toronto-Halifax portion, because my ocean-capable boat has never seen salt water and the rigging looks new despite being 25 years old. I wouldn't do that for a boat that had been exclusively in salt water, but then I would suspect to see some evidence of corrosion in that environment, too.

The worst case scenario is that you have a lighter wallet, peace of mind, a happy insurance company and a complete set of replacement stays you can vacuum-seal and put low in the boat. I would duplicate a few of the more critical tangs and related bits, however, as they can fail well before the actual stays do.

[a64pilot]

How about a 2003 boat that spent her first three yrs in fresh water, but the last three in Fl? Use will be only day / weekend coastal sailing and if the wx forecast is bad, it will stay in it's slip, so the only real weather possibility is being caught out in a afternoon thunderstorm?
Rigging survey cost is $500, and that on top of $700 survey cost and $300 to haul the boat. All this is starting to add up and I'm wondering do I really need to spend $500 for someone to tell me it's fine?

[Dulcesuenos]

Have you actually found a rigger willing to put anything in writing on 10+ year old rigging stating they would stand behind it or that it has x nmbr of years left? I would be shocked and amazed if at the end of an expensive rigging survey your survey still didnt say "given the age we recc replacement even though rigging "appears ok" Riggers like surveyors almost always cover themselves as such so in the end would it really appease the ins co?

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Tynesider]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

How about a 2003 boat that spent her first three yrs in fresh water, but the last three in Fl? Use will be only day / weekend coastal sailing and if the wx forecast is bad, it will stay in it's slip, so the only real weather possibility is being caught out in a afternoon thunderstorm?
Rigging survey cost is $500, and that on top of $700 survey cost and $300 to haul the boat. All this is starting to add up and I'm wondering do I really need to spend $500 for someone to tell me it's fine?

Wow thats a good way to spend money , if you know how old your rigging is or your not happy about the condition just put your money towards getting the rigging replaced, as you say you do not need to spend hard earned money for someone to tell you it needs replaceing.

As all places the weather is always unpredictable and NEVER think it won't happen to you, and wondering if the rigging will be ok is not one for your 'I wished I had done it list'!!

Good luck

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

How about a 2003 boat that spent her first three yrs in fresh water, but the last three in Fl? Use will be only day / weekend coastal sailing and if the wx forecast is bad, it will stay in it's slip, so the only real weather possibility is being caught out in a afternoon thunderstorm?
Rigging survey cost is $500, and that on top of $700 survey cost and $300 to haul the boat. All this is starting to add up and I'm wondering do I really need to spend $500 for someone to tell me it's fine?

Well, what's the cost if it's not fine and your rig goes by the boards? I've seen this during Lake Ontario races (it put me off rod rigging in one case) and heard over the SSB of two nearby Swan 53s retiring from the Carib 1500 with busted forestays.

Only you can evaluate that sort of risk, but, like learning how to do your own rig tuning, how to winterize, how to splice rode and how to do shaft alignments, it may be time to go aloft and visually inspect the rig, or even to get a dye-test kit.

Part of my attempts to improve my seamanship involve increasing my self-reliance at the same time as recognizing when I have to pay for a pro to do the job I need done.

[Jim Cate]

If you have roller furling/reefing on the forestay, I would replace at least that one wire. We see all to many such stays breaking in the cruising fleets, almost always just where the wire exits the upper terminal. My personal belief is that using the headsail deeply reefed puts unusual loads near the center of the stay, and that this results in such great angular distortion that the toggles "bottom" out and the wire fatigues at the exit point.

The rest of the rig is less stressed and might well be fine.

Cheers,

Jim

[MARINE ENGINNER]

Originally Posted by coldar1

The standing rigging on my 2006 built Lagoon 440 is original and I'm planning on an East to West Atlantic crossing early 2015. Can anyone perhaps advise of locations in the Western end of the Med where they have had rigging work done, and any additional comments that might help my search to find where I can have my standing rigging renewed? Kind regards

dear coldar1 hi
have you finally changed your standing rigging? what was the cost and where?

M.E