Cost of Standing Rigging Repalcement

[slug]

Originally Posted by svspirited

$2400 sounds a bit high to unstep and step for a deck stepped mast. I paid $2400 for a 63' dual spreader mast that had spar-tite installed the wrong way which made pulling the mast something of a nightmare. Mine was in the water and the yard has a crane by the waterside to pull, it would have been at least another $1,000 if a crane had to be brought in to pull it. The cost on the actual rigging sounds about right depending on what they are using, I used hy-mods for everything and the boat is cutter rigged with roller furlers on everything, SSB insulators for the back stay, a new topping lift, and new rigging for the running back stays. I think the total for all of that, plus fixing some corrosion on the spreaders ran about $9,200.

Next time you use spar tight embed a string or wire that allows you to “saw “ thru the spartight

On most boats the mast is not parallel to the mast partner walls

[Hardhead]

IMO - the best thing to do with everything, is always call around - and get some different quotes. It's not unusual to get a ridiculously high quote, and some other proposal outliers. You never what you're getting - when you're only getting one quote. That advice has always paid off for me.

[joelhemington]

Is there a specific reason for pulling the mast? The two rerigs I've been involved with didn't include pulling the mast, though both were slightly smaller and keel stepped boats. We just replaced the wire and swages. If it were my boat I'd have sprung for the stay lock fittings but they are more expensive (at least the first time) than swages.

[gonesail]

that's what I was going to ask: do you really need to pull the mast to do the standing rigging? guess it depends on your experience and ability to have some help with going up the mast.

[guyrj33]

Cost to unstep and restep while on the hard by my yard is around $2,400, cost to repalce the rigging is $6,800. So, $9,200 is my final cost. I really expected less and am surprized.

$2,600 for a deck stepped mast is way too high. I suggest getting some other quotes.
Recognizing you're already out of the water and sort of stuck if you want the work done this winter, perhaps some other quotes will improve your bargaining position.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by Gripfast

Just recieved a quote for replacement of the standing rigging on my boat. She is an 04 Beneteau 361. I am in the Middle Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia and thought it would be competitive there, But I really dont have any experience in the cost of this work and have nothing to judge it with.

Cost to unstep and restep while on the hard by my yard is around $2,400, cost to repalce the rigging is $6,800. So, $9,200 is my final cost. I really expected less and am surprized.

Do any of you folks have any experience in rerigging similar sized, (36 ft.) sloop rigged boats?

Thanks in advance for your opinions, advice.

I will second the suggestion to get at least two other bids, that will tell you if the first is out of line. If there are other marinas/riggers available at other locations give them a try as well...I suspect riggers at the same location will have similar pricing.

As your boat is a 2004, and I suspect has jib furling, you might consider the possibility that your furling will need maintenance/repair/replacement which will further drive up the expense. When I had my rigging replaced the riggers said the cost to repair the older Harken furler was not cost effective (if parts were available) so I had it replaced as well. Maintenance costs have a habit of creeping upward once the job has begun for things you never thought of. To my credit, I was able to sell the old furling on craigslist to someone using it for a nonboating purpose to defray some of the expense.

Good Luck.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[RLaird]

Did you contact Walden rigging? They go south to Middle River & possibly beyond. Excellent folks

[StoneCrab]

I step and un-step my mast a lot. Some of the marinas are not accessible with the mast up, so it comes down by the public sea wall.

I've had good luck buying a case of beer for a local electrician who owns a boom truck (cherry picker). I usually pay him around $100 for his time/truck use. Since he isn't a rigger, I run the show, for better or worse, but I haven't had anything go poorly yet.

I like cherry pickers because you can stand in the basket for the mast work. I put a sling around the mast under my spreaders and winch it up from there.

If you do the prep work, like taking all the cotter pins out ahead of time, disconnecting the electric, positioning the cradles, un-stepping shouldn't take more than a half hour.

Stepping is a bit more involved and harder since more communication is required to get everything happening correctly at the right time. It is one thing to pull a pin, it is another to put one in if the mast isn't exactly where it needs to be.

I've had my worst experiences when working with the yard crews who call themselves riggers. I find that they are often not open to input from the owner. Even when you are trying to point out that if they pick it up the way they've slinged it, the center of gravity will be off, or it will be going up backwards... I kid you not! The RADAR pointing aft is always a bad sign.

If all you are going to do is replace the rigging, why unstep the mast? If you have the new wires made up in advance, just replace them one at a time. You can support the mast with halyards when you take one off. It requires some bosun chair time, but it isn't hard. All the precision work happens on deck after the new wires are pinned in place.

If you do it yourself, I have two pieces of advice: Leave the beers in the cooler until you are fully done and don't invite your Attention Deficit friends to help.

[misfits]

Call Rigging Only in New Bedford, Ma. Although not a 36', it cost me $1000.00 including shipping for my 28' Sabre. Find a cheap place to drop your mast, send them the rigging & couple days later you'll have new rigging at a fraction of the cost you're being quoted.

[zstine]

Sounds very high to me too. I have a 60ft keel step mast and it was $1300 for the crane and 2 guys to take it out and put it back in. I installed the new rigging myself. The rigging with swagged ends, pins and new turnbuckles was just over $3000 from rigging only. So, call it $4500 for everything not including my labor.



If you are having someone else do all the work for you, then yeah, I can see the price doubling especially if they are going to 'service' (lube, etc.) the mast. Labor is expensive in the USA with all the sue happy lawyers and liability costs involved. I wouldn't trust the guys who pulled my stick with their hydraulic leaking crane to do my rig... But some people choose to pay them thousands to pull and push pins. up 2 you.

[Hudson Force]

There were three times that I replaced some or most of my standing rigging for my 41' ketch during the 32 years of ownership. Like many boat projects the difference between presenting the job to a boat yard and asking for an estimate is far..... very far more expensive than taking on the task by yourself.

I will admit to having a great advantage in keeping this task low cost by having both my main and mizzen masts keel stepped and by having enough rigging to keep some stability while replacing a portion of the rig at a time. In addition, I was not pressed to have the job done quickly. My standing rigging included the forestay, two backstays from the main. six main shrouds, four mizzen shrouds, two mizzen backstays and the triatic.

With this total of 15 pieces of standing rigging I could replace a third of the rigging at a time while remaining in the water at a protected location and only substituting the forestay with with a temporary cable while it was removed.

I found that sending the rigging out or the specs for replacement was a great savings. On one occasion I used West Marine's service for fabrication and was very pleased.

I did this in 1985, 1997 and 2010. Wiping the cables with a tissue to catch any spurs or breaks; graphite rubbed on the swage fittings with a magnifier to see cracks; and consideration for the age helped with replacement decisions. It's generally considered that evaluating the bottom of the shroud fittings is sufficient as the upper ends have less salt spray and in less position to hold moisture.

[StoneCrab]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

It's generally considered that evaluating the bottom of the shroud fittings is sufficient as the upper ends have less salt spray and in less position to hold moisture.

I can't think of which YouTube channels that I saw this on, but in the past year, I've watched a number of cruising boats find broken wires at the masthead.

I shared your belief about the lower ends being the most vulnerable, but after seeing a few upper rigging inspections reveal problems, I decided to increase the scope of my own inspections to include going aloft more often.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by StoneCrab

...............
......... I shared your belief about the lower ends being the most vulnerable, but after seeing a few upper rigging inspections reveal problems, I decided to increase the scope of my own inspections to include going aloft more often.

I'm sure you're right about the need to check for damage anywhere. I should have included that I was specifically thinking of the salt intrusion and water frost and thaw that settles at the swage connection where the cable enters the fitting and the fact that by being inverted the top end doesn't collect material like the bottom. I know some used to rub wax or vaseline into this connection, but then there's the opposing thought that this will increase problems by depriving oxygen.

Maybe the best course of action would be close observation of the lower ends to help judge when to check everything. I'm sure others have had the same problem as me when trying to keep up with all the maintenance schedules. Sometimes a maintenance task would move to the top of my list just because I obsessed over some possible fault while I was trying to sleep!

My best choice was to keep a detailed maintenance log.

[slug]

Originally Posted by StoneCrab

I can't think of which YouTube channels that I saw this on, but in the past year, I've watched a number of cruising boats find broken wires at the masthead.

I shared your belief about the lower ends being the most vulnerable, but after seeing a few upper rigging inspections reveal problems, I decided to increase the scope of my own inspections to include going aloft more often.

Don’t be fooled by internet gossip

To inspect a fitting you must take it off the mast clean it , then examine it on the workbench

A common cause of rigging failure is poor alignment and poor manufacturing

The tool that performs the swage must have the correct tolerance and the person who uses this tool must know what they are doing

Only deal with a high quality rigging shop

[Scaramanga F25]

No need to remove the mast for re-rigging.