Standing Rigging Replacement - How Frequently?

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by Atcowboy

I would assume that when an insurance company says rigging they mean everything.

• Standing lines
• Swaged, compression, or spliced ends
• eyes, turnbuckles, toggles/pins, cotters
• chain plates, mast connection points, all fasteners
• immediate surrounding area to any connection point

I can't imagine any self respecting insurance company that has stated they want the rigging to be <10 years old paying out for damages caused by a rigging failure where brand new standing lines ripped out 10+ year old chain plates.

We must remember, an insurance company is a scheme were you are sold air (the belief you will be compensated financially) and they make their money by doing all they can to not do that.

- AT

i agree with your description of insurance...however chain plates certainly do not meet my definition of 'rigging'

i expect that an insurance co would look at chain plate failure the same way they look at keels falling off - was it accidental failure (insurable) or negligence (probably not insurable) ?

don't forget that insurance does not relieve an owner of the responsibility to maintain the vessel properly

cheers,

[Atcowboy]

Originally Posted by chrisr

i agree with your description of insurance...however chain plates certainly do not meet my definition of 'rigging'

i expect that an insurance co would look at chain plate failure the same way they look at keels falling off - was it accidental failure (insurable) or negligence (probably not insurable) ?

don't forget that insurance does not relieve an owner of the responsibility to maintain the vessel properly

cheers,

I wouldn't consider chain plates exclusive of rigging. So if the chain plate were to fail, or the chain plate fasteners were to fail, or the chain plate were to rip out of damaged/decaying structure, but the wire was brand new I would think it would not be covered. Structure would be negligence, and the rest would be rigging not less than 10 years old. But it would also be difficult for me to have a less favorable view of insurance companies than I currently do, so maybe I'm jaded.

- AT

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by Atcowboy

Structure would be negligence, and the rest would be rigging not less than 10 years old. But it would also be difficult for me to have a less favorable view of insurance companies than I currently do, so maybe I'm jaded.

- AT

If you read the weather wrong or even more to a point, never bothered with a weather report at all, went out sailing, got hammered and suffered loss, maybe even a total loss, that would be negligent, right? Would your insurance cover you? Absolutely.

If you were driving your car, were momentarily distracted and piled into the back of a stationary vehicle, would that be negligent? No question. Would your insurance cover it? Absolutely.

If you left your laptop on the back seat of your locked car in a parking garage, that would be negligent. Would your insurer pay if the window got smashed and the laptop stolen. For sure.

I could describe a 1000 such events. In essence a great deal of insurance claims are paid out following acts of negligence by the insured party. That’s why we insure - to protect ourselves from our own negligence. If my insurer (boat, house, home contents, motor vehicles, whatever) told me that negligence was excluded from the cover, I would no longer bother insuring anything - there would be no real point because almost all insurance claims involve an element of negligence and would be used to decline a claim.

But insurers are getting clever - they’re bringing in rules that force you not to be negligent and in so doing, mitigate their risk. Hence 10 years limit on rigging.

[DeValency]

Originally Posted by Atcowboy

I would assume that when an insurance company says rigging they mean everything.

• Standing lines
• Swaged, compression, or spliced ends
• eyes, turnbuckles, toggles/pins, cotters
• chain plates, mast connection points, all fasteners
• immediate surrounding area to any connection point

I can't imagine any self respecting insurance company that has stated they want the rigging to be <10 years old paying out for damages caused by a rigging failure where brand new standing lines ripped out 10+ year old chain plates.

We must remember, an insurance company is a scheme were you are sold air (the belief you will be compensated financially) and they make their money by doing all they can to not do that.

- AT

Ah yes, sure... Going down the list, the rationale can easily be that you also need to replace the boat's structural ribs and bulkheads every x years, where chain plates are mounted etc. etc.

There is a fine balance between the need of insurance companies risk mitigating and the reasonable clients reality. The carriers losses come from major natural disasters, not fallen masts or any other boat condition related failures. But when they get unreasonable claims, they know what to do. I would say that most reputable carriers are quite flexible and fair when they need to pay - if they want to stay in business.

[col50]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

This video is interesting. At the beginning he states that the Coast Guard requires rigging replacement at 6 years in Florida or the tropics and 12 years in great lakes areas on inspected boats.

The whole video is good.

In the video, this guy says you should just cut the chain plates off at deck level and glass over them. Really? And this guy is one of the best? Obviously he has very high standards. God help us.

[mitiempo]

Originally Posted by col50

In the video, this guy says you should just cut the chain plates off at deck level and glass over them. Really? And this guy is one of the best? Obviously he has very high standards. God help us.

Struck me as a pretty strange comment as well.

[coz]

I race on several '70's boats @ 35-40 ft that have probably never had their rigging replaced. We race in anywhere from light to heavy (5-30kts) using the best sails for conditions. We race every week. We bury the rail. A rigger would steer us toward new standing rigging every time if we hired him. some boats were built light, others not. Would I trust an old boats rigging? yes and no, for bouy racing I would run it till the mast topples or the rigging gives indications of fatigue/failure (strands/tiny cracks/rust bleed). If I were to sail offshore maybe single handed I would replace or spend my money on a damn good life raft (15-20k)....my 2 cents.