cost of a sailboat refit

[myjeepx]

has anyone had a refit recently? We have a sailboat (sloop) that is 36 foot and they want $4500 for the standing rigging alone, not to mention the labor and parts....anyone else refitted recently or replaced sails?

[irwinsailor]

My boat is about done. It took 5.5 years and just under $100,000. to do. We did all the work ourselves.

[captden]

When we did our refit two years ago it cost almost $10,000 for a new mizzen mast with rigging and close to $8,000 for a complete suit of sails that included a 130% genoa stay sail full batten main and a full batten mizzen. If you saw my post when our boat was involved in a collision last summer the damages came to about $103,000. That included repair to the hull, new paint job, and a new galley.

[Pblais]

has anyone had a refit recently? We have a sailboat (sloop) that is 36 foot and they want $4500 for the standing rigging alone, not to mention the labor and parts....anyone else refitted recently or replaced sails?

I had a quote two years ago for all new standing rigging reusing the lower staylock fittings and just replacing the internal wedges on a 33 ft boat for about $4000. That was basic 19 strand 9/32 in wire on a 50 ft mast with running back stays. No other work was included. I would throw in a new set of sheaves if I were going to re rig. This was a keel stepped mast and they would have done it all in the water. The bid was about half wire and materials and half labor for two guys and was a fixed priced bid. Once you add door prizes like staylock fittings it goes up really fast. If any chain plates are suspect replace them all!

Refitting when you hire it out gets very expensive mostly because the labor is so slow. Even really skilled people take longer than you think. I work about 3 times slower than I think I can on the boat and thats after a few years doing it and getting better at estimating. Any task on shore takes a lot longer to do the same fundemental work aboard.

[Pblais]

It took 5.5 years and just under $100,000.

You forgot the 1,000 posts to Cruisers Forum! The record of it is all here for everyone to enjoy. It a great story with a happy ending.

[AnchorageGuy]

That is like asking how long is a piece of string.

[scallywag]

I just had the bottom done, engine circulating pump, engine hoses, and the thru hulls and seacocks replaced. In inexpensive St. Augustine, the cost was $10,000. I still have the wiring, electric panel, and interior wood to refinish. I think this is the fun of having a s/v. The sails and running and standing rigging will come in the future. The more you can do yourself the better.

John


John

[Eventide]

The cost to refit a boat is simple - it will take all the money you have and all the money you can earn for as long as you own your boat.

I am not joking.

But what the hell...is there any better way to spend all your money and all your time? I think not.

[Ex-Calif]

Our mast came down 7 years ago. New mast, sails and rigging including labor was just around $20k US. Small boat...

Sails? One guy here just bought some cruising sails for a 36 footer for around $10,000. Another guy just bought racing sails for his 30 footer for close to $30,000.

How fast ya wanna go?

[Joli]

All you need to do is look at the price of a new boat to know how much you will spend on your used boat. A new production 36 footer costs about $200k, a custom jobby will be double that.

You need to replace the bits and pieces as they wear out and the current total price of all those bits and pieces is a new boat. The hull and deck are about 20% of the cost of building a boat, the rest is labor and parts.

Figure 1/2 to 2% of "new boat price" (ie $200k) and that is what you will spend on annual maintenance to keep the boat ship shape. This does not include dockage, insurance, winter storage, suntan lotion, or beer.

So no, $4500 for new standing rigging is not out of line and as Paul said "take a hard look at the chain plates".

Don't forget to look around to decide how you want to spend $1 to $4k next year for maintenance.

[Randyonr3]

Got a quote for around 4000 for my standing rigging a couple months ago..but to re-fit the boat, we've spent 75k over the last 4 years to get her ready to cruise.. and If I had another dollar in my pocket, its already called for, she's a hungry lady but she sure has sexy lines..........

[Kanani]

You don't need a rigger to replace your standing rigging. Most people that can ride a bosun's chair and use a pair of pliers and a tape measure can do their own rigging. There's no mystery and it's not rocket science.

All you need to do is measure each wire and write down what type of fitting is on each end of the wire and the size of the pin holding the wire. You can give the measurements to West Marine or any rigging shop and have the wire cut and swaged. It shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred $ per wire....tops (unless it's a big boat).

Go up the mast and take one wire down at a time and replace it with a new wire. The forestay will need to be done first to drop the roller furling and disassemble it. The rest is easy. Then do the lowers....one at a time. Tighten each turnbuckle up before moving to the next wire.

My wife and I did ours, all by ourselves. I found a guy that had a hydraulic swager that he let me use. I bought the wire and the swages and did the entire project on our 45' ketch (lots of stays) for under $1500. If you'd rather pay someone $200 per hour to do that....go for it.

[maxingout]

I would consider doing the standing rigging myself, except perhaps for the headstay if there is a heavy duty roller furler present. A roller furling headstay weighs a lot, and if you do it yourself, be sure to get lots of help when you take down the headstay so you don't bend the aluminum extrustion on the headstay. That could be an expensive mistake.

When you rerig you boat, keep your documentation regarding the type of wire used in the rigging Some of my friends in Australia couldn't get insurance on their rig unless they had paperwork from their rigger that showed the wire was 316 stainless.

Document when each of the wires are replaced, because some insurance companies will only insure a rig that is no more than ten years old. My particular insurance company required all new rigging after 14 years if I wanted to be insured against dismasting.

[Kanani]

Dropping a 45' roller furling can be done easily with 3 people. Ours was 60'. I hooked the top to a halyard. A neighbor lowered the halyard and my wife walked the foil down the deck.

Try putting your measurements in West Marine Rigging Shop to get a quote.

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by Kanani

Dropping a 45' roller furling can be done easily with 3 people. Ours was 60'. I hooked the top to a halyard. A neighbor lowered the halyard and my wife walked the foil down the deck.

Try putting your measurements in West Marine Rigging Shop to get a quote.

Sorry, that was a typo ....I meant to write "walked the foil down the dock".

You have to loosen the turn-buckle in the roller furling then disconnect it from the bow chainplate. Put the roller drum on the dock and walk it down the dock as one person lowers the halyard.

Always go up one size on the forestay for a roller-furling. If your back-stay is 9/32" then the forestay should be 5/16" or even 3/8". That way you don't need to be concerned about the forestay.