Going rate for rigger to climb mast

[Yojimbo]

I'm generally confounded by boat owners of 200K+ yachts begrudging a few hundred bucks to a working stiff to do a job they wont- but conceivably could- do for themselves.

Some ancient mariner off this site offered the conclusion it would be time to quit cruising when he could no longer go up the mast. There's a certain fortitude in that attitude I respect.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by 5BTM

People that can't do the work should not be asking what the work is worth.

This

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by pbiJim

Climbing the mast is high risk work. Some guys will simply tell you that they don't want to do it in plain English. Others may say it with an invoice.

You mean there are riggers that refuse to go up masts?! I can’t see them being very successful. Some riggers I know go up by just walking up the capshrouds without any lines or help

[donradcliffe]

On my friends' boats I work for beer.

[SmokedGouda]

Honestly I think this is fair. Great way to filter clients on who is reasonable to work with and who is going to nickel and dime him on a bigger job.

[thinwater]

It's only high risk if you do it wrong. Seriously. Fear of heights does not make something dangerous, but sloppy rigging can.


But I would charge a little extra, because the market will bear it, because it does take some additional gear, and because it is more tiring. Specialized knowledge, gear, and physical work all cost extra. You can bet I charged extra in refinery work for things that required work at height or confined space entry. They didn't have the skills.

[GrowleyMonster]

If both parties agree to the price, it is fair. If either party disagrees with the price, the work does not get done by the service provider. Nobody forces the boat owner to pay for the work.

I am not a pro. I don't like climbing masts and I don't have the best equipment for the job. If I were to climb someone else's mast, nothing less than $1k would entice me to do it. I don't have a lot of money to spend on the boat. If someone offered to climb my mast when it needs to be climbed for something, and quoted anything over $100, I would climb my own mast, as I have done in the past. So obviously in my case, I do not work for what most people would pay, and I would not pay what most would demand in exchange forr the work. Does that make me unreasonable? No. My time, my fragile bones, my money, my decision. There is really no "reasonable" rate. The going rate is just what people in a given geographic area ARE paying. It would not surprise me to find that someone local to me was charging and receiving $375/hr for working aloft. But we pay what we pay, and nobody puts a gun to our head. As I said, I wouldn't pay that much, but I am a cheap so-and-so on a budget.

[Woody]

Originally Posted by thinwater

It's only high risk if you do it wrong. Seriously. Fear of heights does not make something dangerous, but sloppy rigging can.

I disagree, or at least I think this point of view is unhelpful.


I climbed a mast for an old man once, to help him hang a halyard. When I got to the top, I found something that made me question the integrity of the rig. I was genuinely afraid that the whole thing might come down with me up there.


Now, you could say that I was "doing it wrong" by not foreseeing this possibility, but there was no evidence of danger from the ground. There are "safe" and best practices for every industry to mitigate risk, but it's disingenuous to say that the risk goes away if you "do it right".

I do agree that if people choose to exercise good judgement, best practices, and actively try to minimize risk, it can go a long way to making a risky job tolerable.

[WE9V]

The rate around this part of Florida is roughly $100/hr/man. One rigger insists on 3 workers present for mast work (1 up the stick, 1 hoisting, 1...dunno, safety foreman?) so that turns into $300/hr. A rigger I recently hired was also $100/hr, but it was just him I did the hoisting. So, wide range. I needed a 10-month old LED anchor bulb replaced (burned out!). Seemed silly to pay $300 to replace a $20 bulb. $100 was more palatable.

[jen1722terry]

Our yard has a small crane truck and, if you have a good bosun's chair, will hoist you up your own mast for $100. I helps not to be afraid of heights.

Cheers

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by thinwater

It's only high risk if you do it wrong. Seriously. Fear of heights does not make something dangerous

Climbing the mast isn't high-risk work.


Examples of high risk work would include repairing energized 345 kv powerlines by helicopter. People die doing that every year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_NEAEGeFIw

Or tower maintenance on larger towers. The climb is exhausting enough that you can only go up once in a day, and it's tempting for them to take various shortcuts to avoid an extra trip. Also weather is a factor and a rapid escape impossible. Again, people die every year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to4lNBnzFWY

Or underwater welding. So many hazards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xigAr1aqZzY

And there's always laddering a chimney:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Keq-Lig-z74

[Iron E]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

You mean there are riggers that refuse to go up masts?!

Yep. I'm not going to go into details because the cruising world is small, but suffice it to say that I know of a rigger that doesn't climb masts and whose quotes include the local boatyards mast pull, install, and storage fee.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Woody

I disagree, or at least I think this point of view is unhelpful.

I climbed a mast for an old man once, to help him hang a halyard. When I got to the top, I found something that made me question the integrity of the rig. I was genuinely afraid that the whole thing might come down with me up there.

Now, you could say that I was "doing it wrong" by not foreseeing this possibility, but there was no evidence of danger from the ground. There are "safe" and best practices for every industry to mitigate risk, but it's disingenuous to say that the risk goes away if you "do it right".

I do agree that if people choose to exercise good judgement, best practices, and actively try to minimize risk, it can go a long way to making a risky job tolerable.

I believe it is a relatively safe activity because there are few/no reports of people being seriously injured or killed. (Educate me. Try to find an example of a rigging accident occurring on a boat that is in a slip.) Every sailboat over around 30' needs work done aloft from time to time -- this is not a rare or unusual activity.

In contrast people are killed in workaday activities like roofing, tree removal, and mining all the time.

Any boat that is sailed has far greater loads on the rig while sailing than will ever occur while a rigger is aloft. If the rig is compromised or suspect, well, don't work aloft, pull the mast instead.

[Fbfisher]

Do you have access to more than one insured Rigger, who will climb the mast? If not the market dictates.

[WE9V]

Originally Posted by Fbfisher

Do you have access to more than one insured Rigger, who will climb the mast? If not the market dictates.

That's not a market, that's a monopoly.