Standing rigging

[ChrisOB]

I am going to do the rig soon, I have recently relocated to New Orleans so I'll be using a rigger I have never dealt with (tbd). There are lots of boats and even a Quantum loft here, so I am not worried about quality.  I am however wondering if anyone has a ballpark figure for a full standing rig replacement (parts+labor).  1986 keel stepped tall rig.  I haven't decided about the furler yet.  I still have the hood continuous and darn it I love that thick line.  But I guess it would make sense to get a new one.  So I guess what I'm looking for is cost of rig replacement for everything besides forestay and furler as that can vary a lot and the forestay is usually done with the furler.

[NewToTheRoad]

I did mine last year.  Materials, excluding forestay, were $1,500.  I brought my old to Rigging Only in Fairhaven, MA and they made a new set from the originals.  They will ship as well.  Mine was an '88 std rig so yours would be minimally more, perhaps 10%.

Cost me $600 in labor and crane time to pull and then reinstall the rig.  I redid the wiring, lighting, and masthead sheaves when the rig was down.   I then paid the marina riggers roughly $500 to position and block the mast, tune the rig, and pin the turnbuckles.  I tried but was not confident enough to do myself and could not center the mast.

I know this might not be the exact answer you were looking for but perhaps another option.

[Roc]

Hi guys
Out of curiosity, it you bring your old rigging to be duplicated, those stays have elongated due to stretching over the years.  I know it would be small, but the new rigging will be measured by the old stretched out wires.  Shouldn't the new rigging be made by the "spec" from the factory??

[Stu Jackson]

Roc,  my experience is that the turnbuckles, when the rigging is properly sized, should be at the mid-point of their adjustment range.  If so, this should be more than enough room for adjustment for any slight stretch or even major temperature swings.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : That 1:19 wire does NOT stretch.  What happens is that the individual wire-lays get a bit tighter lay.  As Stu mentioned when you replace stays the rigger will use the old stay length and cut the new stay wire with in 1/2" of the old stay length. Then use the new turnbuckles to adjust.
Like I said before, I got the agreement with my replacement rigger that after replacement I would sail for a month and then come back to re-tune the rigging!!

Also I kept the old stays and labeled them.  That way if I ever catch a "snag (broker wire)" on the new stays I can just replace it with the old spare while the new one was being made.  No loss of sailing time!! 

FYI, at one time I thought of using the old 1/4" stays as replacements for life lines, but the swedged fitting will NOT go thru the top/mid stanchion holes!! 

A few thoughts

[Roc]

Thanks Stu and Ron, makes sense... 

[ChrisOB]

Thank you all for the helpful info.  I'll report back once I get it done, but that may not be for a couple months. 

[rmjohns]

When I did my last boat, the only wire that showed any visual sign of wear was on the forestay under the furler. One of the strands had broken about 1/2 way up the wire and had started to unravel. I have no idea why that 1 particular strand had come lose but I never would have seen had I not taken the furler apart.