Standing rigging inspection...

Sep 3, 2013
22
bennetau first 310 stockton
How often should I have the standing rigging inspected? Is it something I can do? I was told by a rigging company that it should be replaced every 10 years to the tune of 8,000.00. I sail in San Francisco Bay in 20-30 knot winds and often look up at the mast during those blows, wondering how the rigging is faring. Should I spend the 500.00 for a professional inspection?
Thanks for any advice you might have!
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,076
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
If you are "wondering", that's usually a good indicator it's time to have it inspected.

Every ten years seems to be a general guideline.
 
Feb 10, 2004
3,918
Hunter 40.5 Warwick, RI
For your peace of mind, you need to do what makes you feel most comfortable. I have heard about the 10-year replacement suggestions too. But I will relate what my rigger told me at year 17 on my h40.5.
My rigger is a highly regarded professional who does work all over the northeast and has 35+ years of experience. When I had him install a Schaefer furling boom for my mainsail, I asked him to inspect all of my rigging and replace it if he felt it was necessary. My boat has lived in the northeast in saltwater it's entire life. I don't race, just cruise - my rigger asked that to understand how hard I may stress the rig. I asked him if he was going to do a magna-flux inspection. He told me he could do that but it would only add additional cost with little benefit to the inspection. He told me that he does a high-magnification visual inspection of all the fittings and examines the wire for any defects. Based upon his experience I decided to go with his inspection method.
I asked about the 10-year replacement guideline. He told me that 10 years is very conservative and that the need to replace is based more upon the usage and stress that the rig has seen and is likely to see in the future, as well as the weather cycles in the location of the rig as opposed to just the passage of time.
So he examines all of my rigging. And he has a blank check to replace any or all of the rig if he sees fit. The result: he told me that the rig was in excellent condition with no signs of any defects. Hence he did not recommend replacement. Furthermore he told me that he would personally have no reservation to sail upon my boat with this rig in any sea condition. He told me to have it inspected again near 30 years.
But as I stated up-front- you should do what makes you comfortable.
I should also state that I go up my mast twice per year to remove and reinstall the wind transducer (No point having it spin and be subject to wear in the off season). On both of my trips, I visually inspect the end fittings for broken wires and I look at the spreader tips for damage to the wire as well. My rigger applauded my action and told me that most owners never do that kind of inspection.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Rod or wire rigging?

With wire rigging look for some obvious signs, cracked wire strands, discoloration, rust, etc.

$8K sounds high unless you are paying the rigger to install it. Over the past couple of years, I replaced the cap shrouds, lowers, and intermediate on my boat for around $1600. My mast comes down every year, so replacing the the standing rigging is pretty easy. If you go with replacing the rigging, it may be cheaper to pull the mast and do the labor yourself. While the mast is down you can easily take care of other things like replacing mast wiring and running rigging.

RiggingOnly.com does good work at a reasonable price. Send them the old rigging and they will copy it and send it back.
 

AXEL

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Mar 12, 2008
359
Catalina C30 MKIII WEST ISLIP, NY
OP, what kind of boat do you have? Is the company still in business? When the time comes for me to replace the rigging on my 2000 Catalina 30 MKIII I will most likely buy direct from Catalina, right off the shelf. Save a lot of money and know what I'm getting. Last year my 1977 C30 was dismasted and totaled by the insurance company. The failure was caused by rigging which ironically I had replaced. When I brought the remains of my aluminum mast and SS rigging to a scrap metal place to cash it in for scrap, the guys there put a magnetic to the SS wire and to my surprise the replacement wire (not the original) was magnetic. I had been sold cheap, inferior SS replacement rigging and as a result was dismasted. Make sure you can trust the guy that sells you rigging. Always check it with a magnet!
 

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
+1 Rich. I had my first rigging inspection at 12 years and had two since. I'm on a five year cycle. Inspections revealed good standing rigging condition. Top local rigger.
 

Johnb

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Jan 22, 2008
1,419
Hunter 37-cutter Richmond CA
I sail out of Richmond California and have a 37 foot Hunter Cutter. $8,000 is double what we were quoted for a rig replacement. We are going to do the replacement because we are planning to go south next year and want to reset the clock on all the major routine maintenance items while still in the USA.

You have not stated how old your rigging actually is, but if the replacement is closer to $4,000 and an inspection is $500, and the rigging is more than 10 years old, and you share my slightly nervous disposition I would say do it.

We are coming up on a good time of year to have this work done by the way.

Because our boat is 34 years old I also removed and inspected the chain plates. One had a tiny blemish which I just polished out. That job was much easier than I ever thought it would be.

No one will ever know whether work they did out of caution actually saved them from something bad.

Lots of sage comment above, by the way.
 
Sep 3, 2013
22
bennetau first 310 stockton
Thanks for the advice- I have been waiting on Easom to do the work but he keeps putting it off. Would you recommend kkmi? Other?
Thanks so much!
 

Johnb

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Jan 22, 2008
1,419
Hunter 37-cutter Richmond CA
I got my quote from KKMI. They are close by Marina Bay Yacht Harbor and I have had my last three haul out's there with no problems.
Svendsens also have an excellent reputation.
Back in 2002 when Nelson's was still running they farmed it out to Hansen's who actually did the job for me and I was satisfied.
 
Nov 26, 2012
1,653
Hunter 34 Berkeley
8K is too high. Svendsons quoted me 3k for my Hunter 34. Get a surveyor to look at it and ask questions. The main problem is that you cannot see everything. Specifcally, corrosion can get into the end terminals where the wire goes in and you cannot see it. That is where failures can occur.
 
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
When I brought the remains of my aluminum mast and SS rigging to a scrap metal place to cash it in for scrap, the guys there put a magnetic to the SS wire and to my surprise the replacement wire (not the original) was magnetic. I had been sold cheap, inferior SS replacement rigging and as a result was dismasted. Make sure you can trust the guy that sells you rigging. Always check it with a magnet!
I am familiar with several different alloys of stainless. Some are magnetic. Others are not. Some of the magnetic alloys have very high tensile strengths & other desirable properties. Is there a reason why you believe that the magnetic varieties are necessarily a poor choice?

Also, what type of failure did you experience? Did the wire snap somewhere in the center? Did it snap at a fitting? Did it pull out of a swage joint? Was the failure something else?

I need to replace some wire on one of my rigs in the near future. If there are pitfalls that I am unaware of, I'd like to learn about them.

Thanks,
Jim
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
SS rigging to a scrap metal place to cash it in for scrap, the guys there put a magnetic to the SS wire and to my surprise the replacement wire (not the original) was magnetic. I had been sold cheap, inferior SS replacement rigging and as a result was dismasted. Make sure you can trust the guy that sells you rigging. Always check it with a magnet!
I've been puzzled by this phenomena too. What you think is 316 and non-magnetic turns out to be mildly magnetic. When I recycled old rigging and told them that it was 316, the recyclers said no as it was magnetic.

A little investigation with Google and I find that 316 is indeed nonmagnetic, however, it can become magnetic by work hardening. Here's a link from Fastenal that talks about the magnetic properties of SS. https://www.fastenal.com/content/feds/pdf/Article - Magnetism in Stainless Steel.pdf
 
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May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
i inspect every inch of my masts and rigging every season. here on the lakes i store inside for winter. the rig is pulled. easy-peasy
i inspect the cables to my steering quadrant every year.
i inspect all my sailing gear every year.
learned this approach in boy scouts

the rigging on my 66' alden is all original. thats right! 52 seasons on the rig. love fresh water.

aeolus is in A1 condition
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
I have a 1983 Hunter 34. I just replace all the original standing rigging last year so that makes it about 33 years old. I inspected it every year for the normal things like corrosion, breaks in the wire, stress cracks. I sent it out to sea coast south in Florida. They seamed to be the cheapest. They told me that all the rigging I sent them looked good. I replaced it anyway just so I have peace of mind.
 
Jan 4, 2010
1,037
Farr 30 San Francisco
Hansen did mine on a Bene 375 and the mast is still standing, he went with 316 SS which is weaker but longer lived. Price was lower than 8k and he put in a hydraulic backstay adjuster as well on a bigger boat. Sail in the bay as well. KKMI is very good but I think they tend to be more expensive side.
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
the rigging can fail at ANY time after its installed, but quality rigging in its normal working environment should last a minimum of 10 years, which is the reason for the "general" 10 year recommendation... it can, and usually will last a considerable amount longer, but if there is any doubt the cost of replacing it NOW, vs. the cost of repairing the boat, buying a new mast and new rigging AFTER the failure gives every indication that sooner is better than later.
a qualified rigging inspector can give you some peace of mind as to what condition it is in, and what you should do, when he looks at it... it may be ok to run another few years before another inspection is necessary. but you dont know until its inspected...
if you were to do your own research on sailboat rigging inspection, you could look at it yourself and see if there are any obvious indications that it needs replaced NOW, without the need of a professional inspection.
BUT... if there are no obvious indicators, then older rigging needs to be professionally inspected with a trained eye that can find any hidden problems that arent obvious.. more than the money itself, its about risk vs gain, which in the end could include a life, other peoples property/boat, and at the very least, MORE money.
 
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capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Since you have given us no indication of how much sailing you have done, it's hard to answer your question. A rigging inspection requires someone to go aloft if the mast is up. Do you have someone who can hoist you up safely? If you were up there would you know what to look for? Assuming that you do not, I really think your best way to go is to find a reputable rigger and ask for an inspection. While he's doing it watch, ask questions and learn all you can.
Whenever we go aloft we take a camera and take a gazillion pictures. No matter how carefully we inspect the rig and mast, we always find things in the pictures we missed when aloft.
 
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AXEL

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Mar 12, 2008
359
Catalina C30 MKIII WEST ISLIP, NY
I've been puzzled by this phenomena too. What you think is 316 and non-magnetic turns out to be mildly magnetic. When I recycled old rigging and told them that it was 316, the recyclers said no as it was magnetic.

A little investigation with Google and I find that 316 is indeed nonmagnetic, however, it can become magnetic by work hardening. Here's a link from Fastenal that talks about the magnetic properties of SS. https://www.fastenal.com/content/feds/pdf/Article - Magnetism in Stainless Steel.pdf
When I brought my rigging in for recycling, 2 of the 7 shrouds had been replaced at one time or another, 5 were original. Both replacements had been purchased at the same place. The 2 which were replaced were both very magnetic the entire length of the wire. The dismasting was caused by both of these shrouds letting go inside the swage. They were both lower shrouds (fwd & aft) on my starboard side. They appeared to rust through about 1/2-3/4 inch down inside the swage. It would be hard to see during an inspection. They both were pretty clean breaks. In a matter of micro seconds one let go first, the 2nd followed, the mast broke in half at the spreaders. In a split second the whole rig, sails and all went over the side. I could not believe my eyes.
The boat did take a lightening hit several years before the dismasting. Whether or not this had anything thing to do with it is only a guess. A coincidence or not, I will never trust magnetic SS rigging again.