In the process of selling my '91 Catalina 28. The buyer had a survey done and the survey stated that the standing rig should be replaced every ten years even though no defects were found. Is this an industry standard?
Replace standing rig every 10 years?
- Thread starter RedondoCat28
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sort of standard
It depends on how the boat was used. If used for racing you probably would replace the standing rigging after 7 to 10 years, if cruising perhaps 10 to 12 years. Apart from the fact that a surveyor wants to protect his backside, you may find that insurance companies will make problems in case of a claim, if standing rigging wasn't replaced. It is very difficult to visually inspect standing rigging, because the real damage that can occur happens inside: the typical issue is for the inner strands of the S/S to loose their strength due to combination of salt and lack of oxygen(I understand it is not really the same as corrosion), Consequently you don't see anything, but the rigging can just snap.It happens mostly in the swages at the turnbuckles, where salt water accumulates and then seeps in between the strands of wire.An experienced rigger may be able to find tell-tale signs, and recently there seems to be an electronic/ultrasound way of detecting inner strand problems.(only saw an ad about it - probably a very expensive test). Having said that, some boats happily sail for 20 years without ever having replaced the rigging. But if you sail 'under load' such as choppy seas, more than 20/30knts wind etc, you would like to stay on the safe side. In my area 10 years is used by insurance companies as 'sort of' standard. In case of rigging failure they will cover only a percentage (if your rigging was replaced 5 years ago, they will cover 50%)and if rigging is more than 10 years old chances are they'll make a hell of a lot of problems about consequential damage.
It depends on how the boat was used. If used for racing you probably would replace the standing rigging after 7 to 10 years, if cruising perhaps 10 to 12 years. Apart from the fact that a surveyor wants to protect his backside, you may find that insurance companies will make problems in case of a claim, if standing rigging wasn't replaced. It is very difficult to visually inspect standing rigging, because the real damage that can occur happens inside: the typical issue is for the inner strands of the S/S to loose their strength due to combination of salt and lack of oxygen(I understand it is not really the same as corrosion), Consequently you don't see anything, but the rigging can just snap.It happens mostly in the swages at the turnbuckles, where salt water accumulates and then seeps in between the strands of wire.An experienced rigger may be able to find tell-tale signs, and recently there seems to be an electronic/ultrasound way of detecting inner strand problems.(only saw an ad about it - probably a very expensive test). Having said that, some boats happily sail for 20 years without ever having replaced the rigging. But if you sail 'under load' such as choppy seas, more than 20/30knts wind etc, you would like to stay on the safe side. In my area 10 years is used by insurance companies as 'sort of' standard. In case of rigging failure they will cover only a percentage (if your rigging was replaced 5 years ago, they will cover 50%)and if rigging is more than 10 years old chances are they'll make a hell of a lot of problems about consequential damage.
Also depends on where you sail
SS degrades much faster in tropically warm salt water than it does in cool. And in fresh water, where I sail most of the time, the rigs can last indefinitely, although it's better to err on the conservative side, and replace if there are any concerns. I do. In SoCal saltwater, where you are, 10 years is a conservative rule of thumb. Does the surveyor have specific concerns that he can point out to you, or is he "repeating the party line"? My surveyor looks at my rig every couple of years. If she sees anything of concern, I take care of it. Last time, she recommended I keep an eye on one lower shroud. Not necessarily replace it now, but that one shroud was of concern. I replaced all four lowers. If you replace the rig in stages, the sticker shock isn't so great. My mast is down now, and she's on schedule to look at my rig in the next few days. Hopefully all is A-OK....
SS degrades much faster in tropically warm salt water than it does in cool. And in fresh water, where I sail most of the time, the rigs can last indefinitely, although it's better to err on the conservative side, and replace if there are any concerns. I do. In SoCal saltwater, where you are, 10 years is a conservative rule of thumb. Does the surveyor have specific concerns that he can point out to you, or is he "repeating the party line"? My surveyor looks at my rig every couple of years. If she sees anything of concern, I take care of it. Last time, she recommended I keep an eye on one lower shroud. Not necessarily replace it now, but that one shroud was of concern. I replaced all four lowers. If you replace the rig in stages, the sticker shock isn't so great. My mast is down now, and she's on schedule to look at my rig in the next few days. Hopefully all is A-OK....
Recently had a rigger check the rigging on
my '94 that and they couldn't find anything suspect. Find out what your local rigger wants for doing a check (generally a written report) then negotiate with the buyer if it's a sticking point. You can suggest anything from the buyer getting the check himself if he wants, or splitting costs (you will end up with a recent rigging report if the boat goes back to the market for the next guy). Remember tho' that just like a new car buyer, by the time he has reached this point the buyer is in a "buy" mindset. He probably wants to buy your boat (or any boat) as bad as you want to sell it. Your rigging is probably OK, remember that surveyor was workin' for HIM. Besides which there's usually not many 28's for sale here.
my '94 that and they couldn't find anything suspect. Find out what your local rigger wants for doing a check (generally a written report) then negotiate with the buyer if it's a sticking point. You can suggest anything from the buyer getting the check himself if he wants, or splitting costs (you will end up with a recent rigging report if the boat goes back to the market for the next guy). Remember tho' that just like a new car buyer, by the time he has reached this point the buyer is in a "buy" mindset. He probably wants to buy your boat (or any boat) as bad as you want to sell it. Your rigging is probably OK, remember that surveyor was workin' for HIM. Besides which there's usually not many 28's for sale here.
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