34 questions · 8 topics
How-To Answers for Yacht Owners
Every answer opens with a complete, self-contained reply. Follow a question through for the working detail, the steps and the numbers.
Checking condition
What an owner can see from the deck, aloft and inside a fitting — and what only comes out on disassembly.
7 questionsHow do I inspect my yacht’s standing rigging?
Inspect standing rigging by working the whole load path in daylight: chainplate, turnbuckle, toggle, clevis pin, lower terminal, wire, upper terminal and mast tang. Clean each fitting first, then look for cracking, pitting, rust bleeding, distortion, broken strands and fittings that cannot articulate in the direction of load.
Read the full answer →How do I know if my standing rigging needs replacing?
Standing rigging needs replacing when age, service history, environment and inspection findings combine against it — not on any single trigger. Replace immediately if you find cracking at a terminal, broken wire strands, a distorted or seized fitting, or a cracked chainplate. Unknown age with no records is itself a strong replacement argument.
Read the full answer →How do I check a forestay hidden inside a furler?
Most of a furling forestay is enclosed in the foil and cannot be inspected in place. Check the exposed upper and lower terminals, the swivel and drum, and the foil joints for movement. A genuine forestay inspection means removing the furler or unstepping the mast, which is why forestay condition is so often missed.
Read the full answer →How do I inspect chainplates for corrosion?
Inspect chainplates above deck for cracking, rust bleeding, elongated pin holes and movement under load, and below deck for water staining, softened core, corroded fasteners and damage to the backing structure. Chainplates that pass through the deck are exposed to crevice corrosion where they are least visible, at and just below the deck line.
Read the full answer →How do I spot crevice corrosion on stainless rigging?
Crevice corrosion shows as rust bleeding from a joint, dark pitting at a swage mouth, staining under a fitting, or roughness where a surface should be smooth. It forms in oxygen-starved gaps — inside swages, under tape and sealant, and at deck penetrations — so the visible stain is usually smaller than the damage beneath it.
Read the full answer →How do I find out how old my rigging is?
Establish rigging age from invoices, the previous owner, the yard or rigger who did the work, survey reports, and any date stamps on terminals or turnbuckles. Where no evidence exists, treat the rigging as unknown age rather than assuming it matches the yacht’s build year, because unknown age is itself a replacement argument.
Read the full answer →How do I inspect a mast aloft safely?
Going aloft safely requires two independent attachment points, a halyard whose full length and terminal have been inspected first, a competent person tending the winch, and a plan that never relies on a rope clutch alone. Many owners are better served paying a rigger who goes aloft daily and carries the right equipment.
Read the full answer →
Timing and lifespan
How long rigging lasts, when to inspect, and what actually drives a replacement decision.
4 questionsHow often should standing rigging be replaced in Australia?
Australia has no statutory replacement interval for recreational yacht standing rigging. Around ten years is widely used as a planning and insurance milestone for 1x19 stainless rigs, but it is a prompt to inspect and budget rather than an expiry date. Offshore, tropical and racing use shortens it; sheltered temperate use can extend it.
Read the full answer →How long does yacht standing rigging last?
Yacht standing rigging life is driven by load cycles and corrosion rather than calendar years. A 1x19 stainless rig in temperate Australian coastal use commonly reaches ten to fifteen years; the same rig raced offshore or berthed in the tropics may not. Rod and synthetic rigging follow different inspection and retirement logic again.
Read the full answer →How often should I inspect my rig?
Inspect a yacht rig at deck level at least annually, and go aloft or have a rigger go aloft annually as well. Inspect again after any grounding, knockdown, dismasting, accidental gybe or heavy-weather passage, regardless of when the last inspection was. Add a quick deck-level walk before every offshore passage.
Read the full answer →How long does a re-rig take?
A straightforward Australian re-rig typically occupies one to three weeks of elapsed time, of which only a few days are hands-on work. Elapsed time is driven by crane availability, hardstand bookings, wire and terminal lead times, and whatever is found once the mast is down — not by the rigger’s labour hours.
Read the full answer →
Cost and quoting
Indicative Australian planning bands, and how to read a quote so two of them can be compared.
4 questionsHow much does it cost to re-rig a yacht in Australia?
Australian re-rig costs scale steeply with yacht length, not linearly. As an indicative planning band, a 30-foot yacht in 1x19 stainless commonly falls in the low five figures, a 40-footer materially higher, and a 50-footer higher again. Material choice, mast removal, crane hire, yard time and chainplate work move the figure more than labour rates do.
Read the full answer →How do I budget for a re-rig?
Budget a re-rig by starting from an indicative band for the yacht’s length and material, then adding each scope item separately — crane, hardstand, furler service, chainplates, running rigging, tuning and travel — and holding a contingency of roughly 15 to 25 per cent for what is found once the mast is down.
Read the full answer →How do I compare rigging quotes that look nothing alike?
Compare rigging quotes by rewriting all of them onto one line-item list before looking at any total. Two quotes differing by thousands usually differ in scope, not price: mast removal, crane hire, hardstand, turnbuckles, the forestay, furler service, chainplates, tuning, travel and GST are the items most often included in one and absent from another.
Read the full answer →How much does a professional rig inspection cost?
A professional rig inspection in Australia is usually priced as a half-day or day rate plus travel, making it one of the cheapest risk-reduction purchases a yacht owner makes — typically a small fraction of a re-rig. Cost rises with mast height, whether the inspector goes aloft, and whether a written report is included.
Read the full answer →
Process and hiring
What happens during a re-rig, who does it, and how the yacht is prepared.
4 questionsHow do I choose a yacht rigger?
Choose a yacht rigger on demonstrated experience with your rig type, willingness to quote in itemised writing, references from owners of similar yachts, appropriate insurance, and a clear position on what happens if extra work is found. Rig type experience matters more than proximity — a rigger who works on your configuration weekly is worth travelling for.
Read the full answer →How do I prepare my yacht for a re-rig?
Prepare for a re-rig by photographing and measuring the existing rig before anything is removed, recording current tuning settings, labelling every wire and halyard, clearing access to chainplates and the mast step, and agreeing in writing what happens if extra work is found once the mast is down.
Read the full answer →How is a yacht mast unstepped?
A mast is unstepped by disconnecting deck-level wiring and plumbing, slackening and releasing the standing rigging in a controlled order while a crane takes the weight, lifting the spar clear, and laying it on padded trestles. It is crane work with people beneath a suspended load, and is not an owner task on a keel-stepped rig.
Read the full answer →How do I get a second opinion on a rigging assessment?
Get a second opinion by commissioning an independent inspection from a rigger or rig surveyor with no commercial interest in the resulting work, giving them the same photographs and history but not the first assessment. Ask both to justify findings against the specific components they examined rather than against the rig’s age.
Read the full answer →
Tuning and adjustment
Setting a rig up so the mast stands straight and the loads go where the designer intended.
4 questionsHow do I tune a masthead rig?
Tune a masthead rig by first centring the mast athwartships using a halyard as a measuring tape, then setting mast rake, then tensioning cap shrouds evenly, then intermediates and lowers to keep the spar straight, then sea trialling on both tacks and re-checking. Always finish by locking turnbuckles and fitting split pins.
Read the full answer →How do I set rig tension without a tension gauge?
Without a gauge, set rig tension by counting turnbuckle turns equally on each side and judging the result under sail: in working breeze the leeward cap shroud should go slack-but-not-flopping, and the mast should stay in column. Record turn counts so the setting is repeatable — but a gauge remains the only way to hit a specified figure.
Read the full answer →How do I check my mast is straight?
Check mast straightness by sighting up the mast track from directly beneath it at the gooseneck: the track should run straight with no sideways bend. Athwartships centring is confirmed by running a halyard to the same point on each toerail. Check both at the dock and again under sail on each tack.
Read the full answer →How do I tune a rig after new rigging is fitted?
After new rigging is fitted, tune at the dock, sail the yacht in working breeze, then re-tension once the rig has settled — new wire and terminals bed in during the first sails and tension drops measurably. Plan a follow-up tuning session a few sails after handover and confirm whether it is included in the quote.
Read the full answer →
Materials and selection
Choosing between wire types, terminals and rope for the way the yacht is actually used.
4 questionsHow do I choose between 1x19, compact strand, rod and Dyneema?
Choose 1x19 stainless for most Australian cruising yachts: it is the cheapest, most widely serviced and most easily inspected option. Compact strand adds stiffness at higher cost, rod suits performance rigs but needs specialist inspection, and Dyneema saves significant weight aloft but brings creep, chafe and UV management instead of corrosion.
Read the full answer →How do I measure rigging wire diameter and length?
Measure wire diameter with vernier calipers across the widest point of the strand bundle, taking several readings along the wire. Measure length pin-to-pin, between the load-bearing centres of the end fittings, with turnbuckles set to roughly half their adjustment range — not fully open or fully closed.
Read the full answer →How do I choose halyard rope?
Choose halyard rope by matching low-stretch core fibre to the load, then sizing for the hardware and hands that will use it rather than for strength alone. Most cruising halyards are oversized for grip and clutch compatibility, not because the load requires it. Confirm the rope suits your clutches and sheaves before buying.
Read the full answer →How do I decide between swage and mechanical terminals?
Choose swage terminals for lowest cost and a clean appearance where a rigger with a calibrated swaging machine is doing the work. Choose mechanical terminals such as Sta-Lok or Hi-MOD where fittings must be assembled without a workshop, inspected internally, or reused — which makes them the usual choice for offshore cruising yachts carrying spares.
Read the full answer →
Failure and emergency
What to do when something breaks, and how to check a rig after a hard event.
4 questionsHow do I respond to a dismasting?
After a dismasting, account for everyone on board and treat injuries first, then stop the wreckage holing the hull. Secure the rig alongside if it can be controlled, or cut it away if it is holing the vessel. Protect the propeller before using the engine, then assess flooding, communicate your situation and only then consider recovery.
Read the full answer →How do I make an emergency rigging repair at sea?
Make an emergency rigging repair by first reducing load: bear away or tack to put the damaged side to leeward, then substitute a halyard, spare wire or Dyneema lashing for the failed component, tension it progressively, and sail conservatively to the nearest safe port. Emergency repairs restore enough strength to get in, not to resume normal sailing.
Read the full answer →How do I check a rig after a grounding or knockdown?
After a grounding or knockdown, inspect the whole load path for overload rather than looking for obvious breakage. Check chainplates and their below-deck structure, the mast step and partners, spreader roots, terminals and turnbuckles for distortion, and re-check mast straightness and tune. Record the event in the yacht’s rigging history regardless of what you find.
Read the full answer →How do I prepare a rig for cyclone season?
Prepare a rig for cyclone season by removing windage: take off headsails, remove or fully secure furling sails, remove the boom and running rigging where practical, and lash halyards away from the mast. Follow the marina or cyclone-mooring plan, and act on the published lead time rather than waiting for the forecast to confirm.
Read the full answer →
Records and insurance
Documenting a rig so its age and condition can be proven to an insurer or a buyer.
3 questionsHow do I keep rigging records that hold their value?
Keep rigging records as a single dated file containing invoices naming wire specification and terminals, annual inspection notes, photographs of each fitting taken from repeatable angles, tuning settings, and every overload event. Records survive owners and answer the question insurers, surveyors and buyers all ask: how old is this rig, and what is its history?
Read the full answer →How do I satisfy an insurer’s rigging requirements?
Satisfy an insurer by reading the actual policy wording rather than relying on general advice, then supplying what it asks for — usually a dated professional inspection report, evidence of rigging age, and documentation of any remedial work. Requirements vary between insurers and policies, so the policy document is the only authority that matters.
Read the full answer →How do I prove rigging age when selling a yacht?
Prove rigging age when selling by presenting the original dated invoice naming the wire specification and terminals, supported by a recent independent inspection report and your photographic record. Documented rigging is a negotiating asset; undocumented rigging is assumed old by buyers and surveyors, and priced accordingly.
Read the full answer →