Short answer
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.
Buyers price uncertainty conservatively. Rigging with no documentation is treated as due for replacement, and the cost of a full re-rig is subtracted from the offer — usually at a figure higher than you would have paid to do it yourself.
A recent independent inspection report is the strongest thing you can hand a buyer. It is credible precisely because the inspector has no stake in the sale, and it moves the conversation from speculation to evidence.
Present the record as a package rather than a shoebox. A single dated file — invoice, inspection reports, annual photographs, tuning settings, event log — reads as a carefully maintained yacht, which affects far more than the rigging discussion.
If documentation genuinely does not exist, commission an inspection and say so plainly. Buyers respond far better to "age unknown, independently inspected [date], findings attached" than to vague reassurance. See how to check rigging age.
Key facts
- Strongest evidence
- Original dated invoice naming specification and terminals
- Most persuasive addition
- Recent independent inspection report
- Cost of no documentation
- Buyers deduct a full re-rig from the offer
- If records are missing
- Commission an inspection and disclose plainly
Full background: read the guide
Primary sources
Regulatory statements are checked against primary sources rather than secondary summaries. See the editorial policy.