I’m wondering when I should replace the standing rigging on my boat. What tells you when you should do that?

The boat is a Hallberg-Rassy 36 from 1991, and I think the last time it was replaced was around 10 or 11 years ago.

John Jones

Ben Sutcliffe-Davies replies:

Rigging follows the same rules as seacocks – preferably replace it before it fails!

When the industry first went for galvanised wire rigging, and later stainless steel wire, no one ever mentioned changing it for 10 years.

Then I don’t know what came about, but people started having rigging failures or finding rigging fatigue.

A lot of how quickly it fatigues depends on how you set your rig up, and of course, the quality of the materials used to build the rig.

I’ve seen boats that haven’t even got to seven years and they’ve suffered serious failures.

But then we used to take our rigs down every year and put them safely away for the winter, considerably reducing the constant wear and tear, and not so many people do that any more.

I do think if you’re not taking your rig down, you should either have it spot-checked or looked at after five years, and the trouble with looking at a rig when it’s standing is you can’t check things like the toggles.

Apart from safety, a big problem comes with insurance.

What would you say mast and sails would cost to replace on a boat like yours? Maybe £20,000? And how much is the boat insured for?

If the figures are close, you’ve got a serious concern.

Last year, I knew of four yachts that all lost their rigs, and the insurance companies wrote them off as the mast and spars cost more than the boat was worth – the owners got paid the market value of the yacht.

I recommend that everyone check their boat rig every five years, preferably with the rig down.

In Greece, where I keep my boat, I employ a rigger to go up the mast annually because we get Saharan dust, and particularly with the roller furling, it is a nightmare.

I look at it as £120 well spent because, if I lose the mast, replacement will be more than the value of the boat.

At 10 years, have a proper look at the rig, and at 15 years, it’s a full change.

Most riggers will say replace the standing rigging every 10 years because it’s a guessing game as to when it might fail.

Advice from riggers in America is to change it every seven years.

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