A rig survey looks at a sailing yacht's mast and spars, standing and running rigging, chainplates and furlers, and asks one question insurers and buyers both care about: how old is the wire? BoatUS says a rigging survey takes about an hour and generally costs $400 to $600.
Where the surveyor stands decides what the survey can see.
Deck level or aloft
- From deck. The surveyor checks the mast step or heel, partners, deck fittings, turnbuckles, toggles, the lower terminals and the chainplates, and looks up the mast with binoculars. This is the usual scope inside a pre-purchase survey: Wilson Yacht Survey lists a deck-level rigging inspection in its standard package.
- Aloft, or with the mast down. Someone goes up to the spreaders, tangs, upper terminals, sheaves and masthead fittings, where cracks at swages and spreader roots show. With the mast unstepped on trestles, every fitting can be taken apart. The boot Düsseldorf guidebook, with Pantaenius, advises laying the mast down once on a used boat and inspecting it for hairline cracks.
Write in the report which one this was. A buyer or underwriter reading a deck-level survey as a full one is how disputes start.
What a rig inspection finds
- Terminals. Cracks and rust at the swage. See cracked swage terminals.
- Chainplates. Corrosion where the plate passes through the deck, usually hidden. See chainplate crevice corrosion.
- The mast heel. On keel-stepped masts, corrosion where the mast sits in bilge water. See mast step corrosion.
- Furlers. Seized swivels, twisted foils and halyard wrap. See roller furler faults.
Improve Sailing lists the common signs: cracked or bent fittings, broken strands, rust spots and discolouration.
The age of the wire
RACV tells surveyors that wire stays are generally accepted to have a serviceable life of about 10 years, and that if the surveyor doesn't know their age, the report should say so and recommend a qualified rigger inspects the mast. Pantaenius's rule of thumb in the boot guidebook is about every 15,000 nautical miles. See RACV for its full survey rules.
Record where the age came from: a rigger's invoice, a date on the terminals or a builder's record. See rigging age for how surveyors write this up.
When insurers ask
- Jackline (Gowrie Group, US). An aloft rigging inspection on every sailboat, by the surveyor or a rigging service, or a rigging report from the last 3 years. See Markel Jackline.
- Pantaenius. A professional inspection of the standing rigging from 20 years of age when a new policy is taken out, per the boot guidebook. See Pantaenius Germany.
What replacement costs
When the recommendation is new standing rigging, Improve Sailing gives about $6,000 to $8,000 for a 40 ft sailboat and $15,000 to $20,000 for a 60 ft one, parts and labour included. A buyer uses that number in the negotiation, so put it with the finding.
The rig survey report template gives the sections and example findings in Word. With Axsail you dictate the rig as you go, aloft or on deck, and each photo lands on the fitting you were talking about.