Rigging survey

Wire rigging has a finite fatigue life. Rod rigging can fail without visible warning. Swage fittings corrode from the inside out, showing nothing on the surface until the moment they let go. Chainplates work loose beneath deck fittings that look entirely ordinary from above.

A rigging survey is a systematic inspection of the standing rigging, running rigging, spars and associated deck hardware — assessing condition, identifying wear and fatigue, and establishing whether the rig is fit for the use intended for it. A rig that is adequate for summer coastal sailing is not necessarily adequate for an Atlantic crossing, and the survey is scoped to what you actually plan to do.

Areas surveyed

• Standing rigging — shrouds, stays, terminals, swages, toggles, turnbuckles and clevis pins, with attention to the fittings where fatigue concentrates
• Chainplates and attachment points — condition, movement, evidence of leakage or crevice corrosion where they pass through the deck
• Running rigging — halyards, sheets, blocks, clutches and winches
• Spars — mast, boom, spreaders, gooseneck and mast step, including corrosion at fitting interfaces
• Furling systems — foils, drums and bearings
• Deck hardware — tracks, cars, cleats and load-bearing fittings

Deck-level and aloft

A deck-level inspection covers the standing and running rigging, chainplates, toggles, turnbuckles, sheaves and deck hardware without going up the mast. This is the standard inspection included with a full pre-purchase survey for sailing yachts.

An aloft inspection means physically going up to examine the masthead, spreader bases and tips, halyard exits, upper terminals and the mast section itself at close range. Roughly half of significant rig findings are only visible from aloft, and it is strongly recommended for older vessels, boats with unknown rigging history, any vessel being prepared for offshore passage, and wherever concerns have been raised at deck level.

If the mast has been unstepped for winter storage, a bench inspection of the spar and its fittings can be arranged instead, which allows closer examination than either.

Age versus condition

Wire rigging is commonly treated as having a service life of around ten years in regular use, and most offshore rally organisers work to that figure. It is a rule of thumb rather than a rule: environment, accumulated load, and how the boat has been sailed matter more than the calendar. A ten-year-old rig on a lightly used boat in temperate water may be sound; a six-year-old rig that has been driven hard in the tropics may not be.

The survey reports condition, and where replacement is recommended it says so with the reasoning attached.

Reporting

Findings and recommendations are provided as a structured written report, with photographs of significant items and a clear distinction between what requires attention before the vessel next sails, what should be planned, and what is noted for the record.

Rigging Survey — FAQ→