Junk rig conversion???

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Mike367 said..


Chris, I didn't ask for a precise reply, it was a general question, As I said "I'm looking for general information".

Is it a difficult task and is it expensive?

And the example was the rigging and sails are ready to be replaced, it's not important why, they just do.

So what would a set of sail and new rigging cost (in general) between $x and $xxx?
How much would a conversion cost? Again in general between $x and $xxx?

I was hoping someone on here had some first hand knowledge on the subject, or knew of someone who had done a conversion.

I'm not having a go at you or being obtuse. The point is that there is no real way to answer the question "is it difficult and is it expensive" without more detail. Are you doing it all yourself or are you just going to sign the cheques for the pros? Do you already have a good set of tools, and know how to use them? How good are you at simple structural design? What standards of appearance and durability do you want - does the bulkhead have to be beautifully varnished with immaculate joinery, or are you OK with it being knocked up in structural ply and lumpy fibreglass, all covered in cheap grey pool paint?

Then there's the logistics. Do you have access to a trailer and a tow vehicle that could move a mast or a Top Hat? Do you have a place where you can put them to work on them, or will you have to hire a marina berth? Are you the sort of person who will lift a mast in or out by organising some mates and some poles, or will you ring up a rigger and get them to pick the boat up from the mooring, remove the mast, and then put it back on the mooring for you? That could be $1400 difference just there.

Will you put in the bulkhead on the mooring, dealing with the boat rocking and using a generator for power, tarps to cover the deck hole etc, the issue of bilgewater etc, or will you get the boat lifted out ashore? If so, where?

Even down at the details there is enormous variation. To take an example, a masthead crane can be a professionally welded fabrication, professionally anodised, and professionally fitted. It can also be a bit of scrap alloy from a mate or your nearest machine shop's scrap bin, transformed into a strong and functional fitting with a hacksaw and cheap drill.

To use another example, buying and fitting the rudder bearings on my 28'er cost about $4 bucks. They are PVC pipe end caps, with a bit of WD40 when necessary. I put the rudder in and out with the boat afloat, to save slipping costs. To get a pro to put rudder bearings into the same size boat could easily cost $5000. To build your own and then slip the boat to fit them could be $1100. Sure, we're talking rudders not rigs but the same sort of factors apply - there is too much difference in potential ways of attacking the issue to give a rough estimate without more detail.

The same applies with regards to difficulty. How do you define it? You can (as noted) put a spade rudder in and afloat by using an anchor, ropes and swimming. One time I did it was a real struggle, the other time quite easy. Is a swim like that "difficult" or "easy" by your standards? Would you find it "difficult" to rig sheer legs to step the mast, or easy? Is it "difficult" to get a 50kg 9m mast from a trailer onto a boat, or "easy"?

At a VERY rough guess, a conventional sloop rig with three sails professionally done would be over $20,000. It's hard to see a professional conversion costing much less because of the issues in having to build a mast step.

On the junk rig forum some people are talking of $20,000 for a 33'er just for the sail and re-rigging (ie not counting building a new mast step and getting a new spar). Another guy on the same forum came up with a materials cost of about $11000 for a rig twice the size of a Top Hat's, including rebuilding the mast step. A chap near the Tweed with a 27-ish footer mentioned a cost of about $6000 for a wooden JR mast, if I recall correctly.

On the other hand, looking at the cost of some Etchells and J/24s I can see a way you could put a good second-hand bermudan rig into a Top Hat, which could be faster and easier to use than either of the above, and perhaps end up with MORE cash in your pocket than you started with. So even a rough estimate varies from spending over $20,000 to ending up with a couple of hundreds bucks in your pocket.