What might be the cost to replace lines on a Capri?

Robin R

New Member
Hi! I'm looking at a Catalina Capri 14.2 that my neighbor is selling. It's been sitting outdoors and not used for at least 16 years and the lines look quite worn. I'm wondering how much it might cost to replace the lines. What other things might need replacing?
 
Measure the length of each line on board, then walk into a boat shop, chandlery, etc., where line is usually sold by the foot off spools. Some lines are pre-cut and packaged, you'll pay more for those, it's almost always cheaper to buy line off spools. Hard to give ya an estimate for overall cost, as line comes in a range of quality and price... walk in and look at the spools and you'll see what I mean. Yacht braid is probably the cheapest in this day & age, and it will work for your purposes, upgrades will cost more as they always do. Haven't been in a boat shop for awhile, I'd guess that you can swap out all lines with yacht braid for $100 or less, hard for me to say because the Capris I sailed back in the mid-'70s were the old fixed-keel 14-footers, somewhat different from today's Capris. :rolleyes:

Your mainsheet and bowline will cost the most per foot, as you want somewhat fatter line for those purposes, just for ease of handling in recreational sailing... your halyards, downhaul, outhaul, etc., will be thinner in diameter. Best thing to do is measure each line, jot it all down on a piece of paper, and walk into the store... measure the diameter as well as the length, as close as you can get the measurement, aye? As for other things which might need replacing, inspect all fittings & marine hardware, maybe post some pics of the boat so folks here can better advise you... you'll wanna inspect the hull closely, looking for stress cracks or other damage. Spars, standing rigging, centerboard, rudder, tiller, all that cr@p... pics of everything wouldn't hurt, including the sails, you'll wanna check those for rips, wear, mold & mildew, etc. :confused:

GOOD LUCK TO YA, HOPE THIS REPLY HELPS YA IN SOME WAY, DON'T FORGET TO INSPECT THE TRAILER IF THERE IS ONE, BRINGING THAT UP TO SPEED WILL ALSO COST YA MONEY. ASK THE NEIGHBOR IF YOU CAN RIG THE BOAT, THEN TAKE PICS IF POSSIBLE... SHOULDN'T BE AN UNREASONABLE REQUEST IF YOU'RE A SERIOUS PROSPECTIVE BUYER. CHEERS!!! :cool:

P.S. You may be able to get a ballpark figure by going to the West Marine website, or some similar site, they probably have line prices listed per foot. I like walking into a boat shop and feeling the line on each spool, that's important to me, same way feeling climbing rope in a mountain shop is important to me. You're the one who will be handling these lines, might as well buy the line(s) you like, aye??? :D
 
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Dang, out of curiosity I visited the West Marine website, and their line seems pricey... the pre-spliced halyards are a f#%g rip-off, that's for sure. Get yourself a fid kit and learn how to splice lines & eyes, you'll save heller money in the long run, LOL. Don't forget to whip the throat of each eye splice... some nautical armchair experts here don't like whipping cord, I'm an old school hand and prefer to see each line end or eye splice properly whipped, they last longer that way. PFFFFFFFFT. Anyway, good luck, ya might try other line dealers or vendors, try Googling "CHEAP RUNNING RIGGING BY THE FOOT"---LOL. :rolleyes:
 
I am thinking roughly $100. The halyards are 6mm on my boat. The main sheet and jib sheet are thicker for handling purposes. They'll cost the most.
Make sure your new lines match the cleats.
If the old lines are just ugly and not sun rotted or chewed up, you may be able to just wash them.
 
HaHa, I often forget the jib sheets when making observations, comes from sailing Laser #2069 for decades, LOL. :confused:
 
One thing I'll add is when you measure up for your jib sheet go for the max line needed for the out to out and then add maybe 2' extra. I bought mine from Catalina Direct and they gave way too much. When one side was on the max out I had about 5' extra to deal with! Plus the sheeted side had a whole bunch more! The cockpit gets cluttered enough as it is and all this excess line didn't help, not to mention it costs $. I suggest doing a dummy run with some cheap line to figure out what length you're comfortable with before buying the expensive sheet line. When they cut it for you they'll seal the ends so be sure you're good with the desired length...........
 

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