Replacing 2,000+ Feet of Rigging on Our Sailboat in Alaska

Finally a break in the weather and we got after one of the bigger projects on our three masted steel sailboat - Alaskan Gypsy - replacing the running rigging. This boat sat for years and most of the lines are original we believe. 30+ years of Southeast Alaska weather has taken its toll. Some of it is literally falling apart in your hands. The problem is cost. Replacing all the rigging the “right” way would have been thousands more than we could afford right now. So instead, we took a chance on budget double braid polyester… about $0.40/ft instead of $1.50+. In this video: Unloading and inspecting ~2,000 ft of new line Comparing cheap vs higher-end rigging Re-running lines through blocks without climbing (when possible) Learning to splice on the fly Climbing into the rigging with a makeshift setup Finding unexpected parts and tools already on board First sail impressions with the new lines with aerial footage This is real life working on an old sailboat in Alaska. Not perfect, not finished… just figuring it out as we go! We live aboard this triple-masted schooner year-round in Southeast Alaska, learning, fixing, and slowly bringing her back to life. We’ll report back after some real use… and see how this “cheap” line holds up. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro aboard Alaskan Gypsy 00:45 The problem: 30-year-old rigging 02:00 How much line we actually need 03:30 The cost reality (and why we went cheap) 05:00 Unboxing the new rigging 07:00 What we actually ordered 09:00 Climbing gear & working aloft 11:00 Shipping to Alaska (the real cost) 13:00 Finding the budget line online 16:00 Finally replacing lines (weather window) 18:00 How we run new line without climbing 22:00 Getting through the blocks 24:00 Thimbles, splices, and surprises 27:00 Cheap vs quality line comparison 31:00 How much extra line do you leave? 33:30 Whales show up (of course) 36:00 The boat’s hidden parts & history 40:00 Jackpot: finding stainless thimbles onboard 43:00 Climbing the rigging 48:00 What didn’t work (learning curve) 49:30 Working aloft + rigging breakdown 55:00 First impressions using the new line 56:30 Sailing footage + wrap up