Rigging cost in California: published rates

Published rigging work rates by region

These are prices that businesses publish on their own websites and rate sheets. We read 3 pages from 3 businesses in Southern California and the Bay Area. They are not DockDash prices, and your quote may differ.

The largest group we found is mast stepping and crane: $400/hr (2 published prices from 2 Bay Area businesses).

Region pages: San Francisco Bay Area.

How rigging work is priced

Riggers inspect and replace standing and running rigging, and step and unstep masts. Rigging shops and boatyards publish hourly rates and sometimes flat fees for mast work.

Per hour, plus wire, fittings and crane or yard charges for mast work.

What drives the cost

• Boat size and rig type.
• Whether the mast has to come down.
• Wire, fittings and hardware.
• Crane or yard fees.

What’s usually included, and what’s extra

How to read a quote

• Ask whether the crane or mast stepping is included.
• Ask for a rig inspection report.
• Get the price in writing, with what is included, before work starts.

To check a price for your boat, try the service cost estimator; to line up two or three quotes on the same basis, use the quote comparison tool. What the job involves: Rigging explained.

Every published price we found

• Pacific Offshore Rigging San Diego · San Diego

  • $400 flat price — sailboat rig inspection, flat fee; minimum three hours Includes: rig inspection.

  Rig Inspection | San Diego, CA, undated, read 2026-11-11

• Napa Valley Marina Napa · San Francisco Bay

  • $400/hr — Mast stepping/unstepping crane time with 2 workers, per hour after first 1/2 hr; minimum 1/2 hr $350 Includes: Crane + 2 workers.
  • $350 flat price — Mast step/unstep with crane and two workers; minimum half hour

  Boat Yard - Napa Valley Marina, undated, read 2026-11-11

• The Boat Yard at Grand Marina Alameda · San Francisco Bay

  • $160/hr — Yard rate shared with engine/electrical/electronics
  • $400/hr — Crane, minimum 1/2 hour (used for mast work; not labelled mast step)

  Services and Rates - The Boat Yard at Grand Marina, © 2026 on the page (no other date), read 2026-11-11

Methodology and limitations

• Sources: only the business’s own website or rate sheet. No reviews, directories, forums or quotes we requested. We did not contact any business.
• Sample: 5 published prices from 3 businesses on 3 pages. This is the set we could find, not a survey or a random sample, and many businesses don’t publish prices at all.
• Dates: we read every page on 2026-11-11. 0 of the pages carry a date or fiscal year, 1 show only a copyright year, and 2 have no date. Each price below shows what its page said.
• How we summarize: prices are grouped by unit (per foot, per hour, flat, per visit, per gallon) and by kind of job, and never mixed. The range runs from the lowest published price to the highest. The median gives each business one vote (the middle of its own range), so a yard with many size tiers doesn’t outweigh a diver with one price. Where a business wrote “starting at”, we used that figure, so real bills are often higher.
• Region pages exist only where at least 3 published prices from 2 or more businesses are available.
• Your quote may differ. Condition, access, season, and what’s included all change the price. Use these figures to ask better questions, not as a price promise.