[paulk]

How long will it take to hoist the rigger up the mast to measure or remove a shroud so a replacement one can be made? How long to lower him down again? How long to hoist him up for the next one? (You don't want to remove all the shrouds & stays at once you know...) How long to hoist him up to install them? How much does his "hanging in midair" insurance cost him per minute? How much of this does he pass through to his customer? How long does it actually take to measure out the right length of rigging wire and then cut it? I'd like to think he measures twice and cuts once, so this operation might take twice as long as one might think it should. How far is the boat from his workshop, and what's the traffic like? (How long will he spend in travel time?) Does he have a helper, to hold the other end of the measuring tape and send him up tools he needs? Multiply by 1.75 for a helper.

Adding all this up makes it seem to me like removing the mast is the cheap, quick answer, even at a boat unit a throw. For the lifelines, removing them and having them copied is obviously the way to go. For the mast's rigging, doing the same thing involves taking the mast down first. If you can have the mast removed more cheaply than the quote you're being offered by the seller, or find the rigging elsewhere at less cost, perhaps you can negotiate a cheaper price based on the seller's quotes, and tell him you'll get the work done yourself. I would want the work done by a trusted outfit - no nicopress sleeves please- and that's likely to cost a touch more. Overpayment, perhaps, or maybe cheap insurance.