Entries Tagged 'Rigging' ↓

Many thanks to Captain Triko for this article.

The handling and application of rope on board yachts is a broad subject made all the more expansive by advances in technology. The place of rope, wire and spars on board a sailing vessel now more than ever requires well researched decisions which will take many factors into account. This investment in time to choose the ropes and lines best suited to the purpose on board ship will ultimately pay great dividends for owners and crews of racing and cruising boats alike.

Regardless of potential hull speeds the optimum hoisting and trimming of sails combines human factors i.e. seamanship and boat handling with the mechanics of effort and energy. The greatest limitation to achieving the optimums, assuming reasonably competent equipment use will be the physical properties of the equipment itself.

The point of this article is to not so much discuss the properties of rope in detail but to outline the benefits of which rope products best suit the budget and on board application.

Continue reading →

Have you noticed that your boat sails better on one tack than the other? This could well be because the mast is leaning slightly to port or starboard.

If you want to check your mast it’s fairly easy to do. You’ll need a long, non stretch tape measure. It’s possible to use a halyard but it will make it harder to be accurate.

It’s much easier if you have a handy assistant as well.

Securely fasten your tape measure to a jib halyard and pull the end of the tape measure up to the top of the mast or the hounds on a fractional rig. Put a little bit of tension on the halyard so that you can pull on the tape measure without moving the halyard. Now measure from the top of the mast to the chain plates on each side of the boat. Pull the tape as tight as possible and make sure the tape leads directly between the two points. Check each measurement.

Continue reading →

I came across this handy product for all those people who want to put a loop in the end of a double braid line but are unable to do a splice. The SplicingNut is a handy two part plastic fitting which neatly forms a loop in the end of double braid line just by screwing the two parts together with the line inserted. Neat, quick and simple.

It’s recommended for use with soft weave double braided polyester line of the kind commonly available for marine use. The strength of the loop is generally more than achieved with a knot but obviously not as much as a proper splice. The SplicingNut’s strength is greater than the working load of the line and can be used in most situations where a knot or a splice is used.

It’s not suitable for every type of polyester line and the strength of hi-tensile lines such as Spectra will exceed the strength of the SplicingNut. So check carefully before using.

The SplicingNut is available through Deck Hardware who have a list of retailers on their website.

Many a discussion has been had about the pros and cons of keel or deck stepped masts. There is no doubt that larger yachts will have a keel stepped mast and that racing yachts have a mast tuning advantage with a keel stepped mast. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of keel versus deck stepped masts?

Keel Stepped Masts

This is considered to be a stonger setup. The tension of the rigging rests on the keel and there is extra support to the mast where it passes through the deck. In the event of rigging failure there is more chance that the mast will stay in place.

The main downside is that there is a hole in the deck which has to be sealed against leaking. If you are unfortunate enough to lose the mast whilst at sea there is a hole in the deck, possibly made bigger by the falling mast.

Continue reading →