All about sailboat-rigging
What Everyone Ought to Know About Sailboat-Rigging
My name is John Payne, and I am a yacht owner and marine engineer while I started my professional career as a ships engineer in the merchant marine.
I started my sailing career building and racing small sailing dingies (I love an afternoon on my Laser to keep my boat skills up to scratch) before graduating to larger racing and cruising yachts. I am also the author of the best selling Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible and the updated and revised 3rd Edition is out now. When I first published my first yachting related book 13 years ago, I have over the years built, owned, cruised and lived aboard several sailing yachts and have experienced most of the rigging and spar problems, so I do understand what the problems are and how to fix them
The Secrets to Keeping Your Sail boat Rigging in Good Condition
Sailboat-rigging is one of the most important parts of your yacht, but in most cases they are often overlooked and maintained, yet it is the powerhouse of any sailing boat. Rigging is the often seemingly complex system of ropes, and related equipment and fittings that support the mast and the sails of your yacht. Quality rigging and well maintained rigging hardware is essential and you should always carry the right spare Rigging Parts before undertaking any serious voyage. The yacht rigging is also used to control the sails, and therefore the whole wind propulsion system of your yacht. They control the speed and direction and stability of the yacht however if they improperly maintained, or adjusted they have the potential to be hazardous to both boat and people. Sailboat-Rigging refers to all the Rope and shrouds that support the mast and spars, and also allow a sailor to trim the sails. It is always a good practise to create or use a Rigging Diagram for reference. There are nominally 2 categories of sailboat-rigging and these are called the Standing Rigging and the Running Rigging . There are also many Rigging Hardware parts that interconnect rigging to spars and other support fittings such as the Mast and Boom .
Sailing boats are also classified with respect to the different rigging configurations. Cutters and sloops are single-masted boats. The cutter is a narrower hull form than a sloop, though, and it relies on the keel for vessel stability. A schooner has 2 or sometimes more masts, and the forward mast is generally equal in size or smaller than the rear mast.
A ketch has 2 masts, however the rear mast is smaller than the forward mast. A yawl is similar to a ketch, however the smaller mast is located behind the rudder, unlike a ketch where rudder is forward. Most modern production boats are sloops
Standing rigging remains fixed on the boat and they are also called stays, shrouds or lines and they hold up and support the mast
The headstay runs from the bow of the boat to the top of the mast.
The backstay supports the mast from the stern or rear of the boat.
The shrouds support the mast from the side of the boat.
The boom topping lift extends from the top of the mast to the back of the boom. It supports the boom when the mainsail is down. Running rigging is dynamic and it moves. These ropes and halyards or lines allow you trim sails and make sail adjustments, and they are also for raising and lowering the sails. Winches are used with ropes to tension the sails. Halyards are those lines used to raise or lower sails, sheets are used to control and adjust sails. The mainsail has one sheet, a genoa or jib has 2 sheets.
Things You Need to Know About Looking After Your Sailboat-Rigging
The secret to looking after sailboat-rigging is making frequent surveys and inspections of your boats rigging. You should always survey your rigging and look for potential failures that may be caused by improper installation, or corrosion and structural fatigue. 1. Survey your sailboat-rigging mast head down to mast step
2. Perform regular wash downs of rigging to flush away debris and other impurities that can lead to deterioration and failure.
3. Perform a close inspection of your boom vang, main sheets, jib sheets, topping lift and all halyards. . |