1. Cotter Pins: A cotter pin can provide
a very safe way of securing many connections in the rig, but
because of failure to live up to several simple expedients,
the cotter pin is universally disliked. For good results the
pin should be cut so that, from below the head, the length will
be one and a half times the diameter of the pin in which it
will be installed. Having been cut to length, the ends must
be carefully rounded with a smooth flat file so that there are
no sharp corners. When cotter pins have been put in place, they
should be opened very slightly, each side bent only about ten
degrees, and never bent right back against the pin after which
treatment they cannot be reused and they are extremely difficult
to remove. By properly controlling the length and the sharpness,
the opening, there is little likelihood of creating damage,
but at the same time all cotter pins should be taped, and prepared
as above so there will be much less tendency to come out through
the tape and they require less tape to adequately protect them.
2. Toggles: The lower end of all standing
rigging should have toggles and the toggle should be included
in the upper end of the headstay as it may be pulled considerably
out of line by the headsails which are attached to it. Toggles
should also be included on life line turnbuckles as turnbuckles
are strong in tension, but very vulnerable to bending loads.
3. Mast Tangs: The commonly used double
plate mast tangs are more often than not improperly bevelled.
Apparently, the underneath plate is brought out close to the
line of the shroud which it will be fitted to. The upper plate
has additional bend to bring it out to allow for the width of
the upper eye and then is bent down again parallel to the lower
plate, so all offset, or most of it, is in the outer plate.
When such a tang is heavily loaded, the outer plate gives more
as it tends to straighten out and the underneath plate is already
straight-so the pins then arc no longer square with the load
and considerable basic strength is lost.
4. Closed Barrel Turnbuckles: It is
my firm belief that closed barrel turnbuckles should be completely-outlawed.
I don't feel they're suitable for use anywhere and the same
reasoning applies to compression lock nuts which inherently
slack up when the turnbuckle is heavily stressed. If the lock
nuts don't slacken up, then they must be so tight they are applying
additional load to the turn-buckle threaded section. Furthermore,
there is no way of looking at lock nuts so that you can tell
whether they are doing their job or not, as compared to the
cotter pin which is either in place or not. The important defect
of the closed barrel turnbuckle is that it is impossible to
sec how much thread is buried and often, when it is necessary
to slack a shroud or stay to get the correct mast trim, it may
get dangerously near the end of the threads, which has led to
many unnecessary accidents.
5. Rod Terminals: A similar situation
prevails in the rod rigging fittings where the majority of them
are what could be termed 'closed barrel', as opposed to having
slots which enable you to observe whether there is sufficient
rod in the terminal to be safe. Again the same comment regarding
lock nuts and cotter pins.
6. Turnbuckles: It seems extremely
logical to install turnbuckles and terminals on rod rigging
so the right hand thread is downward, so that for tightening
one performs the normal motion that one does when putting a
screw in. When all turnbuckles and terminals have been installed
this way it is very simple to tighten or loosen any piece of
rigging, but all too often it is either hit or miss, some one
way, some the other, and occasionally they are all installed
what I would term as 'upside down'. After carefully studying
the mast, if you want to tighten one turn here and slacken half
a turn there, you think you're doing this and then you look
at the mast again and find it is considerably worse, which reminds
you that the turnbuckles have been carelessly installed, making
the adjustment problem unnecessarily difficult.
7. Outhauls: A great majority of present
day boats are rigged with internal wire main clew outhauls with
various schemes for applying tension, but almost none of them
with a good scheme for replacing the wire short of a real shipyard
job. If you have the good luck for the wire to last a reasonable
length of time, it will be all the more difficult to get the
end fittings off the boom, to make the necessary replacement.
Where roller reefing is involved, the safe screw type of outhaul
should last the life of the boat, and where roller reefing is
not involved, then the old fashioned wire tackle, on the outside
of the boom, would be acceptable, as it is very easy to observe
its condition, and, when necessary, to make a replacement.
8. Goosenecks: It's astonishing how
many boats (and particularly those equipped with single lower
shrouds, near the mast centerline) have a dangerous interference
occurring in the gooseneck when the boom is all the way out.
Obviously with such extreme leverage, the gooseneck is going
to break and again an unnecessary and disabling accident occurs
because it had not been well thought out prior to manufacture.
9. Slides: There are innumerable places
where one piece slides on another, as for example the main gooseneck,
spinnaker gooseneck, genoa leads, not to mention mast tracks
and boom tracks. In all cases, both the track and the sliding
member must be well polished and all exposed edges adequately
bevelled so that minor temporary misalignment will not cause
a hang-up.
10. Slides for Roller Reefing: These
are considerably in vogue and frequently combined with a sliding
gooseneck, but unless the slide is somewhat longer than standard,
one can scarcely expect the slide to operate when the sail is
reefed and considerable torque is placed on the slide through
the gooseneck. Again, smooth finish and adequate belling could
help this situation.
11. Gooseneck Slides: Where there is
a sliding gooseneck this somewhat complicates the very necessary
and desirable arrangement where the sail track should come right
down to the top of the boom, when the boom is in its lowest
position. Provision has to be made inherently in the design
of the gooseneck track and the sliding member which goes on
the gooseneck track, but, presuming it is provided at the outset,
there is no particular difficulty, and it is the only way the
sail can be neatly furled, and the only way it can be safely
furled in heavy weather, particularly when offshore.
2. Track Gates: On any boat that will
sail offshore there should be a gate just above the stacked
mainsail to permit setting a storm trysail and also, with roller
reefing, to permit sail slides to be taken off in case very
deep reefing is required. Unfortunately these track gates are
seldom properly aligned and seldom have the edges sufficiently
bevelled. Frequently they are located so high that they are
unnecessarily difficult to operate and occasionally so low that
the trysail cannot be bent on without letting a good part of
the mainsail come completely adrift. The pins, or whatever scheme
is used for locking the gate should be securely retained so
there is no chance of losing them, as the gate occasionally
must be operated under adverse conditions.
3. Track Switches: The same general
comments apply-to track switches which can be helpful on large
boats to permit a trysail to be set on deck on a track that
is off to one side, and as it goes up it can feed back into
the main sail track in lieu of the additional weight of carrying
a separate track up for the luff of the storm trysail.
4. Mast Wedging: Presuming the mast
is stepped in the keel and passes through the deck, great importance
must be attached to a proper securing of the mast as it passes
through the mast partners. Fore and aft positioning should be
very secure as there is generally a long panel from the deck
up to the headstay and as the boat works through a head sea
there is a great tendency for the mast to pump fore and aft
which can be minimized by proper wedging. At the same time fore
and aft fixity can be coupled with provision to let the mast
move slightly sideways, to reduce the inevitable localized bending
and fatigue as the mast moves over to take up the stretch in
the windward shrouds. Live rubber wedges, each twenty-five per
cent of the circumferential space, and about one hundred and
ten per cent of the fore and aft clearance should be installed,
one in the fore centerline and one in the aft centerline. The
second wedge to be put in after considerable pressure has been
applied to the first. This system will be quiet and provides
optimum support for the mast, and the deck as well.
15. Mast-wire Exits: A majority of
the larger boats have considerable wiring for lights and instruments
in the spars; and it is generally pretty vulnerable. Wires tend
to be damaged when the mast is cither stepped or removed under
other than ideal conditions. A good arrangement is for a longitudinal
hole that permits the wire and all terminals and connectors
to be stuffed inside the mast where they are adequately protected
from any damage while the mast is being stepped or removed.
The wires can be fished out, after the mast has been stepped;
and the necessary connections made, preferably on the underside
of the deck, and sufficiently away from the mast partners to
be unaffected by leaking.
16. Mast Heel Exits: The average boat,
particularly the one that is not racing orientated, generally
has the mast heel too far forward with relation to the position
of the mast head. Assuming the mast is kept in the center of
the partners, as mentioned above under mast wedging, the fore
and aft adjustment of the heel has a profound effect on the
fore and aft position of the mid-point of the mast. When the
middle of the mast tends to come aft under pressure, this can
be rectified by moving the mast heel further aft, which immediately
tends to push it forward at its mid-point without any adjustment
to fore and aft rigging other than the lower shrouds, if they
are double.
17. Rope and Wire Splice: is more often
than not very badly accomplished. When done properly, the splice
should last just as long as either the rope or the wire that
is involved; and it requires no external serving; and its maximum
overall diameter will be just less than the diameter of the
rope, plus the diameter of the wire. All too often, it is a
very bulky and rough job, which starts to come apart the first
time the boat is sailed, which is dependent on yards of external
serving, which has a very short life, and which starts to come
off also before the trial trip has been completed. Such a splice
is invariably bulkier than necessary, and usually too wide to
go through the sheaves or blocks provided; and is apt to jam
up completely when one strand of the wire pokes out, and gets
on the wrong side of the halyard block or sheave. The right
splice does take more knowledge, but doesn't take any more time,
or any more material, and is basically not more expensive.
18. Wire Halyard Terminals: The conventional
wire splice is probably most durable for jib halyards, which
are too often brought absolutely two blocks, under which service
a Talurit or Nicropress fitting acts as a guillotine, and hastens
failure of the halyard. Therefore, jib halyards, at least, should
have a conventional splice; but it should not be longer than
five tucks, and should be served with multi-strand flexible
stainless wire over light taping; and the serving should be
just long enough to cover the splice, all of which is planned
to permit maximum hoist with minimum chance of damage or failure.
19. Wire Halyards: The length of the
wire in the halyard is very critical. The headsail halyards
should have three and a half turns on the winch, when they are
five per cent of the fore-triangle height down from the maximum
possible hoist position. A main halyard, in connection with
the reel winch, should be just long enough so that the halyard
shackle can be attached to the lifeline; whereas, additional
wire just makes it more difficult to get the wire neatly started
on the reel whenever the halyard is used. In general, headsails
halyards have too little wire, and main halyards too much.
20. Running Rigging: A lot of effort
and money is wasted on running rigging that is either too short
or too long. The short rigging is useless; and hence, wasted;
and, of course, overly long rigging creates an unnecessary-expense,
and makes it harder to properly organize and sort out and coil
down the rigging.
21. Bitter End Attachment: One of the
most unnecessary difficulties is for the halyard to come unrove,
which is only possible because of inadequate bitter end attachment.
With internal halyards, a properly tied figure eight knot will
do the job; with external halyards, there should be an eye that
the end of the halyard can be passed through; and the same figure
eight knot made in the end. With such treatment, it is easy
to take turns out of the halyard when it is being coiled down;
but under no circumstances can the bitter end get away, which
misfortune makes the halyard unavailable, invariably at a time
when it is much needed, and difficult to replace.
22. Reel Winches: A great deal of excellent
engineering has gone into many different types of reel winches;
but all too few of them have a really ship-shape and secure
method for a bitter end wire attachment, which must at once
be secure, and still unobtrusive, and nol interfere with the
smooth spooling of the wire.
23. Halyard Marking: As a bi-product
of the masthead fore-triangle, and the general acceptance of
stretchy luff headsails, the necessity of halyard marking is
pretty obvious; but, unfortunately, it is all too seldom encountered
in the field. Main halyards have been occasionally-marked for
some time. This always should be marked to indicate when the
headboard is just at the underside of the black band aloft.
The use of this mark is pretty well understood. The jib halyard,
or halyards, should also be marked, but for a different purpose.
Here the marking should indicate when the maximum hoist has
been reached, and any tendency to go beyond the mark does not
create a problem of exceeding rating, as would occur on the
mainsail; but does create a more immediate problem of causing
mechanical damage, and a very real possibility of making it
either difficult or impossible to get a headsail down again,
if the over-hoisting has been considerable. The best marking
is tight consecutive hitched using waxed synthetic twine, supplemented
by paint or nail polish markings above and below, and replaced
from time to time, as becomes necessary.
24. Internal Halyards: The internal
halyard is pretty much accepted; but all too often the exits
are arranged with no relation to where the halyards enter the
mast aloft; and this can create extreme difficulty in replacing
internal halyards, as will invariably be necessary from time
to time, and frequently results in the halyards wrapping around
one another during replacement creating undesirable friction,
and unnecessary wear. Halyards that go in the forward part of
the mast should come out forward of halyards which go in the
after part of the mast. All of it responds to logic; and the
only requirement is for somebody to think it through clearly.
25. Straightness of Spars: Whether
the mast be wood, or as is more common today, aluminium alloy,
it is imperative that the mast track be straight before any
steps are taken to rig up the mast, or to step it. If the mast
is delivered with a straight track, it is very easy indeed to
adjust the rigging, so the mast will stay essentially straight
under a wide range of conditions. If there is some misalignment,
because of extrusions that are not fair or butts that are not
fair, or tapering that is not fair, it is not feasible to overcome
this inherent defect by some magic adjustment of the standing
rigging.
26. Boatswain's Chair: The rig of any
modern boat tends to defy effective climbing aloft; and puts
a lot of importance on the boatswain's chair, related to which
there are several common faults. The most serious is no boatswain's
chair at all. The next is rope straps that are too long, so
the halyard is two blocks, and you are still far short of the
area that you want to inspect or work on. These straps should
be synthetic to eliminate deterioration from being stowed damp,
and they should be so short that the chair is pretty tight for
the biggest person that may use it. This gets you up good and
high. The straps should have a metal ring, which is sufficiently
small that it will be easy to use in connection with almost
any type of end fitting on a reasonable halyard. The seat part
of the chair should not be varnished, nor should it be made
overly rough, which latter simply destroys the pants of the
unfortunate individual who has to use it.
27. Small Lines: It is all but impossible
to properly sail a boat without access to a reasonable number
of small lines, as well as sail stops. All too often, there
is nothing but a coil of large and expensive line, which is
entirely unsuitable for securing the boat hook, or the lee runner,
or for tieing up a genoa jib, after it has been folded. A small
bag marked 'Small Lines' and filled with a reasonable assortment,
circumferences from twelve to thirty-two millimetres and lengths
from one fathom to two or three fathoms, will be worth its weight
in gold.
28. Adequate Lubrication: This is a
very important requisite of the modern rig. The best material
for threaded parts, and pins, is Anhydrous Lanolin, a produce
available in drug stores. If turnbuckle threads are thoroughly
coated, prior to initial installation, after which the entire
turnbuckle, including upper pins and toggle, and lowest pins,
is covered with a Dacron boot it will always be easy to make
any necessary adjustment by temporarily removing the cover;
and one good job of lubrication should do literally for four
or five years. The same applies to pins which connect the toggles
to the chainplates; and the upper terminals of the standing
rigging to the mast tangs, and all parts of the rig where there
may be motion, and where, without lubrication, there will be
unnecessary and considerable wear.
29. Small Headsail Head Blocks: There
is generally a pretty good arrangement for genoa sheets, frequently
using a sliding lead sheave, which is effective and reliable.
On the other hand, for small headsails, too often there is simply
a conventional diamond base padeye with the idea that a snatch
block will be used. In the heavy weather, for which the small
headsails are planned, it is important to have a sheet scheme
that is dependable; and here there should be a block made right
in the screw eye which should go into an otherwise flush padeye,
which protrudes above the deck, only the thickness of the surface
flange. Use of a snatch block will only invite the probability
of the block flogging open; again generally in just the worst
circumstances, when the sheet is badly needed, both to keep
the boat in control, and to save the headsail from flogging
itself to pieces.
30. Splicing Running Rigging: One area
where considerable economy can be accomplished along with improving
the product is to virtually eliminate splicing in running rigging,
which is really only necessary in connection with the wire halyards.
For rope halyards, and rope sheets, and guys, it is much better
to tie them in, which immediately permits end for ending in
the event of chafe damage; and to equalize wear. In the case
of the mainsheet, it is very simple to unreave the sheet, by
simply taking out the knot, and pulling it out a short way.
If there is an eye splice, the end first has to be unshackled;
and then the entire sheet pulled out through the blocks, if
the sheet is to be stowed below as it should be; but a practice
which is usually not accomplished, frequently because the sheet
is spliced into the block, instead of tied in as suggested here.
Rod Stephens,
Problem Areas, in: Yachting World Annual, 1973,
pagg. 43 e segg.
