Page 19 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

tion or problem is always part of a greater, more doozies coming out. One of my favorites is an item
complex system. An appropriately context-based in Chapter 12 that also involves bungee cord. It’s
approach will automatically help weed out dysfunc- called Tom Cook’s Internal Bungee Snubber (Figure
tional responses and encourage useful ones. Three 12-6), and it’s the kind of item that is so good it has
steps I like to follow are: no competition. So new materials can be opportuni-
ties as well as challenges.
1. Adapt the Traditional It’s always good to assume that any solution to
Old rigging procedures tend to stick around, even a problem—whether new, old, or a combination of
in the face of radical changes in design and mate- the two—will require some effort on your part to:
rials. They survive because they are effective and
adaptive, even in circumstances completely alien 3. Work Out the Bugs
to their origins. Consider, for example, bungee Continuing the bungee theme, there was once
cord. Remarkable, handy stuff, with no precedent a sailor, sailing in choppy waters, who’d hung
in the history of rigging. Like all other cordage, a kerosene-filled anchor lamp from his topping lift.
it can only be put to work once you attach it to He’d secured it from swinging with a long piece of
something. Unfortunately it is so intractably slip- bungee cord, attached to the lamp at one end and
pery that old standby knots, like the Bowline, the stern of the boat with the other. This involves
crawl right out of it. Hence the variety of clunky less tension than a piece of rope would have gener-
mechanical terminals and the corresponding lack ated, and was less likely to jar the lamp. Unfortu-
of versatility—you can’t readily adjust length or nately it also let the lamp move around enough to
eye size as you can with a knot. loosen the bottom shackle on the topping lift. When
Enter the Angler’s Loop (Figure 3-19), a sim- the pin popped out, the lamp came zinging to deck,
ple old knot developed in the days of presynthetic striking the sailor and spewing flaming kerosene all
fishing line. It was perfect for gut, and it turned over the cockpit. With great presence of mind, the
out to be equally well-suited to extremely springy sailor picked up what was left of the lamp and threw
modern monofilaments. This is a rare thing for an it as hard as he could astern, neglecting, however,
old knot, but this one goes ones step further, and is to detach the bungee cord. The fire-trailing lamp
happy with bungee, too. roared into the night, hung suspended for a moment
If you’re going to adapt the old, you have to against the stars, and then roared back to the cock-
know it. This can mean devoting yourself to the pit, there to spew still more flaming kerosene. Fortu-
study of what might seem hopelessly outdated nately, both sailor and boat escaped without serious
ideas. But think of this study as building a database, damage, leaving us all with the lesson that a little
one that will reward you with maximum versatil- novelty can be a dangerous thing.
ity. It’s no coincidence that sailors well-steeped in An old saying has it that there’s “a short splice
traditional skills are the most valuable ones to have for every sailor, a long splice for every ship”; I trust
aboard in a modern boat emergency. the reader will understand that my personal rigging
style is reflected in the following pages. Given time
2. Invent the New and experience, riggers can—indeed, properly ought
If you explore the old and come up dry, at least to—establish their own variations and preferences,
you’ll know that you’ll be inventing, not re-invent- making their own unique contributions to the con-
ing. Now you can go to work with an informed text of tradition. Toward that end, I hope to pro-
resourcefulness, free to find the truly new, and, with vide enough procedures, principles, and knowledge
your tradition-bred prudence, the truly workable. of the standard materials to let the reader deduce
People have been innovating for a long time, so the sense of rigging. That half-intuitive sense, once
genuine novelties are rare. But there are still some gained, can guide one’s own innovations.

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