Page 173 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

any needed dimension by a backyard builder. And types and forms of plastic have been tried, and
we could have tapered the top of any of these rigs to of them, 12-strand Spectra/Dyneema, covered or
reduce weight and windage aloft. The options are uncovered, shows the best combination of virtues,
endless, and they all make at least some sense. But and the fewest drawbacks. Making good use of this
the time comes when you have to sit down and say, new material requires new knowledge, and new
“It’s going to look like this”—when the gestalt of skills. In the present volume, I won’t be going into
everything you know or think you know leads you minutiae of fabrication, but in this chapter we’ll see
to what you feel is most appropriate. how it stacks up against the metallic competition in
You’ve just been privy to the design of a “clas- general terms.
sic” rig, one whose form and particulars are the In some vessels, rigs made from Spectra or some
result of long evolution and conservative engi- other plastic have completely replaced metal rigging.
neering, and whose physical components are read- In others it has made some inroads, and in others
ily available. Most rigs, cruisers and racers alike, still there is not a scrap of plastic to be found. And
come out of this heritage, but designers are always this is how it should be, given the broad range of
pushing at the envelope. They do this for their own rig designs, sailing conditions, and cost constraints,
satisfaction, or at the urging of clients for whom and the varyingly adventurous or conservative incli-
“normal” is not enough. In Chapter 8 you’ll get nations of sailors themselves. Understanding and
a perspective on what’s possible when a talented, balancing your rig’s specific needs, and your own
innovative, and prudent designer goes to work. In inclinations, is the key to choosing the most appro-
this collection the emphasis is on “prudent”; anyone priate materials for your vessel.
can come up with a novel rig, but only care, skill,
and a realistic application of basic design principles Windage Figure 5-29 shows, in order of their
will produce a rig that will perform as planned and development, standing-rigging materials that have
stay in the boat. been in use since the 1850s. The most obvious
Here are some final considerations, a look at the trend has been an increase of strength relative to
options we have for translating those numbers into diameter. This benefits sailing performance because
wire we can dress our mast with. the smaller a piece of rigging is, the less drag or
windage it causes as it passes through the air. With
Standing Rigging: The Material Difference less drag, a boat will go faster and heel less in a
given wind speed.
“Nothin’ too strong ever broke.” At first, strength-to-size gains were the result
—Maine proverb of the introduction of different materials: Hemp
gave way to iron, and iron, to steel. By the early
In theory, you can make a standing rig out of any- years of this century, gains based on materials
thing; clothesline of sufficient diameter would do. improvements were diminishing, so designers
In practice you are likely to choose from an array turned their attention to construction. The more
of materials and constructions specifically developed cross-sectional area of metal you can cram into a
for the task. Since the mid-nineteenth century, this wire of a given diameter, the stronger that stay will
array mostly comprised variations on iron and steel be. So 6 x 7 and 7 x 7 constructions were super-
for materials, made into various forms of rod and seded for the most part by the current standard, 1
wire rope. x 19. Of course, a solid cylinder has the greatest
Then, in the late twentieth century, plastic rope cross-sectional area and thus the greatest strength
made an entry, offering tremendous advantages in of all, but until recently, engineering problems
weight reduction, increased strength, and some- made rod rigging too short-lived to be of use to
times greater durability and reduced cost. Many any but the most extreme racing craft. With the

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