Page 293 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

that will hold both knife and spike—so their tools and gear in the order you’re likely to need
lanyards can’t get tangled between separate them. Then the deck crew can shuttle things
sheaths—and seize a ring to the bottom of the up and down in the rigging bucket, instead of
spike sheath. overstuffing it and leaving you to struggle with
it aloft.
3. Separating Jobs. Say you’re installing a radar
aloft. You need to drill holes, run wiring, mount 4. Maximize Versatility. While job-specific
the bracket, and finally mount the radar. That’s consciousness is important aloft, so is
four jobs with four partly or entirely different resourcefulness and versatility. Welding the
tool requirements. Separate the job into two or head of a crescent wrench to your marlingspike
more phases before you leave deck, laying out (Figure 7-11) enhances the worth of that
already priceless tool; half-round files are a
two-in-one blessing; the positive-lock on Sears
Figure 7-11. A marlingspike–crescent wrench combi- ratchet handles prevents dropped sockets; and a
nation. The lanyard line should be just small enough cordless electric drill with a variable clutch can
to fit doubled through the lanyard hole in the tool. work for both making holes and setting screws.
The end, with a Figure-Eight Knot, is dropped into Add a keyless chuck to simplify bit changing.
the protruding bight, and the bight is withdrawn,
jamming in the hole. To release, pull on the end and Miscellany
remove it from the bight. (I call this the “Knute Hitch,” Extremes of motion aside, the single greatest poten-
Knute being my favorite marlingspike.) tial for annoyance and hazard aloft comes from how
the deck crew attaches the gantline to the gear they
send up. Let’s say you’re replacing a shroud. The
hole in the end of the new terminal is the obvious
place to tie the halyard. But when the wire gets to
you, you must remove the halyard before you can
install the wire. This involves either the bother of
securing a separate lanyard or the hazard of cast-
ing off the halyard and trusting that you won’t drop
the wire before you get the clevis pin in place. A far
better practice is to Icicle-Hitch the gantline onto
the wire 2 feet (0.6 m) or so below the terminal.
The halyard will be out of your way, and you can
get the clevis in before casting the halyard off. If the
halyard is too large or stiff to grip the wire securely,
hitch on a smaller line and tie the halyard to that.
If you are sending up a tool, don’t tie the hal-
yard to its lanyard. Again, the tool must be secure
before the halyard is untied.
For sending up sharp-cornered objects, avoid
having the line touch the corners. If this is impossi-
ble, pad the corners first.
Have a camera handy when you go up, to get
a portrait of details aloft that you can examine and
analyze before any future work. Hold a ruler or sec-

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