Page 298 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

slack with the unsecured standing part, lay it paral- done and arrive back on deck whole and hearty.
lel to the part between the sheave and the masthead Back to the topmast. Let’s say you’ve made your
hitches, then seize the two parts together with two way to the lower masthead via ratlines, tied yourself
marline Round Seizings. Lash both parts to the top- off to that mast, and braced your feet securely on
mast about one-third of the way down. Get a good spreaders, lugs, ratlines, or whatever else is strong
hand to carry the other end of the heel rope aloft
and reeve it up through the lower doubling fitting,
then from front to back through a block shackled to
the starboard side of the lower masthead. The end
is carried back to deck and given a fair lead to a
turning block and from there to a winch, windlass,
or capstan.
It’s cheap insurance to hitch a safety line onto
the topmast with an Icicle Hitch (Figure 3-12). Take
this line up through a second block aloft. Have a
reliable hand tail it as the mast goes up.
Lay out the labeled rigging in two piles, port and
starboard of the mast, with the pieces that will go on
first uppermost in the piles. Labels go near the top
ends, so the installer can make one last check before
installing. Attach a tag line to the topmast butt, tail
the line securely, and haul away on the heel rope. As
the strain comes on, the topmast will want to shoot
ahead from its horizontal position. Restrain with the
tag line, paying out slack gradually until the topmast
hangs plumb below the doubling. Time to go aloft.
With complete disregard for the little voice
telling you that only fools would voluntarily leave
a nice, safe deck, you are about to climb wa-a-ay
up in the air and fiddle around with large, heavy
objects. No amount of care and skill can make this
act absolutely safe, so every precautionary measure
is justified. When you climb ratlines, always hold
onto the shrouds, not the ratlines, in case a seizing
lets go. If you are going up in a bosun’s chair, skip Figure 7-16. As an option, lash a safety line to the fid
back to the “Living Aloft” section. hole and masthead hole to back up the heel rope as
Wear a safety line when going aloft by either the mast goes up. Better yet, install a separate pad-
method, and shackle or tie it to something strong at eye or eyebolt at the butt of the mast, where it will end
every opportunity. Alternatively, rig a jackline, and up below the crosstrees. That way you can leave the
clip a fall-arrest device to it. safety line in place until after the fid is in and secure.
The moment you’re off the deck, very pow- In either case, the safety line is led through another
erful instincts will come to your aid, helping you masthead block and is tailed on deck. And in either
to move faster and hang on tighter than you’ve case, lash the safety line to the mast where the heel-
ever believed possible. Combined with some good rope is lashed, so that the mast can’t tip over before it
sense, these instincts will help you to get the job reaches the doubling. (Margaret Wilson-Briggs)

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