Page 49 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

High-Tech Handy-Billy
A
This updated version of an old workhorse makes
good, appropriate use of block evolutionary details:

1 It has a 6:1 advan-
tage (7:1 when rove
to advantage), but
the blocks are more
compact than of
yore, so you can
work in tighter
places with more
power.
2 The top block swiv-
els, so you can haul
from any direction.
3 Auto-lock carabiners
have been added, for
fast, sure, versatile
attachment.
B 4 The top block is a
ratcheting block,
to help you control
heavy loads.
5 You can haul with
the lead vertical
(dotted line) and
belay to a separate
point, or you can
run the lead through
Figure 2-6A, B. a built-in cam cleat
and belay on the top
block.

adding another part to the moving block for a five-
part purchase. In both cases, the arrangement with
the greater power is said to be “rove to advantage,”
and the one with the lesser power is “rove to disad-
vantage.”

Compound Purchase
It’s rare to find a sailboat these days that has any
blocks aboard with more than two sheaves. This is
because the winch (see “Choosing Winch Power”
below) has largely taken over the high-tension run-
ning rigging jobs. But this doesn’t mean that you are
limited to only a five-part purchase with your tackle
collection; the power of any configuration can be not
just added to, but literally multiplied by hooking
Figure 2-7. up another configuration to it (Figure 2-8). Figure
2-9 shows how combining sets of single and double

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