Page 276 - Brion Toss - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

Toggled Galvanized Turnbuckles

Most turnbuckles are “jaw-and-jaw”—that is, both bearing on the eye than it does on the clevis pin of a
end fittings are jaws with clevis pins through them. jaw, so use jaw-and-eye turnbuckles when you use
But galvanized turnbuckles are also available in shackles for toggles.
“jaw-and-eye” configurations. A shackle has a better

shackle eye

shackle eye

cross-section of shackle through
turnbuckle eye . . . . . . vs. turnbuckle fork

her easy in a seaway, you must never forget that you to rest upon the angry waves, she will lay out the
owe her the fullest share of your thoughts, of your heaviest gale that ever made you doubt living long
skill, of your self love. If you remember that obli- enough to see another sunrise.”
gation naturally, and without effort, as if it were an This chapter is a run-through of the procedures
instinctive feeling of your inner life, she will sail, stay, that put the rigger out of work. The times it is con-
run for as long as she is able, or like a seabird going cerned with are always exciting and usually cha-
otic—thus the emphasis on forethought and prepa-
Proper Cotters ration. What follows describes preparations for the
launching of a good-sized new boat, but the annual
Unless there is some overwhelming reason to do outfittings of similar craft, or the launchings of
so, never open cotter pin legs more than about 10 smaller ones, require no less care, even though the
degrees each, so they form a narrow “V.” They’re
no less secure than ones that are open wider, and operation might be simpler or more familiar. Given
they’re much, much easier to install and remove. the consequences of dropping the stick through the
If there’s some chance of the ends sticking out and hull, for example, it makes sense always to proceed
gouging passersby, slack the turnbuckle and rotate
the clevis pin until the cotter ends are bearing on with studied skill and near-paranoid caution.
a flat surface, then squeeze a Hershey’s Kiss–size
blob of silicone onto the ends. This will cover the
ends, so they can’t jab anything, and it glues the INSTALLATION: GETTING READY
pin so it can’t rotate, but the cotter will still be easy
to remove if need be. Set up a workspace out of traffic, and gather together
The ideal length cotter pin has the shorter leg the fewest possible assistants necessary for the job
about 1.5 times the diameter of the clevis pin. This (two or three is usually enough, though you may
is long enough that it won’t be ridiculously hard to
open the legs, and short enough that the legs are need some unskilled line-holders later). Improve the
less likely to stick out past the surface of the fitting. chances of an efficient operation by discouraging
onlookers and unsolicited help.

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