Page 422 - Brion Toss - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

ity, and what I can only describe as puckish good sesses an unparalleled level of technical skill, in com-
humor. That last goes for everyone on the staff, it bination with a spiritual graciousness that makes the
seems, but is particularly true for founder and guid- Dalai Lama look like a thug. Both attributes, I sus-
ing light Brooks Jones, a canny, rumbling bear of pect, are informed by the tens of thousands of sea
a sailor. Brooks is the U.S. distributor for Sta-Lok, miles she has covered in the course of her career.
does great in-house swaging and rod heading, car- The relationship between sails and rigging is
ries all the most common running and standing rig- of course intimate; the purpose of rigging is to deal
ging components, and can either get obscure items with the energy that the sails deliver, and the two arts
for you, or direct you to someone who can. Oh, and have been co-evolving for millennia. So if you hope
for all you cruisers, Sailing Services is wise in the to be a good rigger, get to know a good sailmaker.
ways of shipping to far-off places.
Web site: http://porttownsendsails.com/
Web site: http://www.sailingservices.com Great PDF downloads at that address, on every sail
in your inventory. Download them all. Then move
Bare bones (C’mon, Brooks, flesh that thing out), over to the “Sources and Resources” section, for
but it has the essentials. Still, once you have a gen- articles about sailmaking. Be sure to check out/
eral idea of what you need, get on the phone to talk memorize the video of Hasse explaining the niceties
with one of the fabulous staff members. of sail trim.

Email: sails@sailingservices.com Email: info@porttownsendsails.com
305-758-1074 360-385-1640

FISHERIES SUPPLY PORT TOWNSEND
This Seattle company is right up there with Sailing MARINE TRADES ASSOCIATION
Services in every respect, and it is a lot closer to my
shop. The only thing they really lack is anyone half Here is the result of a self-reinforcing feedback loop.
as colorful as Brooks. Many years ago, a few manically dedicated wood-
working dilettantes moved to a then-moribund Port
fisheriessupply.com Townsend. Rents were cheap. Or free. Opportunities
206-632-4462 were endless. Over time, some of those dilettantes
1900 N. Northlake Way honed their fabrication skills. A smaller percentage
Seattle, WA 98103 also developed some business skills. The latter group
was therefore able to stay in business long enough to
develop a reputation, assuring an ongoing stream of
HASSE AND COMPANY work. Other artisans showed up, but if they weren’t
really high quality, they didn’t tend to stay, for why
In my humble estimation, this is the best cruising would anyone hire a mediocre worker in a town that
vessel sail loft in the country, if not the world. Their was rich in maestros?
designs are brilliant, their fabrication techniques In time there were so many artisans with ster-
result in remarkable sail longevity, and their cus- ling reputations that the town started to develop a
tomer service is otherworldly. reputation. And not just for woodworkers; the same
I am tempted to go on for pages about the won- feedback loop extended to cover machinists, weld-
derfulness of the staff, and particularly of owner ers, electricians, sailmakers, and, yes, riggers. Hello
Carol Hasse, but I will settle for saying that she pos- Port Townsend Rigging!

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