Page 316 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

then stepped the mast with the sail hanging in likely that all the wires are fatigued or badly
place. Had they tried lowering the sail to check swaged—you just found the first one to show
the layout, they would have discovered their signs. At least consider a new, good-quality gang.
mistake. And it was a very dangerous mistake:
Picture yourself in a rising wind with a jammed 9. Spinnaker pole track has machine screw as
roller-furler mechanism, trying to lower a stop at upper end; screw is bent.
monstrous, flapping jib and discovering that it This stop prevents the car that the butt of
only comes halfway down. “Shotgun reefing”— the spinnaker pole rides in from coming out of
blowing a few holes in the sail—might be your the top end of the track. A machine screw is a
only recourse. Anyway, this is more of a problem quick-and-dirty substitute for a real stop, an
than you can solve right now. Measure for an item available, cheap, at any chandlery. Get one.
appropriate sheave and halyard and inspect
the head of the roller-furling unit. They usually 10. You’re back on deck (whew), but not
need an occasional rinse with fresh water to done yet.
get grit off the bearings. Check manufacturer’s Go to the bow and make sure there’s enough
maintenance recommendations. thread on the outside of the jibstay turnbuckle
barrel that you can add that toggle aloft and still
7. Moving down from the masthead, all is tension the stay. It could be that the turnbuckle
well until we get to the spreaders, which are is tightened down too far for this to happen,
horizontal instead of bisecting the angle formed and that’s why there’s no toggle aloft. You just
by shrouds. might be able to shorten the wire by the length
This is the single most common flaw in of the terminal, apply a new terminal, add the
rigging. If the spreader is angled properly, it toggle, and have a perfect-length stay. Measure
functions as a pure compression member. If carefully. It might also be that you’ll have to
it is horizontal, the shroud will act to push its replace the entire, expensive stay. But with no
outboard end down. This leads at least to an toggle aloft, you’re going to have to do this
excessive buckling load on the spreader. If the relatively soon anyway.
end seizing slips, the spreader could collapse
altogether. Dismasting. Besides, horizontal 11. Sticky staysail lead block car.
spreaders look dowdy, lifeless. Sandpaper and rinsing will probably do it,
To fix this, cast off the outboard seizings and though cars and tracks sometimes get sufficiently
tap the ends up to the proper angle. Have one dinged to require some artful filing.
of your deck crew with a good eye get well in
front of the boat to help you with this. Aloft 12. Mainsail halyard cleat angled backward.
or on the ground, use a bevel gauge to get the You’ve had this boat for years and always
angles identical. Finish by seizing the spreader known there was some reason why this was an
end securely to the wires. awkward belay. The cleat should be angled so
that the halyard touches the lower end first.
8. Horizontal crack in starboard after lower
shroud swage. 13. Nick in mainsheet near standing end. Line
Oops. Measure for a replacement. Then ask badly twisted.
yourself: How old is this rig? Is this wire heavy End-for-end the line. Try to figure out what
enough? If the wire is new and adequately sized, nicked it. Resolve either to coil by figure-eight
this might just be a fluke. But it’s much more or alternate-hitch methods, or to have a halyard

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