Page 339 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

Figure 9-1. The ketch Nabob (or a vessel like it) pre- advance warning of failure; not inspecting it throws
paring to anchor after making it to port with a jury- this advantage away. The galvanic problem was
rigged bobstay. A tackle with the fall led through compounded by the bobstay’s being slightly under-
a turning block to the anchor windlass is a bobstay sized relative to the jibstay. This is a common flaw;
substitute quickly and easily installed under way. for some reason many riggers and builders feel that
a properly scaled bobstay “looks too big” and opt
temporarily replacing the bobstay, bringing the rig for a smaller one. So headstay strain, corrosion, and
back into balance. This was done by attaching a the likelihood of occasionally striking other objects
block and tackle to the bobstay fittings, slacking the all conspire to abuse a bobstay. I know that I replace
jibstay turnbuckle, gaining as much tension as pos- a disproportionate number of them.
sible with the purchase, and then retightening the What happened to Nabob was classic rig
jibstay. Additional power was gained by leading the trauma, the rig-as-strain-distribution system sud-
hauling part of the tackle through a turning block denly jeopardized by the failure of one of its parts.
and aft to the windlass. When conditions moder- But for the rigger and sailor, there’s more to the sit-
ated, a measured length of chain was shackled to uation than equations involving consequences of
the old turnbuckle to replace the temporary rig. strain; people and their skills are part of the sys-
Good design, the presence of useful gear, the
alacrity of the crew, and a bit of luck all contributed Ingenious Self-Steering
to a happy ending when Nabob’s bobstay broke. But
next we must ask, “How could the accident have When his Dove lost its rudder at sea, Winston
Bushnell coiled and stoppered 660 feet of spare
been avoided?” It turns out that the lower end of line into a 6-foot-long bundle, then trailed the
the bobstay had been eaten away by severe galvanic bundle about 30 feet behind his boat on two lines,
action over the course of years and was just wait- one leading to each quarter. By adjusting the lines,
he was able to steer his boat.
ing to break. Wire is the best material for a bob- Source: Capable Cruiser, Lin and Larry Pardey
stay because, unlike chain or rod, it usually gives

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