Page 189 - Barbara Merry - The Splicing Handbook

TWENTY
Lizards

For 30 years I’ve worked in boatyards, rigging and providing consulting
services. I’ve developed a healthy sense of awe for the forces involved in staying
a mast or sheeting in a mainsail, and a lively imagination for disasters that can
result when those forces are unleashed on inadequate rigging.
So when I see the peculiar strategies and solutions some people use aboard

otherwise impeccably turned-out boats, I’m shocked. One summer I was
browsing the deck of a gold-plater docked in Newport, Rhode Island. It had
perfectly finished teak decks, brightwork that didn’t stop, bronze hardware, the
works.
Right in the middle of all this, however—like a snake in boat paradise—was a
rubber shock cord. I generally don’t judge people by this stuff, but seeing a
rubber shock cord aboard this floating theme park of fine boatbuilding was like
being served a side of Marshmallow Fluff at an upscale restaurant.

This wasn’t just a matter of aesthetics—the shock cords were unsuitable for
the task at hand, serving as temporary fairleads to get the jibsheets around some
boxes secured on the forward deck. Shock cords are untrustworthy, especially
when used as fairleads for vibrating loads, because they may unhook as they
jiggle back and forth.