CUTTING AND FITTING STANDING RIGGING.
Measuring and cutting lower rigging and lower fore-and-aft stays.
Fitting the same. Measuring, cutting, and fitting topmast rigging,
stays, and backstays. Jib, topgallant, and royal stays. Rattling down
rigging. Cutting and fitting lifts, foot-ropes, brace-block straps, and
pennants. Breast-backstays.
CUTTING LOWER RIGGING.--Draw a line from the side of the partners
abreast of the mast, on the deck, parallel to the channels, and to
extend as far aft as they do. On this line mark the places of each
dead-eye, corresponding to their places against the channels. Send a
line up to the mast-head, and fasten it to the mast by a nail above the
bibbs, in a range with the centre of the mast, and opposite to the side
the channel line is drawn upon. Then take the bight of the line around
the forward part of the mast, and fasten it to the mast by a nail,
opposite the first nail, so that the part between the nails will be
half the circumference of the mast-head; then take the line down to the
mark on the channel line for the forward dead-eye, and mark it as
before; and so on, until you have got the distance between the mast and
each mark on the channel line. Now cast off the line from the
mast-head, and the distance between the end of the line and each mark
will give you the length of each shroud from the lower part of the
mast-head. And, to make an allowance for one pair of shrouds overlaying
another, you may increase the length of the pair put on second, that
is, the larboard forward ones, by twice the diameter of the rigging;
the third pair by four times; and so on.
The size of the lower rigging should be as much as eight and a half
inches for vessels of seven or eight hundred tons, and from seven and a
half to eight for smaller vessels, over three hundred tons.
For the length of the fore, main, and mizzen stays and spring-stays,
take the distance from the after part of the mast-head to their hearts,
or to the place where they are set up, adding once the length of the
mast-head for the collar.
The standing stays should be once and half the circumference of the
shrouds.
FITTING LOWER RIGGING.--Get it on a stretch, and divide each pair of
shrouds into thirds, and mark the centre of the middle third. Tar,
worm, parcel and serve the middle third. Parcel _with_ the lay of the
rope, working toward the centre; and serve _against_ the lay, beginning
where you left off parcelling. Serve as taut as possible. In some
vessels the outer thirds of the swifters are served; but matting and
battens are neater and more generally used.
Formerly the middle third was parcelled over the service, below the
wake of the futtock staff. Mark an eye at the centre of the middle
third, by seizing the parts together with a round seizing. The eye of
the pair of shrouds that goes on first should be once and a quarter the
circumference of the mast-head; and make each of the others in
succession the breadth of a seizing larger than the one below it.
Parcel the score of the dead-eye, and heave the shroud taut round it,
turning in _with_ the sun, if right-hand-laid rope, and _against_ the
sun, if hawser-laid; then pass the throat seizing with nine or ten
turns, the outer turns being slacker than the middle ones. Pass the
quarter seizings half way to the end, and then the end seizings, and
cap the shroud, well tarred under the cap. Make a Matthew Walker knot
in one end of the lanyard, reeve the other end _out_ through the
dead-eye of the shroud, beginning at the side of the dead-eye upon
which the end of the shroud comes, and _in_ through the dead-eye in the
channels, so that the hauling part of the lanyard may come in-board and
on the same side with the standing part of the shroud. If the shroud is
right-hand-laid rope, the standing part of the shroud will be aft on
the starboard, and forward on the larboard side; and the reverse, if
hawser-laid.
The neatest way of setting up the lower fore-and-aft stays, is by
reeving them _down_ through a bull's eye, with tarred parcelling upon
the thimble, and setting them up on their ends, with three or four
seizings. The collar of the stay is the length of the mast-head, and is
leathered over the service. The service should go beyond the wake of
the foot of the topsail, and the main-stay should be served in the wake
of the foremast. The main and spring stays usually pass on different
sides of the foremast, and set up at the hawse-pieces.
The bolsters under the eyes of the rigging should always be covered
with tarred parcelling, marled on.
The starboard forward shroud goes on first; then the larboard; and so
on. The fore stay and spring stay go over the shrouds; and the head
stays always go over the backstays.
CUTTING AND FITTING TOPMAST RIGGING.--For the forward shroud, measure
from the hounds of the topmast down to the after part of the lower
trestle-trees, and add to that length half the circumference of the
mast-head at the hounds. The eye is once and a quarter the
circumference of the mast-head. The topmast rigging in size should be
three fifths of the lower rigging. For the topmast backstays, measure
the distance from the hounds of the mast down to the centre of the
deck, abreast of their dead-eyes in the channels, and add to this
length one half the circumference of the mast-head. Add to the length
of the larboard pair, which goes on last, twice the diameter of the
rope. The size of the fore and main topmast backstays is generally one
quarter less than that of the lower rigging; and that of the mizzen
topmast backstays the same as that of the main topmast rigging. The
size of the topmast stays should be once and a quarter that of the
rigging. The topmast rigging is fitted in the same manner as the lower.
The backstays should be leathered in the wake of the tops and lower
yards. The breast-backstays are turned in upon blocks instead of
dead-eyes, and set up with a luff purchase. The fore topmast stay sets
up on the starboard, and the spring stay on the larboard side of the
bowsprit.
All the fore-and-aft stays are now set up on their ends, and should be
leathered in their nips, as well as in their eyes.
The main topmast stay goes through a heart or thimble at the
foremast-head, or through a hole in the cap, and sets up on deck or in
the top; and the mizzen topmast stay sets up at the mainmast-head,
above the rigging.
JIB, TOPGALLANT, AND ROYAL RIGGING.--The jib stay sets up on its end on
the larboard side of the head, and is served ten feet from the boom,
and its collar is leathered like that of the topmast stay. The gaub
lines or back ropes go from the martingale in-board. The guys are
fitted in pairs, rove through straps or snatches on the spritsail yard,
and set up to eye-bolts inside of or abaft the cat-heads. The
foot-ropes are three quarters the length of the whole boom, and go over
the boom-end with a cut splice. Overhand knots or Turks-heads should be
taken in them at equal distances, to prevent the men from slipping,
when laying out upon them.
The most usual method of fitting topgallant rigging in merchantmen, is
to reeve it through holes in the horns of the cross-trees, then pass it
between the topmast shrouds over the futtock staff, and set it up at an
iron band round the topmast, just below the sheave-hole; or else down
into the top, and set it up there. To get the length of the starboard
forward shroud, measure from the topgallant mast-head to the heel of
the topmast, and add one half the circumference of the topgallant
mast-head. Its size should be about five sevenths of the topmast
rigging. Each pair of shrouds should be served below the futtock
staves. They are fitted like the topmast shrouds. The fore-and-aft
stays of long topgallant masts go with eyes, and are served and
leathered in the wake of the foot of the sails. The fore topgallant
stay leads in on the starboard side of the bowsprit, and sets up to a
bolt at the hawse-piece; the main leads through a chock on the after
part of the fore topmast cross-trees, and sets up in the top; and the
mizzen usually through a thimble on the main cap, and sets up on its
end.
The topgallant backstays set up on their end, or with lanyards in the
channels; and for their length, measure from the mast-head to the
centre of the deck, abreast the bolt in the channels.
The royal shrouds, backstays, and fore-and-aft stays, are fitted like
those of the topgallant masts, and bear the same proportion to them
that the topgallant bear to the topmast. The fore royal stay reeves
through the outer sheave-hole of the flying jib-boom, and comes in on
the larboard side; the main through a thimble at the fore
jack-cross-trees; and the mizzen through a thimble at the maintopmast
cap. The flying jib-stay goes in on the starboard side, and sets up
like the jib-stay. The gear of the flying jib-boom is fitted like that
of the jib-boom.
RATLING.--Swift the rigging well in, and lash handspikes or boat's oars
outside at convenient distances, parallel with the shear-pole. Splice a
small eye in the end of the ratlin, and seize it with yarns to the
after shroud on the starboard side and to the forward on the larboard,
so that the hitches may go _with_ the sun. Take a clove hitch round
each shroud, hauling well taut, and seize the eye of the other end to
the shroud. The ratlins of the lower rigging should be thirteen, and of
the topmast rigging eleven inches apart, and all square with the
shear-pole.
STANDING RIGGING OF THE YARDS.--The first thing to go upon the lower
yard-arm, next the shoulder, is the head-earing strap; the next, the
foot-ropes; next, the brace-block; and lastly, the lift. The foot-ropes
go with an eye over the yard-arm, are rove through thimbles in the end
of the stirrups, (sometimes with Turks-heads, to prevent their
slipping,) and are lashed to bolts or thimbles, but now usually to the
iron trusses. The stirrups fit to staples in the yard, with an
eye-splice. The lifts should be single, and fitted with an eye over the
yard-arm, and lead through a single block at the mast-head, and set up
by a gun or luff tackle purchase, with the double block hooked to a
thimble or turned in at the end, and the lower block to an eye-bolt in
the deck. Instead of brace-blocks on the fore and main yards,
brace-pennants fitted over the yard-arm with an eye are neater. The
latest and neatest style of rigging lower yards is to have a strong
iron band with eyes and thimbles round each yard-arm, close to the
shoulder; and then fit the lift, foot-rope, and brace-pennant, each to
one of these eyes, with an eye-splice round the thimble or with a hook.
The lower lifts now, for the most part, cross each other over a saddle
upon the cap, instead of going through blocks.
The inner ends of the foot-ropes to the topsail, topgallant and royal
yards, cross each other at the slings; and on the topsail yard there
are Flemish-horses, spliced round thimbles on the boom-iron, and the
other end seized to the yard, crossing the foot-rope. A neater mode is
to hook the outer end of the Flemish-horse, so that it may be unhooked
and furled in with the sails when in port. Next to the foot-ropes go on
the brace-blocks, and lastly, the lifts. The rigging to the topgallant
and royal yards is fitted similarly to that upon the topsail, except
that there is nothing over the yard-arms but foot-rope, brace and lift.
The brace to the royal yard fits with an eye. The reef-tackle,
studding-sail halyard, and other temporary blocks, are seized to the
lower and topsail yard-arms by open straps, so that they may be removed
without taking off the lift. The topgallant studding-sail halyard block
is often hooked to the boom-iron, under the yard.
The foot-ropes to the spanker-boom should be half the length of the
boom, going over the end with a splice, covered with canvass, and
coming in one third of the way to the jaws, and seized to the boom by a
rose-seizing through an eye-splice. The next to go over the boom-end
are the guys, which are fitted with a cut-splice covered with canvass,
and have a single block turned in at their other ends. To these single
blocks are luff or gun-tackle purchases, going to the main
brace-bumpkin. Their length should be two fifths that of the boom. The
topping-lifts are usually hooked into a band or spliced into bolts
about one quarter the distance from the outer end of the boom, and
reeve through single blocks under the top, with a double or single
block at their lower ends.
All the splices and seizings of the standing rigging should be covered
with canvass, if possible, except in the channels and about the head,
where they are too much exposed to the washing of water. A vessel looks
much neater for having the ends of the rigging, where eyes are spliced,
or where they are set up on their ends aloft or on deck, covered with
canvass, and painted white or black, according to the place where they
are. The lanyards and dead-eyes of the smaller rigging which sets up in
the top may also be covered with canvass. The lanyards, dead-eyes, and
turnings-in of the rigging in the channels, should always be protected
by scotchmen when at sea, and the forward shroud should be matted or
battened all the way up to the futtock staves.
In some smaller merchantmen the lower rigging is not infrequently set
up upon its end to bolts in the rail. This is very inconvenient on many
accounts, especially as all the seizings have to be come up with, and
the nip of the shroud altered, whenever it is at all necessary to set
them taut. This soon defaces and wears out the ends; while, with
dead-eyes, only the lanyards have to be come up with. Some vessels set
up their lower rigging with dead-eyes upon the rail. This is convenient
in setting them up in bad weather, but does not give so much spread as
when set up in the channels, and presents a more complicated surface to
the eye. If the rigging is fitted in this way, you must deduct the
height of the rail above the deck from the measure before given for
cutting it.
BREAST-BACKSTAYS.--It is not usual, now, for merchant vessels to carry
topmast breast-backstays. If they are carried, they are spread by
out-riggers from the top. Topgallant and royal breast-backstays are
used, and are of great assistance in sailing on the wind. There are
various ways of rigging them out, of which the following is suggested
as a neat and convenient one. Have a spar fitted for an out-rigger,
about the size of one of the horns of the cross-trees, with three holes
bored in it, two near to one end, and the third a little the other side
of the middle. Place it upon the after horn of the cross-tree, with the
last-mentioned hole over the hole in the end of the horn of the
cross-tree, and let the after topgallant shroud reeve through it. Reeve
the topgallant and royal breast-backstays through the outer holes, and
set them up by a gun-tackle purchase, in the channels.[1] The inner end
of the out-rigger should fit to a cleat, and be lashed to the
cross-tree by a lanyard. When the breast-backstays are to be rigged in,
cast off the lanyard, and let the out-rigger slue round the topgallant
shroud for a pivot, the inner end going aft, and the outer end, with
the backstays, resting against the forward shroud. One of these
out-riggers should be fitted on each side, and all trouble of shifting
over, and rigging out by purchase, will be avoided.
[1] The royal breast-backstay may be used as the fall of the
purchase.