The Rigger's Apprentice [2 ed.] 087742361X, 9780877423614

Citation preview

1.8882 I9r

12

The

RIGGER’S

H

ere is a new edition of a book that has earned universal praise for the clarity of its writing and the quality of its 600 illustrations. The Rigger’s Apprentice is not just another knot book, even though the knots a sailor needs are all here (including seven ways to tie a bow¬ line). Nor is it a survey of rigs, for the subject is rigging. It is a book about the principles and procedures of rigging and the marlingspike arts of the sailor. Its emphasis is on traditional practices, but Brion Toss makes a distinction between “traditional” and “archaic.” Tarred-hemp standing rigging is archaic, but seizings, lashings, double sheet bends, grommets, wire splices, handy-billies—all these are traditional tech¬ niques whose usefulness is undiminished by modern, high-tech solutions. Indeed, in times of stress, a traditional rigger would be a most welcome crewmember aboard any yacht. The Rigger’s Apprentice is a book for the sailor who wants the satisfaction and good, hard cash savings of stepping his own mast, in¬ specting and maintaining his rig, and turning his own tailsplices and wire eyesplices. It is for the boatowner who wants to replace an entire gang of rigging himself—measuring, choosing appropriate wire, turning soft eyes, leathering, and serving. It is for the bluewater voyager who needs to feel secure in the knowledge that, should a shroud carry away far at sea, he will be able to repair it.

International Marine

Camden, Maine

Cover design by Amy Fischer Cover illustration by Robert Shetterly

SEP 1 5 1995 SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY

3 1223 03722 5936

The

RIGGER’S APPRENTICE

The

R1G(XR’S APPRENTICE SECOND

EDITION

Brion Toss ILLUSTRATED BY ROBERT SHETTERLY

International Marine Camden, Maine

623.8882 T639r Toss, The

1992

Brion.

rigger's

apprentice

/ C1992.

Published by International Marine® 10

987654

3

Copyright © 1992 International Marine, a division of McGraw-Hill, Inc.

All rights reserved. The publisher takes no responsibility for the use of any of the materials or methods described in this book, nor for the products thereof. The name “International Marine” and the International Marine logo are trademarks of McGraw-Hill, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Toss, Brion. The rigger’s apprentice / Brion Toss : illustrated by Robert Shetterly. — 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-87742-361-X 1. Knots and splices. 2. Masts and rigging. I. Title. VM533.T58 1992 623.88’82—dc20 92-25788 CIP Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to: International Marine P.O. Box 220 Camden, ME 04843 McGraw-Hill, Inc. Customer Service Department P.O. Box 547 Blacklick, OH 43004 Retail Customers: 1-800-822-8158 Bookstores: 1-800-722-4726

Portions of Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 7 appeared in Sail magazine. Portions of Chapters 1,3, and 5 appeared in WoodenBoat magazine. Cover and book design by Amy Fischer

3 1223 03722 5936

Contents

CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9

Acknowledgments Foreword Preface to Second Edition Preface Rigging 101 Tension Friction Design and Materials Loft Procedures Installation and Maintenance Emergency Procedures Fancy Work Tricks and Puzzles Appendix • Additional Tables Glossary Bibliography Index

vi vii ix xi

1 17 28 63 81 131 144 153 171 181 185 190 191

Acknowledgments The trouble with writing about a traditional art is that there are millions of people to thank. The list would fill pages even if I limited it to the riggers, sailors, boatbuilders, shopkeepers, truckers, and others from whom I received instruction in the course of my own apprenticeship. So to pare the list down to those who have had a hand in the production of this book, many thanks to: Jim Bauer, Kathy Brandes, Maynard Bray, Ted Brewer, Nancy Caudle, Jon Eaton, Robin Lincoln, Carl Meinzinger, Freeman Pittman, Peter Spectre, Roger Taylor, Malcolm Wehncke, and Jon Wilson. Several thanks to the staffs of Sail and Woodenboat magazines, wherein portions of the book first appeared. Millions of thanks to all the rest.

V/

Foreword I first met Brion Toss at the Port Townsend Woodenboat Festival in 1979, where he and Nick Benton were giving a hands-on lesson in Liverpool splicing to a large group of enthusiastic sailors. As I watched them I could see the joy they derived from passing on the information and skills they’d learned from other, older riggers. And so goes the haphazard way of passing down practical skills, which is why these skills are so often lost unless some dedicated person will take the time and effort to commit his inherited knowledge to paper. When I learned that Brion was going to do just that I became impatient. His writing has always been scientific but humorous, the accompanying illustra¬ tions clear and concise. So I knew his book would allow many sailors, including myself, the creative satisfaction of making gear such as a new headstay, lazyjacks, or a jibnet from wire, rope, and a few thimbles. This handmade gear is a joy to the sailor’s eye—strong, simple, and best of all, repairable right on the deck of a sailing vessel. This means no traveling to find a hydraulic swaging machine operator, no running around hoping to find the perfect end fitting for the millimeter wire you bought in Tahiti when you have sailed to another country that uses fittings measured in inches. Even more interesting to most of us is that if you rig your own boat you will save cruising funds. The cost of the wire and thimbles used for the standing rigging on our 30-foot, 17,500-pound cutter was only $350. If I

hadn’t spliced this wire myself I’d have had to pay an average of $21 to $25 for each Vie-inch swage in addition to the cost of the wire. Readers of this book who have nimble fingers and slim pocketbooks will find they can outfit an efficient sailboat at a savings of several thousand dollars. Beyond recording what the old-timers have taught him, Brion Toss keeps looking for new methods and materials that will combine the best of the old with the practicalities of the new. He has tested the strengths of different wire splices and swages and used this information to develop a smooth-entry Liverpool splice that averages 99 percent of the manufacturers’ rated wire strength, a vast improvement over the 85 percent figure we used to use for hand-spliced eyes. When I heard about this fair-entry, high-strength splice, I had to learn how to do it before I made up the standing rigging for our new cruising boat, Taleisin. Fortunately, Brion published that section of this new book in Sail magazine just when I needed it most. Now as I read the final manuscript for this book, I feel confident that most of the practical riggers’ tricks will remain available to exercise and delight the fingers and eyes of the next generation of sailors.

Larry Pardey September 1984

Vll

Preface to the Second Edition The Apprentice was the result of evangelic zeal: I was in love with rigging—with the elegance and conciseness and variety of rigging—and I wanted to share that love with others. Eight years later the zeal is still here, and the book has survived to be called a standard reference. That’s an imposing title to lay on something that started out as an exercise in “Here’s some really neat stuff.’’ So to come a little closer to justifying the title, this new edition has been tidied up some. The text is largely unchanged, though I’ve taken the opportu¬ nity to correct a couple of howlers in the Design and Loft Procedures chapters, to amplify a few ideas here and there, and to ferret out a few typos and obscuri¬ ties. Rob Shetterly has adjusted a few drawings that were merely excellent and are now fabulous. And Venita Robertson has compiled an all-new index to replace the alphabetically arranged roadblock of the

previous edition. Oh, and we’re bringing this out in paperback, so more of you can afford all this im¬ proved text, illustrations, and accessibility. Resourcefulness, simplicity, and enduring strength still seem to have something to do with happiness. To that I would now add a sense of right context, the notion that ability is of value only to the extent that it recognizes and meets a need. Sailing, and thus sail¬ boat rigging, are essentially “worthless’’ activities. But both are compelling and complex enough to draw out the best in us, to let us know what it feels like to express ourselves fully. And you thought you were just getting a book on rigging. Brion Toss Port Townsend, Washington August 1992

IX

. ..

' * .',»»