Introduction
Standing rigging rope sizes
Gammoning .
Bumkin shrouds.
Outrigger guys
Bobstay .
Bowsprit shrouds
Head stay.
Loading gear
Burtons .
Shrouds.
Backstays
Stays.
Sprit topmast backstay
Jibboom rigging
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The term
"standing rigging" covers all the ropes of a ship which serve t08
support the masts forward, aft and laterally. There are certain
fundamental lines of development which can be observed in the design of
the standing ngging through the centuries.
Until the middle of the 15th century the standing rigging was fairly
simple; the ship carried just what it really needed. In the second half
of the 15th century and in particular the whole of the 16th and the
early part of the 17th century the standing rigging grew enormously
complicated, and this complexity far outstripped the ships'
requirements. We have to remember that the renaissance was not only a
return to the consciousness of ancient times, but was also the first
stage of an era of technology. New technical possibilities were
deliberately indulged, with up to 16 pairs of shrouds per mast,
double and triple crows feet on the mizen stay, fore topmast stay and
backstay, lateen
top and topgallant sails plus mizen and jigger masts, even when the
ships
were so over-rigged that their efficiency suffered markedly. In the
17th
century this confused jungle of ropework was cleared up again under
the
leadership of Holland, Britain and France, and the standing rigging was
again
reduced to what was really necessary and useful.
In spite of the constant growth in mast heights and sail
areas, the number of ropes did not increase in the 18th century, except
for the stays.
Instead the individual ropes of the standing rigging grew thicker and
thicker.
In the latter part of the 19th century, the hemp ropes used until that
time
finally became inadequate for the extremely tall-rigged ships, and it
became
standard practice to use steel wire rope for all or part of the
standing
rigging.
When fitting the standing rigging, work proceeds
from the bow towards the stern, and from the bottom toward~ the top; in
the case of shrouds and backstays individual ropes are fitted
alternately to starboard then to port. This means: bowsprit gammoning
-bobstay bowsprit shrouds - fore
tackle pendants - fore shrouds (starboard port etc. ) - forestay tackle
pendants
- main shrouds - mainstay - mizen burton pendants - mizen shrouds
-
mizen stay - fore topmast shrouds fore topmast stay - main topmast
shrouds
-etc. etc.
As in full-size practice, the fitting of the standing
rigging is a rather complicated matter on a period model - not so much
because of the fiddly nature of the ropes, but because in every section
a whole series of ropes have to be fitted at exactly the right tension
to balance each other out.
The whole standing rigging system is based on the
principle of tension and counter-tension, i.e. not only must each rope
be pulled tight (that is, they must be under a certain amount of
tension), but you have also to consider every other rope which exerts a
pull in the opposite direction. An example might illustrate this
principle: the shrouds pull the mast back towards the stern. If the
shrouds are set up and tensioned, the mast assumes a slight curve
towards the stern. If we now try to compensate for this by setting a
corresponding amount of tension in the stay, the first pairs of shrouds
will inevitably fall slack. For this reason it is of the utmost
importance to leave all the lines and tackles of the standing rigging
temporarily fixed until all the standing rigging has been fitted; then
the tension of each component
can be matched to the others, and the whole system balanced out.Do
allow
yourself plenty of time for this. Masts that are curved or even bent by
incorrect
or asymmetrical tension look just as awful as loose shrouds, backstays
or
stays.
When the whole of the standing rigging has been fitted and balanced,
the lines and tackles can be permanently fixed, the excess ends cut
off, the crowsfeet
attached to the main and fore stays, and the shrouds rattled down.
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