Until into the late 17th century the gammoning was the only standing rigging on the bowsprit, and in all cases it is the first rope to be attached when qtting the rigging. Smaller ships mostly carried only one gammoning, and larger ships two Until the beginning of the 17th century it was passed round the s!;ill very flat knee of the head, while on larger ships it ran through a hea cleat on the beakhead platform. (see HEAD). After this time it ran through one or two slots in the knee of the head (sometimes also the gammoning knee); the arrangement should be shown on your plans. The bowsprit gammoning was looped over the bowsprit, passed down the knee of the head, through the gammoning hole, up again to the bowsprit and over it, back to the gammoning hole again etc. , the whole repeated eight to eleven times. Note here that the rope always crossed over in the middle, that is, each new turn on the bowsprit w in front of the previous turn, and at the gammoning hole, was behind the previous turn (towards the stern).
    The last turn was passed over the bowsprit to the middle of the gammoning, taken round the gammoning eight to ten times, and mad fast. To prevent the bowsprit gammoning sliding, three to five thumb cleats were fitted to the bowsprit. They were slightly thicker than the rope, and as long as the gammoning itself on the bowsprit until the 18th century , slightly shorter in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 19th century (roughly from 1830) the bowsprit gammoning consisted of chains rather than ropes in many cases. In the late 19th century the gamfnoning largely disappeared, and completely disappeared on larger ships; smaller vessels continued to use it, especially in the Mediterranean.
     In the 17th and 18th centuries a special block, the gammon lashing or rack block, was seized to the gammoning; this was a special block through which apart of the running rigging reeved; more detail on this in the chapter RUNNING RIGGING .

     From the 18th century onward, the fore tacks were no longer taken through the knee of the head, but through blocks at the head of the bumkin. The bumkin itself was stayed by two bumkin shrouds, which prevented it bending upwards when under tension. The forward shroud was led through a hole in the knee of the head and fixed to the bumkins to starboard and port. More often the shroud was fixed to a ring bolt on the knee of the head. The after shroud was made fast to a ring bolt in the hull. The bumkin shrouds were set up with a combination of blocks or deadeyes, and less often with hearts, and the tackle made fast to the bumkin shroud. If the mizen or jigger was situated so far aft that the leech of the mizen or jigger sail projected out over the stern of the ship, as was often the case from the 15th to the early 17th century , an outrigger had to be fitted to take the sail's sheet. This outrigger in turn was supported by two guys, leading downwards at an angle on both sides.

    If the mizen or jigger was situated so far aft that the leech of the mizen / or jigger sail projected out over the stern of the ship, as was often the case from the 15th to the early 17th century , an outrigger had to be fitted to take the sail's sheet. This outrigger in turn was supported by two guys, leading downwards at an angle on both sides. A spliced eye in the outrigger guys was fitted over the end of the outrigger, and the other end fixed to ring bolts to starboard and port. Tensioning arrangements with blocks and deadeyes were extremely rare in the case of these guys.