|
|
Shrouds
|
Now
attach the mast stay and balance the tensions -this will not be the
final setting, but any final alteration will be minimal.Now tie a thin
guide batten above the first and last deadeyes -on ships after the
middle of the 19th century the sheer pole assumes this task and you
will be able to align the remaining deadeyes with this batten without
too much trouble. The deadeyes are turned in as follows: the shroud is
passed round the deadeye, the short end crossing inboard of the
standing part and the two parts seized together at the cross with
a throat seizing. A further two round seizings secure the two parts
together, the end being whipped and capped with canvas to keep the wet
out. If the shrouds are right-handed the short end is to the right of
the standing part when viewed from inboard andvice versa. Consequently
with all shrouds right-handed the short end
will be forward on the larboard side and aft on the starboard side; if
all
the shrouds are left-handed then the short end will be aft on the
larboard
side and forward on the starboard side. When the larboard shrouds are
laid
right-handed and the starboard shrouds left-handed, as previously
mentioned,
then all the short ends are forward.
The lanyards
The shrouds were set up by means of lanyards reeved
through the deadeyes. The lanyard began with a stopper knot, on the
inboard side of the outer hole of the upper deadeye, which was opposite
the short end of
the shroud.
N.B. When setting up the lanyard, never finish first the
one side and then the other side, but always work alternately from
starboard to port. For safety's sake, also check regularly with a small
plumb bob that the mast has not moved from the vertical position on the
centreline.
The lanyard reeves through the deadeyes, as shown in the
illustration, that is, always from inboard to outboard between the
upper
deadeye and the shroud, half hitching it round the two parts of the
shrouds
and expending the rest of the lanyard with turns round both parts and
stopping
the end; it is a good idea to secure the end of the lanyard in its
place
with a drop of glue.
The futtock stave
The futtock stave is a served piece of rope (sometimes, in the 16th and
17th centuries, a wooden spar or metal rod) which was seized to the
shrouds the same distance below the upperside of the trestle trees as
the underside of the cap was above the trestletrees. Generally1he
futtock stave was seized to the outside of the shrouds, but sometimes
it was fitted inside or even double (inside and outside).
The futtock shrouds
The futtock plates of the topmast deadeyes were secured by the futtock
shrouds. These were connected to the futtock plates by hooks.. turned
round the futtock stave, and seized to the shroud in three places. On
Dutch ships of the 17th century double futtock shrouds also appeared.
From about the middle of the 18th century the futtock shrouds were
occasionally seized to
the futtock stave. From about 1830 on iron bars began to be used for
the futtock
shrouds. They were shackled to iron band on the mast directly below the
mast
cheeks, and made the: futtock stave obsolete. On large ships the
topgallant
futtock shrouds were made in the same way; on smaller ships they
consisted
of a serv strop, with thimbles seized into the ends, through which the
shackles
passed.
|
Futtock stave:
1. Single, outside the shrouds 2. Single, inside the shrouds
3. Double, both sides of the shrouds
|
|
