Running rigging.
Running rigging, rope sizes. Halyard Slings.
Outhauler Parrals Lifts. Spritsail yard lifts
Height of the yards.
Braces
Position of the yards.
Sheets Tacks.
Clew lines.
Leech lines and bunt lines. Reef tackle.
Bowlines.
Bearing out spar.
Topmast tye .
Gaff sails
Staysails .
Staysail rope sizes
Studding sails.
Studding sail rope sizes Furled sails
Yards without sails.
Lateen sails
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The running rigging of a ship
covers all the ropes which are used to manipulate yards and sails:
Halyards, tyes and jeers -for hoisting the
yards on the mast.
Trusses and parrals -for holding the yards
tight against the mast. Lifts -for holding the yard horizontal, or
topping up the yard (at an angle).
Braces -for swinging the yard to one side.
Sheets- for holding down the clews (lower sail
corners).
Tacks- for hauling the clews forward.
Clew lines -for hauling up the clews when
furling the sails.
Leech lines and bunt lines -for hauling the
mass of the sailcloth on to the yard.
Reef tackles -for hauling up the reef bands
onto the yard, when the sail is to be shortened.
Bowlines -for keeping the leech well out when
sailing close-hauled. In contrast to the standing rigging the running
rigging underwent few major changes in the course of the centuries.
There was reason for this: the standing rigging was rigged up in port,
where the time and leisure were available for fitting the most
complex arrangements of rope, especially in the 16th century. The
running rigging, on the other hand, had to be quick and straightforward
to operate at sea, even in the worst weather, otherwise the safety of
the whole ship was at risk. Hence while the standing rigging was
subject to the latest aesthetic and technical fashions, the first
consideration in the design of the running rigging was that it should
work perfectly.The ropework of the running rigging was generally in its
natural state and therefore lighter in color than most of the standing
rigging. Steel wire ropes and chains gradually came into use after the
middle of the 19th century , and here you should note that the chains
of the running rigging -as with the standing
rigging -were always of plain link rather than the stud link type.
Take care! Check the rope thickness and block size
shown on your rigging plans very thoroughly, as advised for the
standing rigging. On many plans, and especially if you are working from
a kit, there is a tendency to make the lower yard rigging too heavy ,
and the upper yard rigging too light. You must also establish which
ropes were taut, and which were carried loose.
Basically the halyards, trusses and parrals, lifts and
braces, and all the upper sail sheets were set up taut. When the sails
are set, the weather bowline is hauled taut, as also are the lee sheets
and weather tacks. Brails, clew lines and reef tackles are carried
loosely when the sails are set. If the sail is hauled up to the yard,
furled on the yard, or the model is shown without sails, then the clew
lines, leech lines, bunt lines and
reef tackles must also be hauled taut.
The running rigging is belayed to kevel blocks, stag horns, cleats and
belaying pins. Until the beginning of the 17th century individual ropes
were
also simply wound round the rail; the thinner ropes of the topgallant
and
royal sails were also belayed in the tops in some instances.
Take care! The ropes of the running rigging must
not be cut short after belaying. A certain amount of rope was generally
coiled up by the belaying point, hung over the belaying pins (see
BELAYING PINS), coiled up by the cleats, hung over the head of the
kevel blocks, or hung over one of the horns of the stag horn.
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