Getting A Grip On Lines And Rigging
03/21/23 • 61 min
We invited Amanda Swan on the show today because not only does she have hundreds of thousands of sea miles under her belt, but she is also educator (and we like educators). She is also a sailmaker, and rigger. And today we’ll be talking about rigging. Yes – the ropes and wires we rely on but rarely make our maintenance checklists. Let’s be real, when was the last time you walked around you boat and ran your fingers along the wires, feeling for burs. Or went aloft, and checked the chafe on those halyards. Well those checks are critical. And we’ll be talking about why this matter today.
Also on the show, we invited John Thurston. John is a rope expert. He owns Lanex USA in Jamestown RI. Rocinante, our Norseman 447 is outfitted stem to stern in Lanex Rope - a European based cordage company. And we love it. And John’s advice was so good, we thought you might want to hear some of it too.
We cover a bunch of useful sailing topics in this podcast about lines and rigging:
How to care for your running rigging and lines. Why you should take your lines off the boat during the off season.
Whats the difference between HMPE (dyneema) and Polyester cordage.
Which one floats and which one burns? Covers vs. cores and how they interact.
Amanda encourages us to buy lines over length to accomodate chafe, and to buy same size lines – so you can switch them out and change the wear spots. What causes lines to slip on winches and clutches.
We get into the clasic deate of lines led aft vs at the mast, but in regards to line care and longevity.
Do you color code your lines and reef cringles for safety? It' s a great idea!
What causes sheave chafe? We get into Rig inspections and checklists,
Keeping this simple... its so easy to sit at your deck and buy sailing gear. But do you need it all?
Splicing good line is harder than poor soft line - most riggers dont want to splice with the good stuff because its too hard!
Get to know what elastic deformation does to your lines and how creep degrades your line strength.
And sailing gloves -- do you use them?
Music by Tim Eriksen
We invited Amanda Swan on the show today because not only does she have hundreds of thousands of sea miles under her belt, but she is also educator (and we like educators). She is also a sailmaker, and rigger. And today we’ll be talking about rigging. Yes – the ropes and wires we rely on but rarely make our maintenance checklists. Let’s be real, when was the last time you walked around you boat and ran your fingers along the wires, feeling for burs. Or went aloft, and checked the chafe on those halyards. Well those checks are critical. And we’ll be talking about why this matter today.
Also on the show, we invited John Thurston. John is a rope expert. He owns Lanex USA in Jamestown RI. Rocinante, our Norseman 447 is outfitted stem to stern in Lanex Rope - a European based cordage company. And we love it. And John’s advice was so good, we thought you might want to hear some of it too.
We cover a bunch of useful sailing topics in this podcast about lines and rigging:
How to care for your running rigging and lines. Why you should take your lines off the boat during the off season.
Whats the difference between HMPE (dyneema) and Polyester cordage.
Which one floats and which one burns? Covers vs. cores and how they interact.
Amanda encourages us to buy lines over length to accomodate chafe, and to buy same size lines – so you can switch them out and change the wear spots. What causes lines to slip on winches and clutches.
We get into the clasic deate of lines led aft vs at the mast, but in regards to line care and longevity.
Do you color code your lines and reef cringles for safety? It' s a great idea!
What causes sheave chafe? We get into Rig inspections and checklists,
Keeping this simple... its so easy to sit at your deck and buy sailing gear. But do you need it all?
Splicing good line is harder than poor soft line - most riggers dont want to splice with the good stuff because its too hard!
Get to know what elastic deformation does to your lines and how creep degrades your line strength.
And sailing gloves -- do you use them?
Music by Tim Eriksen
Previous Episode
Sailing At Night & Standing Watch
We chat with Behan Gifford and John Worth about sailing at night, standing watch, working on commercial vessels, making passages, ship traffic, AIS, and more.
Behan Gifford has made her home aboard a Stevens 47 for the last fifteen years, circumnavigating with her husband and three children. It's given her meaningful experience with sailing at night! The prospect of nighttime sailing is intimidating for many: demystifying that, taking the mystery out and making it feel addressable, is addressed in the coaching service she and her husband have to help folks successfully cut the docklines. You can find more information about Behan and her husband Jamie and their consulting services at their website Sailing Totem.
John Worth started his maritime career in 1973 as a deckhand aboard the schooners in Camden, Maine. He has had a long career aboard schooners, tugboats, yachts, as well as teaching at Maine Maritime Academy. He is now actively retired as a Ferry Captain with the Maine State Ferry Service and an occasional tug job. He holds a USCG 1600 ton master/near coastal with towing and sail endorsements. You can find John on instagram at jdubs53
Music by Tim Eriksen (Ben's brother)
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Next Episode
Weather, Forecasts & Routing
Ben sat down with Jon Bilger, the founding director of PredictWind, a weather app – well, more than a weather app. It helps sailors plan voyages and find weather windows. Ben also talked with Behan Gifford, Circumnavigator and cruising consultant. The three of them talked about Weather forecasting tools and the professional-level data that is available to all of us now, anywhere in the world.
About Behan:
Behan has made her home aboard a Stevens 47 for the last fifteen years, circumnavigating with her husband and three children. It's given her meaningful experience with weather routing and predictions. The prospect of sailing offshore is intimidating for many: demystifying that, taking the mystery out and making it feel addressable, is addressed in the coaching service she and her husband have to help folks successfully cut the docklines.
https://www.sailingtotem.com/
About Jon:
Jon Bilger is the founding director of PredictWind, and a keen competitive yachtsman with achievements in Alinghi Weather as Team Manager, a winner of the Americas Cups in 2003 and 2007, and as the Alinghi Weather Team Manager for the 2010 Dog Match. Also competing in the 1992 in Barcelona grabbing a 7th place in the 470 class.
https://www.predictwind.com/
The Music:
Stands For Nothing
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