Definitive Guide for Small Sailboat Rigging

[andrewmct]

Happy New Year.
I have " never rigged a small sailboat(or large one for that matter) and I havn't been able to find an on-line or book "Rigging for Dummies" kind of book or info. I need very basic information since I am so new. Can anyone suggest any resources for me? The plans I have assume the builder knows this stuff. Thanks for any information.

Andrew

[James McMullen]

What kind of boat? What kind of rig? There really aren't that all that many one-size-fits-all solutions, my friend. Also, there may be several different ways to do something depending on what level of cost, complexity or performance you are shooting for.

Tell us what you got and we'll see what we can do.

[RodB]

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/media/books/tradsails/index.htm

This is a solid reference on several types of rigs for small boats... with lots of information on each rig type and its variations and pro's and con's....

Glad I got it.

RodB

[orbb]

Glen-l also has info on their site regarding sailboat rigging.

http://www.glen-l.com/free-book/rigging-small-sailboats.html

[James McMullen]

I have to say I really didn't think the book RodB did more than a barely adequate job. The writer was very tolerant of cheap and simple rather than excellent solutions. And his sail trim and sail-shaping control advice was either crude or entirely absent. He's not a performance sailor himself and doesn't incorporate any of the tricks from modern dinghy sailing technology. I read Yeadon's copy. . .and decided it really wasn't worth buying a copy for my own library.

It might be suitable if what you are building is a simplified Bolger or Michalak type, but it's not going to be much use for something bigger, something historically-based, or especially something more complicated or performance biased. I don't think I can honestly endorse it.

[Ian McColgin]

I don't know of a one size fits all book but depending on the boat you're rigging there are some interesting possibilities. So, what'cha got there?

[andrewmct]

The boat I am building is the Devlin Sea Swift with a Cat Ketch rig.

All the plans show is the sail plan and the wood components. I have been looking at all the small boats and I bought the Sharpie Book, but, the same thing - no info on actually setting up those kind of rigs either.

[David G]

As James says.... tell us the boat and the rig, and we might be able to direct you to a source for rigging info. I've never run across a book that does a good job of being a compendium of small boat rigging.

If you're wondering what sort of rig to put on your boat, I would start with Phil Bolger's '101 (or 103 - there were 2 versions) Small Boat Rigs.'

If you're looking for details on how to set up a particular rig, you might look at Brian Toss' 'Rigger's Apprentice.'

[RodB]

I have to say I really didn't think the book RodB did more than a barely adequate job. The writer was very tolerant of cheap and simple rather than excellent solutions. And his sail trim and sail-shaping control advice was either crude or entirely absent. He's not a performance sailor himself and doesn't incorporate any of the tricks from modern dinghy sailing technology. I read Yeadon's copy. . .and decided it really wasn't worth buying a copy for my own library.

It might be suitable if what you are building is a simplified Bolger or Michalak type, but it's not going to be much use for something bigger, something historically-based, or especially something more complicated or performance biased. I don't think I can honestly endorse it.


Original post...


Happy New Year.
I have " never rigged a small sailboat(or large one for that matter) and I havn't been able to find an on-line or book "Rigging for Dummies" kind of book or info. I need very basic information since I am so new. Can anyone suggest any resources for me? The plans I have assume the builder knows this stuff. Thanks for any information.

Andrew

The book I recommended is not a definitive rigging book...but covers appropriate rigs for small boats and their pros and cons... It certainly shows the basics of many rigs used on small boats and covers details on the variations to some degree. It seems a good starting point for the author of this thread.

RodB

[Ian McColgin]

Nice little boat but not much in the way of rigging. Mainly you have two halyards and three snotters. The sheets are dead simple though there is a way to rig the main sheet that I saw on a Tancook schooner (for its foresail sheet) that's cool and different.

Are these what you're wondering about?

[Chip-skiff]

I've got the Nichols book and find it useful but not really inclusive, let alone definitive. He treats a limited catalogue of sail types and shows one or two ways to do a particular job, some of them rather awkward, I thought.

The Devlin Sea Swift cat ketch is drawn with two sprit sails, the aft one having a sprit boom (i.e. intersecting the mast above the tack of the sail). The basic rig for each mast would be a halyard to raise and lower the sail and a sheet to trim it. The sprit boom could use a snotter (a line from the tip of the boom to adjust shape and tension). The foresail could probably stand a downhaul for the same purpose (to adjust the tension of the luff).

Another possible addition to the foresail would be a brailing line, to draw the sprit up to the mast and douse the sail quickly. I'm not sure how that'd work with the aft sail, given the boom and snotter, but there's probably someone on the Forum who's tried it.

Do the plans show some provision for controlling the sheets: thumbcleats, belaying pins, fairleads?

If you search the Forum using key words such as spritsail, sprit boom, snotter, brailing line, etc., you'll find quite a lot of stuff and some good photos. Here's the thread I posted on building a balance lug rig for my Bolger Gypsy:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?132570-Balance-Lug-Rig-for-Bolger-Gypsy&highlight=

Good Luck!

[Tim Marchetti]

Have you tried contacting the designer?

[Woxbox]

As simple as sprit rigs are, there are endless minor variations on how they are set up. One of the most handy things about them is that it's very easy to try all the options without having to make any labor-intensive or expensive changes to the boat or rig.

There have been quite a few threads on the forum discussing these options and the finer points of tuning up a sprit rig. At the end of the day, you have to understand what a properly trimmed sail looks like and then figure out what adjustments are needed to get the sail there. These rigs are easy and fun to experiment with, and regardless of what you do at first, I can guarantee that you'll be making a lot of adjustments once you get the boat in the water.

Being able to adjust the angles at which the sprits are set is key, as is being able to adjust the tension on them. As the sails get bigger, one may want some mechanical advantage to set them up. I'd advise keeping the rig very basic at first, and ad refinements as you decide you need them. Everyone with a sprit-rigged boat has a different opinion as to what's best. I'll argue that up to a sail of 75 or 80 square feet, no blocks or sheaves of any kind are needed.

Here's some reading:
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?140692-Sprit-booms&highlight=sprit
(http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?140692-Sprit-booms&highlight=sprit)http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?138775-A-new-Rig-for-a-traditional-Whitehall-Skiff....&highlight=sprit
(http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?138775-A-new-Rig-for-a-traditional-Whitehall-Skiff....&highlight=sprit)http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?131375-Reefing-a-spritsail&highlight=sprit
(http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?131375-Reefing-a-spritsail&highlight=sprit)http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?107495-Question-about-sprit-sails&highlight=sprit
(http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?107495-Question-about-sprit-sails&highlight=sprit)
And this isn't the half of it!



http://www.google.com/url?source=imglanding&ct=img&q=http://store.devlinboat.com/images/products/detail/seaswift.gif&sa=X&ei=ssEBT9K1A-Xs0gGh4vHQAg&ved=0CAwQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNEUd12xVjOKyxdAoMZcUXY-VBsT8w

[Woxbox]

Here's a detail view of the basic set up for the heel of the sprit. This works. But I prefer a slot at the heel of the sprit instead of a hole - it's much quicker and easier to set up and take down.

The thumb cleat on the back of the mast is necessary, but more useful is a strip of wood that has a series of indentations set in it, so that you can set the snotter (that's what that line is called) at any of several heights.

This is how simple it can be, but others like to run the snotter this way and that to get more purchase or to allow adjustments from some other spot in the boat. This is where I'd advise not going at first.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f92/Woxbox/Snotterbelay.jpg

[Chip-skiff]

I forgot to mention that perhaps the most valuable single source for the Forum on sails, sailmaking, and rigging is Todd Bradshaw, who specializes in traditional sails for small boats and canoes. To search his posts on the Forum, go to:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/search.php?searchid=1811506

To search his threads, try:

http://forum.woodenboat.com/search.php?searchid=1811523

He frequently posts diagrams and drawings, which are worth the proverbial thousand words, or more.

His website has a catalogue of sailplans— it's worth clicking your way through 'til you find a spritsail of the sort you need.

http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/

Or you could just send a PM to Todd.

Having bought a sail from him for my skiff, I recommend his work. The design process was a pleasure and the finished sail is a beaut!

[andrewmct]

Thank you so much for the direction. I have been around boats my whole life but the set up of sailing craft has remained a mystery. I am still learning sail types, etc but it's the simplest things that are the hardest. Things like how to lace a sail to the mast, how much tension to put on the lines, etc. I equate it to learning how to fly fish if you're a good spin caster - lots to learn! I will settle in to all the resources suggested to me and start trying to make sense of it all. I have a big sheet of canvas and was planning to make a mock up while enjoying a cup of coffee. Two dowel masts, a 2x4' a sprit and some rope and I should be able to practice setting it up.

Thanks again

[rbgarr]

R.D. "Pete' Culler's Book 'Skiffs and Schooners' has a chapter devoted to the details of the sprit rig. A useful primer on the fittings, lines and parts and how to set and trim the type of sail.

[David G]

Glen-l also has info on their site regarding sailboat rigging.

http://www.glen-l.com/free-book/rigging-small-sailboats.html

I have a copy of Glen-L's 'Rigging Small Sailboats'. Their online version seems to be the same info.

It should be noted that this is both limited and dated. Limited to tall triangular rigs - either cat or sloop. Dated in that the emphasis is on the sort of hardware-heavy setups that used to be the norm. These rigs are pretty much scaled down versions of a larger boats rigs: standing rigging; tons of hardware bits; aluminum masts/spars; vangs; cunninghams; and all the bits that a large boat needs. It hasn't been updated at all to embrace the more recent shift toward simpler, more traditional small boat rigs. No sign of a sprit rig, lug rig, etc.

If you're building a boat that requires all that (a vintage racing dinghy classe, maybe?)... it's a good reference. Otherwise... it's kinda been passed by.

[andrewmct]

I agree about the Glen-L rigging info. Certainly old but not old enough.

[Chip-skiff]

One fundamental decision is whether you want to set up a strictly old-timey (traditional) rig such as those shown in the Nichols book, or use synthetic lines, modern blocks, etc. as you see fit.

I split the difference with my balance lug rig, using synthetic line knotted, lashed and seized in a traditional manner. The downhaul is rigged through a dinghy vang block (a fiddle block— two sheaves— with a jam cleat) that works much better than the awkward setup in the Nichols book.

Wood-shell blocks cost a fortune. But if you want some, a good source is The Wooden Boat Chandlery: http://nwmaritime.org/chandlery/rigging-sail-hardware. Besides the hyper-costly stuff, they also have parrel beads and other useful bits that you won't find at WalMart.

They also sell Tufnol blocks, that have a trad look but are plastic resin— my mainsheet is rigged through a Tufnol fiddle block.

I also have several lightweight blocks from RaceLite (shiny, non-trad) and plastic fairleads that are inexpensive and functional. A good source for cost-effective hardware is Duckworks Boat Builders Supply: http://www.duckworksbbs.com .

I really enjoyed rigging the skiff. So much that I did it twice.

Almost forgot: a book that you ought to have in any event is The Arts of the Sailor by Hervey Garrett Smith, which covers rope, knots, seizing, and similar useful bits. If I had to keep only a single boat book, that'd be the one.

[Candyfloss]

You want to see spritsail rigs? Go to your nearest yacht club and talk to the youngest sailers about their Optimists. It's a great rig, easy to set up & with about a million kids sailing one every summer weekend, worldwide.

How to rig a spritsail is not a secret.

[Brian W.]

I just noticed this thread, so I'm coming in a bit late. I have those plans, and they are a bit sparse on how to rig. The good news is the suggestion above regarding Pete Culler's book. The two-masted sprit sail rig was a favorite of his, and there is a lot of good info in that book about it, including reefing (on which there is no info in the Sea Swift plans). Not everybody likes this rig, but Culler seems to have really liked playing with it, and it was used on a lot of his designs. I've only seen pics of one example of Sea Swift, and it had a different rig. Good luck, and I hope we'll get lot's of photos and reports!

[jalmberg]

R.D. "Pete' Culler's Book 'Skiffs and Schooners' has a chapter devoted to the details of the sprit rig. A useful primer on the fittings, lines and parts and how to set and trim the type of sail.

I second this recommendation and also like Tom Cunliffe's "Hand, Reef, & Steer" that has loads of useful info.