Rigging (from Anglo-Saxon wrigan or wrihan, "to clothe") is, on sailboats and sailing ships, the collection of apparatuses through which the force of the wind is transferred to the ship in order to propel it forward. In some cases less is more The purpose of this article is to give an overview Sailing ship is now used to refer to any large Wind -powered Vessel. This includes masts, yardarms, sails, and cordage. The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts A yard is a Spar on a mast from which Sails are set It may be constructed of timber steel or from more modern materials like Aluminum or A sail is any type of surface intended to generate Thrust by being placed in a Wind &mdashin essence a vertically-oriented Wing. A rope is a length of Fibers twisted or Braided together to improve strength for pulling and Connecting.
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Important Terms and Classifications
Rigging is the mechanical sailing apparatus attached to the hull in order to move the boat as a whole. This includes cordage (ropes attached to the spars and sails in order to manipulate their position and shape), sails (aerofoils, usually made of fabric, used to catch the wind), and spars (masts and other solid objects sails are attached to). A rope is a length of Fibers twisted or Braided together to improve strength for pulling and Connecting. A sail is any type of surface intended to generate Thrust by being placed in a Wind &mdashin essence a vertically-oriented Wing. In Sailing, a spar is also know as a round pole of wood or Metal used on a Sailing ship. Cordage is more usually the term for stocks of rope, yarn, or other types line in storage, before it has been put to some use in a vessel, whereafter is commonly referred to as the rigging. In this article, Rigging denotes the full set of cordage, sails and spars, except when it is part of another term (see running rigging and standing rigging). Running rigging is the term for the Rigging of a sailing vessel that is used for raising lowering and controlling the Sails - as opposed to the Standing On a Sailing boat standing rigging generally refers to lines wires or rods which are more or less fixed in position while the boat is under sail
Certain sail-plans are used for certain purposes according to their aerodynamic properties. A sail-plan is a set of drawings usually prepared by a naval architect. All sailing vessels are classified according to their hull design and rigging.
The Parts of Rigging
Cordage
The term cordage refers to the ropes, called lines, that connect and manipulate sails. Cordage is attached to the spars and sometimes the sails by systems of metal pulleys and clips. The materials chosen for cordage are determined by the strength and weight of the rope. Cordage is divided into two types: running rigging and standing rigging. Running rigging is the term for the Rigging of a sailing vessel that is used for raising lowering and controlling the Sails - as opposed to the Standing On a Sailing boat standing rigging generally refers to lines wires or rods which are more or less fixed in position while the boat is under sail
Standing rigging is cordage which is fixed in position. Standing rigging is almost always between a mast and the deck, using tension to hold the mast firmly in place. The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. In Physics String Tension is the magnitude of the pulling force exerted by a string cable chain or similar object on another object Due to its role, standing rigging is now most commonly made of steel cable. Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 It was historically made of the same materials as running rigging, only coated in tar for added strength and protection from the elements. Tar is a viscous black Liquid derived from the Destructive distillation of organic matter The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time.
Running rigging is the cordage used to control the shape and position of the sails. Running rigging must be flexible in order to allow smooth movement of the spars and sails, but strong enough for the role it plays. For instance, a halyard, used to hoist heavy yards up and down, must be very strong and durable. In Sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line ( Rope) that is used to hoist (pull up a Sail, a Flag or a yard. On the other hand, a sheet, used to control the orientation of a triangular sail, must be very flexible and smooth, and need only be strong enough to support the tension caused by the wind. In Sailing, a sheet is a line ( Rope, Cable or Chain) used to control the moveable corner(s of a Sail.
Sails
Sails are fabric aerofoils designed to catch the wind and manipulate the air currents surrounding the vessel. They are attached to spars and rigging in various ways, such as metal clips, rope hoops, or in a luff-groove. Sails are usually rectangular or triangular in shape, which determines their use and placement. Rectangular sails attached to yards, and hanging perpendicular to the keel line are referred to as square sails, because they are "square" to the keel line (not because of their shape); and this type of sailplan is known as square-rigged. Sails hanging along the keel line at rest are known as "fore-and-aft" sails, and the sailplan as fore-and-aft rig; although when under way both square and fore-and-aft sails can fly at a variety of angles relative to the vessel. Fore-and-aft sails may be triangular (see Bermuda rig), or quadrilateral (see Gaff rig). The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and Rigging for a type of Sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical Gaff rig is a Sailing rig (configuration of sails in which the Sail is four-cornered Fore-and-aft rigged controlled at its peak and usually
Sail material must be durable against weather, lightweight, and non-porous. Common materials include kevlar, twaron, dacron, and canvas. Kevlar is the registered Trademark for a light strong para-aramid Synthetic fiber, related to other Aramids such as Nomex and Twaron is the brandname of Teijin Aramid for a para-aramid. History Twaron is a heat-resistant and strong Synthetic fiber developed Uses PET can be semi-rigid to rigid depending on its thickness and is very lightweight Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making Sails Tents Marquees Backpacks and other functions
Sails are classified according to their shape and location. The name of a sail on a square-rigged vessel with multiple masts consists of the mast name and the sail's vertical position. On a three-masted vessel the masts are, from bow to stern, Fore, Main and Mizzen; the "plain" square sails are, bottom to top, Course, Topsail, Topgallant, Royal and Sky. Thus the sail second up the mizzen-mast is the "mizzen topsail", and the third sail up the fore-mast is the "fore topgallant sail". Sails set in other positions, or only in special circumstances, have a variety of other names, for instance: a triangular sail set on a stay might be called a staysail, or jib if the stay in question runs to the prow or bowsprit; sails set either side of square sails to increase sail area in light winds are called studding-sails, qualified by the side and the plain sail name (such as "port topgallant studding-sail", but more likely to be pronounced "port t'gallant stun'sl"); a gaff sail set aft of the mizzen mast may be called a Spanker or Driver. Stays are the heavy ropes wires or rods on Sailing vessels that run from the masts to the hull, usually fore-and-aft along the centerline of the vessel A staysail is a fore-and-aft rigged Sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards from a A jib (also spelled jibb) is a triangular Staysail set ahead of the foremost mast of a sailing boat A spanker is either of two kinds of Sail. On a Square rigged ship the spanker is a Gaff rigged fore-and-aft sail set from and aft A driver is a kind of Sail used on some Sailboats Smaller than a fore and aft spanker on a Square rigger, a driver is tied to the same spars
On a modern fore-and-aft rigged boat the largest sail set on the main-mast is known as the mainsail, rather than main course. Sails set forward of the foremost mast are known generically as headsails, and might include jibs, genoas and spinnakers. The genoa or jenny was originally referred to as the 'overlapping jib' or the Genoa jib, being named after the city of Genoa as explained below A spinnaker is a special type of Sail that is designed specifically for Sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind i Fore-and-aft rigged boats setting both a jib and staysail are known as Cutter rigged. When used in a nautical sense a cutter is a small single-masted vessel Fore-and-aft rigged with two or more Headsails a Bowsprit, and
More detailed information on sail nomenclature and use can be found in Sails and Sail-plan. A sail is any type of surface intended to generate Thrust by being placed in a Wind &mdashin essence a vertically-oriented Wing. A sail-plan is a set of drawings usually prepared by a naval architect.
Spars
Spars are solid beams used to stabilize and manipulate sails. Masts, yards, booms, gaffs and battens are the most commonly encountered spars. Spars are attached to the sails by systems of clips and cordage designed to allow an appropriate range of motion while maintaining the aerodynamic properties of the sails. Spars can be made of any sufficiently strong material. Flexibility and weight are primary concerns for materials; ideally, spars would be sufficiently rigid to maintain control over the shape of the sail, as well as lightweight in order to maintain a low and stable center of balance. Commonly used materials include wood, steel, aluminum and fiberglass.
Masts are spars firmly attached to the deck of the ship. The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts They are the main support for most sails, and all but the most speculative sailboats have at least one, generally set along the keel line. The classification of a mast is determined by its position, size and use.
A ship's vertical masts are named, from bow to stern, the fore-mast, the main-mast, the mizzen-mast and the jigger-mast. The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts There may also be a bowsprit, which extends forward past the bow. The bowsprit, or boltsprit, of a Sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow
Masts carrying rectangular or square sails have horizontal yards to stabilize the top and bottom edges of the sails. A yard (abbreviation yd) is a unit of Length in several different systems including English units Imperial units and United These yards can rotate around the mast, allowing the sails to be oriented horizontally, usually up to 45 degrees from perpendicular to the keel line. Some yards can be tilted vertically. Cordage associated with yards includes clew lines, bunt lines, the halyard, and lifts. In Sailing the parts of a Sail have common terminology for each corner and edge of the sail The bunt of a Sail is the middle part of it which is purposely formed into a kind of curved bag or cavity so that the sail might receive more wind In Sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line ( Rope) that is used to hoist (pull up a Sail, a Flag or a yard.
Masts carrying triangular sails have a horizontal boom to stabilize the foot of the sail. In Sailing, a boom is a Spar (pole along the foot (bottom of a Fore and aft rigged Sail, that greatly improves control of the angle It is connected to the base of the mast at the gooseneck, a device designed to allow the boom to pivot about the mast. The gooseneck is the Swivel connection on a Sailboat by which the boom attaches to the mast. Cordage associated with booms includes the outhaul, the sheet, the boomvang, and the traveller. An outhaul is a line which is part of the Running rigging of a Sailboat, which is used to extend a Sail, and control the shape of the curve of the In Sailing, a sheet is a line ( Rope, Cable or Chain) used to control the moveable corner(s of a Sail. A boom vang (US or kicking strap (UK is a line or piston system on a Sailboat used to exert downward force on the boom and thus control the shape
Gaffs and battens are spars attached to the mast in a similar manner to the boom, but hinge vertically. Gaffs "joint" sails, allowing for two smaller sails (one above the gaff and one below) rather than one large, triangular sail. Battens are flexible gaffs included within the sail, and are found most notably in Chinese junks. -HK CityHall Seaview 51217 5png|thumb|300px|A modern junk in Hong Kong]]A junk is a Chinese sailing vessel. Cordage associated with gaffs and battens includes halyards and the gunter line. Gaff rig is a Sailing rig (configuration of sails in which the Sail is four-cornered Fore-and-aft rigged controlled at its peak and usually A batten is a thin strip of solid material (usually Wood) Battens are used for various purposes in Building construction, as well as other various fields In Sailing, a gunter is used for two main configurations of rig The gunter is defined as a wire that leads from one point near the end of a gaff
On large ships baggywrinkles protect the sail from chafing against the rigging. Baggywrinkle is a soft covering for cables (or any other obstructions to reduce Sail chafe.
See also
Authorities
Recommended recent works include James Lees, The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War, 1625-1860 (Naval Institute Press, 1984), and John Harland, Seamanship in the Age of Sail (Naval Institute Press, 1984). A full rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel with three or more masts all of them Square rigged A full rigged ship is said to have a ship A sail-plan is a set of drawings usually prepared by a naval architect. See also Shipbuilding (song. Shipbuilding is the construction of Ships It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a A fore-and-aft rig is a Sailing rig consisting mainly of Sails that are set along the line of the Keel rather than perpendicular to it A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
- C. A. Marchaj. Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing (English). Tiller Publishing.
- C. A. Marchaj. Sail Performance (English) 400. McGraw Hill.
External links
Dictionary
rigging
-noun
- (nautical) The system of ropes, chains, and tackle used to support and control the masts, sails, and yards of a ship
- Similar supporting material for construction work
-verb
- Present participle of rig.
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