Rigging

{{Short description|Ropes, cables and chains which support masts of sailing ships}} {{Other uses}} [[File:SquareRigging.jpg|thumb|The rigging of a square rigger in London.]] thumb|Standing rigging on a fore-and-aft rigged sailboat.<br /> Key: 1. Forestay 2. Shroud 3. (Spreaders) 4. Backstay 5. Inner forestay 6. Sidestay 7. (Boom) 8. Running backstays [[File:Bermuda rigged sloop at Convict Bay ca 1879.jpg|thumb|Bermuda rigged sloop at Convict Bay, Bermuda, circa 1879]] thumb|Standing rigging on a square-rigged vessel. thumb|Running rigging on a sailing yacht:<br />1. Main sheet 2. Jib sheet 3. Boom vang 4. Downhaul 5. Jib halyard

'''Rigging''' comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support and control a sailing ship or sail boat's masts and sails. ''Standing rigging'' is the fixed rigging that supports masts including shrouds and stays. ''Running rigging'' is rigging which adjusts the position of the vessel's sails and spars including halyards, braces, sheets and vangs.<ref name = Oxford> {{cite web | url = https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/rigging | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160929101046/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/rigging | url-status = dead | archive-date = September 29, 2016 | title = Definition of rigging in English: rigging | date = 2017 | website = en.oxforddictionaries.com | publisher = Oxford University Press | access-date = 2017-01-02 | ref = {{harvid|Oxford|2017}} | quote = The system of ropes or chains employed to support a ship's masts (standing rigging) and to control or set the yards and sails (running rigging).}}</ref>

==Etymology== According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition "rigging" derives from Anglo-Saxon ''wrigan'' or ''wringing'', "to clothe". The same source points out that "rigging" a sailing vessel refers to putting all the components in place to allow it to function, including the masts, spars, sails and the rigging.<ref name = Britannica> {{cite EB1911 | wstitle = Rigging | first = David | last = Hannay | volume = 23 | pages = 338–341 }}</ref>

==History== {{expand section|date=November 2025}} Theophrastus in his ''History of Plants''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Theophrastus |author-link=Theophrastus |year=1916 |orig-date=c. 300 BCE |title=Enquiry into plants and minor works on odours and weather signs |translator-last=Hort |translator-first=A. F. |publisher=W. Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons |volume= |location=London; New York |series=Loeb Classical Library, 70 |isbn=978-0-674-99077-7 |oclc=685104 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/theophrastusiien00theo}}</ref> ({{c.}} 300 BCE) states that the rigging on King Antigonus' fleet was made from papyrus reed.<ref name="Thompson-1911">{{Cite EB1911 |last=Thompson |first=Edward Maunde |wstitle=Papyrus |volume=20 |pages=743–745}}</ref>

==Types of rigging== Rigging is divided into two classes, ''standing'', which supports the mast (and bowsprit), and ''running'', which controls the orientation of the sails and their degree of reefing. Configurations differ for each type of rigging, between ''fore-and-aft rigged'' vessels and ''square-rigged'' vessels.

===Standing=== {{Main|Standing rigging}} 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. Due to its role, standing rigging is now most commonly made of steel cable. It was historically made of the same materials as running rigging, only coated in tar for added strength and protection from the elements.<ref name = Ward> {{cite book | last = Ward | first = Aaron | title = Text-book of Seamanship: The Equipping and Handling of Vessels Under Sail Or Steam. For the Use of the United States Naval Academy | publisher = D. Van Nostrand | date = 1884 | pages = 673 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cS_QAAAAMAAJ&q=standing+rigging&pg=PA96 }}</ref>

====Fore-and-aft rigged vessels==== {{Main| Fore-and-aft rig}} Most fore-and-aft rigged vessels have the following types of standing rigging: a forestay, a backstay, and upper and lower shrouds (side stays). Less common rigging configurations are diamond stays and jumpers. Both of these are used to keep a thin mast in column especially under the load of a large down wind sail or in strong wind. Rigging parts include swageless terminals, swage terminals, shackle toggle terminals and fail-safe wire rigging insulators.<ref name = Skipper> {{cite book | last = Westerhuis | first = Rene | title = Skipper's Mast and Rigging Guide | publisher = Bloomsbury | series = Adlard Coles Nautical | date = 2013 | location = London | page = 5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oRV8AAAAQBAJ&q=standing+rigging&pg=PA5 | isbn = 9781472901491 }}</ref>

====Square-rigged vessels==== {{Main|Square rig}} Whereas 20th-century square-rigged vessels were constructed of steel with steel standing rigging, prior vessels used wood masts with hemp-fiber standing rigging. As rigs became taller by the end of the 19th century, masts relied more heavily on successive spars, stepped one atop the other to form the whole, from bottom to top: the ''lower mast'', ''top mast'', and ''topgallant mast''. This construction relies heavily on support by a complex array of stays and shrouds. Each stay in either the fore-and-aft or athwartships direction has a corresponding one in the opposite direction providing counter-tension. Fore-and-aft the system of tensioning start with the stays that are anchored in front of each mast. Shrouds are tensioned by pairs of deadeyes, circular blocks that have the large-diameter line run around them, whilst multiple holes allow smaller line—''lanyards''—to pass multiple times between the two and thereby allow tensioning of the shroud. In addition to overlapping the mast below, the top mast and topgallant mast are supported laterally by shrouds that pass around either a platform, called a "top", or cross-wise beams, called "crosstrees". Each additional mast segment is supported fore and aft by a series of stays that lead forward. These lines are countered in tension by backstays, which are secured along the sides of the vessel behind the shrouds.<ref name = Wolfram> {{cite book | last = zu Mondfeld | first = Wolfram | title = Historic Ship Models | publisher = Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. | date = 2005 | pages = 352 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5nrXLkfLBGcC&q=standing+rigging&pg=PA270 | isbn = 9781402721861 }}</ref>

===Running=== {{Main|Running rigging}} Running rigging is the cordage used to control the shape and position of the sails. Materials have evolved from the use of Manilla rope to synthetic fibers, which include dacron, nylon and kevlar.<ref name=HowardDoane> {{cite book | last1 = Howard | first1 = Jim | last2 = Doane | first2 = Charles J. | title = Handbook of Offshore Cruising: The Dream and Reality of Modern Ocean Cruising | publisher = Sheridan House, Inc. | date = 2000 | pages = 468 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NB4uFQuUlnEC&q=running+rigging&pg=PA63 | isbn = 9781574090932 }}</ref> Running rigging varies between ''fore-and-aft rigged'' vessels and ''square-rigged'' vessels. They have common functions between them for supporting, shaping and orienting sails, which employ different mechanisms. For supporting sails, halyards (sometimes haulyards), are used to raise sails and control luff tension. On gaff-rigged vessels, topping lifts hold the yards across the top of the sail aloft. Sail shape is usually controlled by lines that pull at the corners of the sail, including the outhaul at the clew and the downhaul at the tack on fore-and-aft rigs. The orientation of sails to the wind is controlled primarily by sheets,<ref name=HowardDoane/> but also by braces, which position the yard arms with respect to the wind on square-rigged vessels.<ref name="Wolfram"/>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book |title=Seamanship in the Age of Sail |last= Harland |first= John |others=Illus. by Mark Myers |year= 1984 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Md |isbn=0-87021-955-3 |oclc=11036800 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g7Jd_o6_s90C}} * {{cite book |title=The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War, 1625–1860 |last= Lees |first= James |author-link=James Lees |year= 1984 |edition=revised |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Md |isbn=0-87021-948-0 |oclc=11908132 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T0YF0TUlE2wC}} *{{cite book |title=Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing |edition=3rd |first=C. A. |last= Marchaj |year=2000 |publisher=Tiller Publishing |location=Saint Michaels, Md. |isbn=1-888671-18-1 |oclc=62546510 }} *{{cite book |title=Sail Performance: Theory and Practice |edition=Revised |first=C. A. |last= Marchaj |year=2003 |publisher=McGraw Hill |location=Maidenhead, Berkshire, England |isbn=0-07-141310-3 |oclc=51913243 }} *{{Cite book | publisher = Brill Academic Pub | isbn = 9780851741734 | last = Underhill | first = Harold A. | title = Masting and Rigging: The Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier | date = 1964 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/mastingriggingc00unde_0 }}

== External links == {{Commons category|Rigging}} {{Sail Types}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Sailing rigs and rigging