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The 2018 Rigging Company J/24 & J/22 East Coast Championship

ByThe Rigging Company

The Rigging Company is back on the race course again and this time stepping up its sponsorship. We are proud to announce that we are the Platinum Sponsor of The 2018 Rigging Company J24 & J22 East Coast Championship. This event takes place in late October, 10/26-10/28. The venue is at one of Annapolis’s top sailing clubs, Severn…

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Single Sideband Insulators for Backstays

ByThe Rigging Company

SSB is a commonly used abbreviation that stands for single side band radio. We are certainly not radio experts here at The Rigging Company. When it comes to specific radio product knowledge, we always recommended that our customers seek the advice of a certified marine electrician. However, just like with all other mast related electrical items,…

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The Vang

ByThe Rigging Company

Wiktionary.org offers this defintion of the word vang. Although the etymology is all very interesting. The latter is the one we are the most interested in. Below is a good video describing the benefits of the boom vang and when to use it. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C31nGzO54O4&w=560&h=315] The Boom Vang, in its simplest form, is a block and…

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Un-stepping the Mast

ByThe Rigging Company

When un-stepping the mast there are several things that need to happen in preparation for the actual mast removal. The following tips and procedures are in line with the methods we use for boats up to 55′. Small boats or big boats alike, first things must come first. All of the sails and sail covers…

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How to Tune a Sailboat Mast

ByThe Rigging Company

Here are some general guidelines for tuning your mast’s standing rigging. Please see our blog on how to properly adjust a turnbuckle before you begin. As always we recommend seeking the advice of a professional rigger for more specific tips and tricks regarding tuning your boat’s rigging. Your boat must be in the water. Begin by just slacking off all of…

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Views from Aloft

ByThe Rigging Company

This was back on Halloween day and I’m back up the mast for an inspection. It was a little chilly, more than I’d prefer but…it’s October. I had a great view of the Spa Creek Bridge. We were at the famous Annapolis Yacht Club…J 105 row. Annapolis Yacht Club is still in the early phases of…

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Winches

ByThe Rigging Company

The three big winch  players are Harken, Lewmar, and Andersen. Selden is also trying to make a splash in the production winch market. Almost all of these manufacturers offer different drum finishes from anodized aluminum, stainless steel, and chrome plated bronze (even un-chromed bronze upon special request). So what are some of the other differences? One of the number one companies…

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Wire Rigging Vs. Synthetic Rigging Vs. Rod Rigging

ByThe Rigging Company

Synthetic rigging has been getting more and more common recently. Rod rigging has lost some popularity in the past decade due to parts availability issues from manufacturers. Wire rigging has remained tried and true to the test of time. In looking at each of these stay materials we find some advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look……

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Swageless Mechanical Fittings or Swage Terminals…

ByThe Rigging Company

…Which do you prefer? When talking about wire standing rigging for sailboats, there are two primary ways to secure a fitting to the end of the cable, the swage fitting and the mechanical fitting. One requires a specialized, expensive machine (pictured below) that is used to essentially squeeze or hammer the fitting onto the wire,…

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Authorized Harken Hydraulics Service Center

ByThe Rigging Company

Back in April 2016, The Rigging Company attended a week long certification to become an Authorized Harken Hydraulics Service Center. WE PASSED!!! You can now bring your Harken hydraulic units or systems to The Rigging Company (or we can bring The Rigging Company to you) to have them serviced, repaired, and even replaced. We not…

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Harken Headsail Furlers

ByThe Rigging Company

Is Harken the Best? Well that’s a matter of opinion I guess. They are definitely one of the best. There is just no match for composite ball bearing furlers. The reason is that Harken Furlers and any composite bearing furlers can typically be easily serviced and maintained. Essentially, in order to maintain your Harken Headsail Furler, all you have to do…

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A Deeper Look at Top Down/ Spinnaker Furlers

ByThe Rigging Company

Top down furling is the new revolution that makes flying the big sails a much more achievable task. However, nothing is just push a button and ‘bang’ there’s your spinnaker. Although this system makes it much more viable to fly a spinnaker there is still a learning curve. This system is all about set up…