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Stanchion Bases

Stanchion bases are an often forgotten about, yet important, portion of our boat. They are responsible for giving our boat’s lifelines ‘a foot to stand on’ – so to speak. Unfortunately, stanchion bases are also a major reason for soft decks. We (at The Rigging Co.) tend to think this is because of the long fulcrum that is naturally created by the…

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No Rudder, No Problem!

Ever wonder, “what if we lose steerage”? Well this little video, brought to you by our friends at Yachting Monthly, covers a few concepts to help allow you to get your boat back under control. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99KSZ3mEoKQ&w=420&h=315]   They say that they took a rudderless GK29 and tried 3 different ways of steering it. Maybe…

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Furling the Mainsail

After all of the conveniences that technology has afforded us sailors, there is still one luxury that has eluded us. Although more popular than ever, a furling mainsail is still not 100% standard equipment on today’s boats. The reason for this is that it has always presented some negatives that leave many people unsure about whether…

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Rope Clutches

As most things in life, there are pluses and minuses. Lewmar and Spinlock clutches are no exception.  Let’s have a look…… Lewmar boasts of their “domino” style locking mechanism. Spinlock raves about their cam being a superior rope grabbing mechanism. Well, both are pretty cool and both have their place, let’s have a look… One of the downsides to the Lewmar clutch,…

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Choosing the Right Rope for Your Sailboat

Deciding what rope to buy for a specific application can be a bit complicated. Only because there are so many different manufacturers, products, and not to mention the vast array of terms associated with rope. Let’s try and simplify this process a bit. For the sake of keeping this short and sweet we’ll narrow it…

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One Boat Closer….V.O.R.

I can hardly wait any longer for this race to kick off. Since hydro-foiling catamaran’s with fixed wings are still not safe to sail around the world, the Volvo Ocean 65 will have to do ;-0) Although it does look like they have integrated the wave piercing bow into the design……. These boats are obviously…

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The Annapolis Fall Boat Show……

……is back again. This year, just to mix things up a bit, the Powerboat Show will be up first, starting tomorrow October 3-6. Make sure you visit us at our booth (Tent O-13) next week at the Sailboat Show which will begin on the 10th through the 14th. Also you can see our ad in this month’s…

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How to Break Your Mast and Fix it!

Here is a neat rigging related find from yachtingmonthly.com’s YouTube feed. In this first video you will see the crew attempt to force a dismasting by replacing the standing rigging clevis pins with shortened fiberglass battens. At first the fiberglass battens hold up, much to their surprise. After replacing the pins with even smaller fiberglass pins and accidentally unfurling the Genoa all the…

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A New Twist on Sails

People have been talking more and more about wing sails these days. This technology can’t possibly make its transition into the cruising sailboat market, or can it? Yachting Monthly checks out the new Elan 37 equipped with the Omer Wing Sail. A wing shaped soft sail that can be doused, stowed, and even reefed. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qu_ZgQcr8k&w=560&h=315]…