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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 Best Scissors Ever…

ByThe Rigging Company

…At least for cutting boat rope. Viper Kevlar Shears cut Kevlar (especially), but are also great for other tough fabrics like Dyneema, Vectran, Polyester, Technora. Apparently it is also used in cutting plastics, canvas, and even body armor. Yes, of course they’ll go dull after a few years of cutting tough fiber rope, but they carry a…

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Winterize Your Rigging

ByThe Rigging Company

Winterizing a boat is very important, but most people forget about the rigging. Sometimes even the sails. This is actually not that much work, it’s just that most people don’t know what this might entail. Here is what we riggers consider when the sailing season comes to a close.   Remove the Halyards, Attach a messenger…

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The Solent Has Its Own Stay!

ByThe Rigging Company

A stay that gets its name from a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of southern England, the Solent. This traditionally windy place with strong currents can cause rough sea conditions and can make for some interesting sailing, to say the least. This body of water is also famous for hosting one of sailing’s largest events known as Cowes Week. These…

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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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Which Boom Furler is the Best?

ByThe Rigging Company

When it comes to mainsail management systems, in-mast furlers appear to be losing popularity with cruisers while boom furlers keep popping up on more boats. We are noticing a huge increase in customers upgrading their conventional or even their in-mast units (yes, you read that right, read more below) to in-boom furling. I may even go…

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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,…