Running Rigging - Running Rigging of A Modern, Fore-and-aft Rigged Sailboat or Yacht

Running Rigging of A Modern, Fore-and-aft Rigged Sailboat or Yacht

• Barber haulers, which adjust the spinnaker/jib sheeting angle by pulling the sheet/sail inboard at right angles to the sheet. Consists of either a ring or clip on the sheet attached to cordage which is secured and adjusted via fairlead and cam cleat.
• Boom Vangs, which control a boom-footed sail's leech tension by exerting downward force mid-boom. Normally this is a system of highly geared blocks,of flexible stainless steel wire and low stretch cordage but recently some sail boats have a short spar instead,often of carbon fibre. When sailing down wind the boom vang(or commonly just vang)is tensioned to stop the boom lifting.
• Cunninghams, which tighten the luff of a boom-footed sail by pulling downward at the point on the boom closest to the mast. The idea is to flatten the main sail in heavier weather or when sailing to windward. In its simplest form a stainless steel hook that goes through an eye. From the hook a cordage tail passes through a turnblock on the deck at the base of the mast and back to a cleat on the deck. Often the tail is split so the cunningham can be operated from either sidedeck in a racing dinghy.
• Downhauls, which lower a sail or a yard, and can be used to adjust the tension on the luff of a sail.
• Guys, which control spar angle with respect to the apparent wind.
• Halyards (sometimes haulyards), are used to raise sails and control luff tension. In large yachts the halyard returns to the deck but in small racing dinghies the head of the sail is attached by a short line to the head of the mast while the boat is lying on its gunwhale.
• Outhauls, which control the foot tension of a boom-footed sail. This is one of the main controls for sail fullness. In a racing boat the boom outhaul runs from the sail clew through a turning block along the inside of the boom and out through another turning bock at the fore end of the boom. For simplicity many small racing craft have the boom outhaul attached to a powerful hyfield lever mounted on the boom or deck. The lever is let off for down wind sailing, so the main sail becomes full. Alternatively the outhaul tail can be attached to a block and tackle system so that it can be adjusted to many positions.
• Preventer,is cordage attached to the end of the boom and fixed to (or running through a block) on the rail athwart or forward of the mast. Its most common purpose is to prevent potentially dangerous movement of the spar in an accidental gybe.
• Sheets, which control foot tension of loose-footed sails, angle of attack with respect to the apparent wind and/or the amount of leech "twist" near the head of the sail. Central sheeting refers to main sheets that attach to the centre of the boom. Sheets are made from thin low stretch cordage in racing yachts.
• Topping lifts, which hold booms and yards aloft.
• Trapeze wires,which are narrow gauge flexible stainless steel wire,running from about the cross trees on the mast to the harness worn by a crew member and sometimes skipper on a high speed racing skiff. The lower section often has a system of small blocks which are used by the crew to alter the length of the trapeze wire as the crew moves aft on a broad reach. When the boat changes tack the crew unclips the hook, the wire is automatically sprung into the gunwhale by an elastic tail.