Belaying Pins and Ratlines

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

I had made a set of Ratlines from Mahogany and also a Belaying Rack and pins. I finally mounted them today.I know that it is additional windage and disturbs the air somewhat, but I never noticed any change in sailing characteristics on any of my other boats (MacG 25, Catalina 25 and 30, and Bruce Roberts 31/32).When we leave our marina, we leave all of the lines at the dock, so when we go to a strange dock, its easy to see which lines are available and how long they are without having to dig through a pile. Very handy and also makes an additional hand-hold in rough weather.As for the ratlines, if you never sailed and elevated yourself as little as 6 feet over the deck, you are really missing something. The view and perspective are totally different, not to mention the range of your view and also, its just plain fun to do.Tony B

 

[letterman]

thought about it

How did you attach the mahogany slats to the shrouds?If you use U bolts, do they destroy the shrouds?

 

[Ross]

Tony , Did you apply service to the shrouds before you

attached the "U" bolts and sticks?

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Ross

No, I did not, but I should and will probably do that tomorrow or Monday.Getting them mounted is a pain in the neck. Re-doing one clamp at a time is easy.Thanks for the reminder.And thanks again for the X-mas presentTony B

 

[Ross]

I made a pretty good serving board from a piece of 3/4 square stock

with about six holes drilled and counter sunk through it and a small spool on one end. Lace the twine through all the holes and start wrapping the shroud, letting the twine pull through all the holes, the friction will make the turns very tight and hard. The progress is rapid once you get started.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Biggest Problem I find

with the ratlines and belaying pin rack is when you tack. Your jib sheet attachment to the clew, whether it be a shackle or bowline tends to get caught between the shroud and one of the 'steps' on the underside of the steps as the sheet runs across the shroud on its way over to the other side. In a previous thread we discussed a cow hitch also under various other names. This seems to alleviate the problem. I also use rigging tape to cover the exposed threaded ends of the Cable clamps.Tony B

 

[Val]

Shroud service

Looks good. Several older boats in my mooring field have them, but they are not well cared for.So, Tony are Ross, I assume that shroud servicing isjust wrapping them with twine...well not just...seems likeit is similar to a lashing or seizing. Do you have a reference that covers servicing? I could not find anything in either of my knot books or through an online search.My wheel is wrapped with twine is that considered wheel service?Thanks

 

[Ross]

Val, Brian Toss and Ashley both deal with the subject of service

in their books. I referred to a serving board in my post to Tony my long one is about 12 inches with six holes through it and a spool for the line on the end. The line is reeved through all of the holes as if you were sewing and the end is started aroung the work. You pull out the slack and start wrapping using the length of the board for leverage. The line will squeak through the holes and be much tighter than you could pull it with your hands. The starting end is buried under the first 6-8 turns and the end is finished the same way but is a little tricky to explain.