Rat lines

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sailortonyb Allied Mis

sailortonyb Allied Mis

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Jun 12, 2004
1,181
Allied Mistress 39 Ketch Kemah,Tx.
I have always made rat lines for all of my boats. A). They look really Cool B). Its fun to climb just a few rungs and look down at the bow while sailing. Its a whole different perspective. Do jib sheets get hung up on them? Yes from time to time. Never was a problem for me though. I will make them out of mahogany and not out of line. If you ever had any, there is no need to explain why. Rope rat lines are not even in the equation. I have always used cable clamps to hold the wooden rung in place. Has anyone here ever lashed them in place. I know how to do it with seizing, that is not the problem. I just want to know the reliability. Looks like the possibility of the wooden rung jumping off of the shroud or the seizing being cut from friction does exist. Anyone have any experience with seizing the rung in place? Tony B
 
RAD

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
Tony

Rat lines sound real interesting, got any pics?
 
RAD

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
I think Free Spirit would look so cool

with rat lines and your Belaying Pin rack is pretty cool looking,the rat lines are made from all wood? or cable and wood? line and wood? I went looking on the web and found one picture of a sailboat with ratlines
 
RAD

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
I found the answer

"The Riggers Apprentice" by Brion Toss I gotta dig that book out from the bottom of the pile and do some reading
 
sailortonyb Allied Mis

sailortonyb Allied Mis

.
Jun 12, 2004
1,181
Allied Mistress 39 Ketch Kemah,Tx.
RAD

The belaying pins, rack and rat lines were all made of wood. I used mahogany because it is relatively cheap as compared to teak and will last a very long time if varnished. The ratlines are usually 2 inches wide and 1" thick, more or less. WQhen I made them, I had my own planer and would buy 5/4 magohany and plane one side smooth and the backside I would plane as best as I can to get it no thinner than 1". Of all the sets I made, Only the Catalina 30 required thicker wood on the lower rungs because the lower shrouds on a Catalina 30 are so far apart. I am 5'-9" and I found that 16" apart works for most people. If you look at the near end of the pin rack, you can see the slot that straddles the cable, the screw in the center that retains and prevents the rack from coming off the shroud and the cable clamp that prevents it from falling downward. I have the pin rack on one side and the ratlines on the other side of the boat. Tony B
 
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