SAILING COURSE (1)


Sailing Course / Module 2 / Basics of Sailing

Lesson 5 - Rigging

OBJECTIVE

This lesson focuses on understanding the two types of rigging - standing and running.

The rigging of a vessel is divided into standing rigging, which supports the mast, and the running rigging, which controls the sails.



According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica Eleventh Edition "rigging" derives from Anglo-Saxon wrigan or wringing, "to clothe". The same source points out that "rigging" a sailing vessel refers to putting all the components in place to allow it to function, including the masts, spars, sails and the rigging “to dress/clothe the vessel”.


1. Standing rigging

Standing rigging consists of shrouds which support the mast sideways and stays which support the mast fore and aft. Shrouds and stays are usually made of stainless steel braided wire or stainless steel rod, or a mixture of carbon and Kevlar. The mast and boom are commonly made of wood, aluminium of composite fibers like carbon, Kevlar and fiberglass.



2. Running rigging

Running rigging consists mainly of halyards, which raise and lower the sails and sheets, ease the sails out and trim them in. On most vessels, the halyards are internal; that is, they run inside the hollow mast.




SUMMARY

The easiest way to remember the difference between standing and running rigging is that:

  • standing rigging is rigid to support the mast; while,
  • the running rigging is flexible to allow it to hoist/lower/load sails.

What are shrouds and stays made from?

 

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