Check that the sailing dinghy is stable when rigging a deck-stepped mast, preferably cradled in its trolley, trailer or stand. The front of the boat should always be pointed into the wind when rigging, as the sail when hoisted, catches the wind and causes the whole structure to fall on its side.
Prior to mast stepping, check that you are well clear of any overhead power lines and ensure that the sailing dinghy can be wheeled to the water without the mast coming in contact with power lines or tree branches. Stepping the mast on small dinghies on can be accomplished by one person, but is easier, and safer, with two people. Most masts are light in weight but their length and wind resistance makes them unwieldy to lift and therefore hard when mast stepping.
The sailing dinghy on its trolley in a bow-down position causes the mast to lean forward against the support of the shrouds when placed in its mast step, therefore stabilizing the mast.
When lifting the mast, raise it vertically and position the hands quite wide apart giving better leverage. Use the following guides and instructions to successfully step a mast. Tightening the shrouds beyond their supporting tension causes a bend in the middle of the mast known as mast bend , while adjusting the forestay varies the amount of forward or backward slope known as mast rake.
Different wind conditions dictate the different [ rake and bend ] settings. Use the following guide to obtain the correct rake. After stepping the mast, adjust the shrouds and forestay to get the correct rake position. Mast rake with general-purpose dinghies is not critical, however with racing dinghies it needs to be set precisely to the correct measurement for top performance sailing.
Keel-stepped sailboat masts are easy to step, where the mast heel is positioned into its step prior to it being pulled into the upright position with the mast being held securely in the mast gate. Deck-stepped boat masts are not supported by a mast gate and therefore must be lifted vertically, before being located into the mast step therefore less stable until the rigging is secured. The foot of the mainsail may fit into a groove along the top of the main boom or be only attached by the outhaul device at the end of the boom.
The boom is a horizontal spar, comprising of aluminium or wood, attached by a gooseneck fitting to the aft side of the mast. On some rigs this may be fixed in a position, or or have a sliding fitting which allows the boom to be adjusted up or down. The tack of the mainsail is held in position close to the mast by a fitting on the gooseneck and the [ clew ] is secured to the clew outhaul device by either rope or shackle. The clew outhaul enables the foot of the sail to be tensioned and is used to alter the shape of the sail.
The sail foot is tensioned overall with a kicking strap, kicker or boom vang fitting, which attaches to the underside of the boom, a quarter distance from the mast, and to the base of the mast. It comprises of a [ block and tackle ] which tensions the sail and cleated at the right tension.
In addition, the mast is fitted with wire or rope halyards that are used to raise and lower the sails. Designed to run inside the mast, they run through pulley block sheaves at the top of the mast and exit in a sheave box, being an alloy casting, that is incorporated the mast foot. The jib halyard sheave is positioned at the front of the mast below the forestay fitting, with the spinnaker halyard sheave above the forestay.
The halyards are led down to small small swivel blocks or fixed rings. The mainsail halyard sheave is often incorporated into the mast head fitting at the back of the mast inside the sail track. Older rigs have external halyards that run through pulley blocks at the appropriate position for main, jib and spinnaker.
Asymmetric Spin. Types of Sailboat Rigging Before knowing how to rig a sailboat or dinghy, and understanding of the various sailboat rigging types is required: Single handed one-person sailing dinghies usually having a single sail, fitted onto an [ unstayed mast ] housed in a large tube or mast support at the front of the sailing dinghy.
Two-person sailing dinghies, have two or more sails, and a mast which is supported or stayed by three wires. Unstayed Sailboat Mast Type Boats that have unstayed masts are stored without their mast. Often, unstayed masts are made in two sections that slot together. Stayed Sailboat Mast Type Stayed masts are either stepped on deck or on the keel where a mast step is attached to the boat to accept the mast's heel fitting.
Stepping a Mast on a Sailboat For the ease of rigging and identification prior to stepping a mast, always lash the halyards to the mast before unstepping, ensuring they do not foul the operation of unstepping and stepping.
Mast Rake Tightening the shrouds beyond their supporting tension causes a bend in the middle of the mast known as mast bend , while adjusting the forestay varies the amount of forward or backward slope known as mast rake. Keel Stepping Keel-stepped sailboat masts are easy to step, where the mast heel is positioned into its step prior to it being pulled into the upright position with the mast being held securely in the mast gate. Lay the keel stepped mast and rigging on the boat with the masthead to the stern of the boat.
Rest the mast heel on the mast step with the front side of the mast uppermost. Related Articles. This is a step by step instruction on how to rig the original laser. Get all your parts together. You should have the boat itself the hull , the dagger board, the rudder and tiller, your mainsheet, both mast pieces, boom, boom bang and sail in one place.
Put together both the pieces of your mast. The bottom of the top half just slides into the top of the bottom half. There are no locks, or anything, it should just fit snugly. Slide the sail over the mast. There will be a pocket along one side of the sail to slide over the mast. Insert the battens into the sail, they should slide in and then you push your end of the batten down so it won't fall out. Stand up the mast.
This is the hardest part of the entire rigging process, so be careful, no-one likes a broken mast or hull. You stand up the mast, make sure it's right next to the bow of the laser, and pick it straight up off the ground, and put it into the mast step the hole at the front of your laser.
A way to make this easier is to grab the mast around the middle, then walk forward thereby pushing the sail up. While walking you should also move your top hand up to have better control of the mast.
Get your boom, and put its front end into the gooseneck the little pin sticking out of your mast. Hold it in there, as it will fall off without any other support. While still holding the boom on the gooseneck, walk around to the flapping end of the sail. Grab the outhaul the line on the very end of the sail , and put it through the eye at the end of the boom. Now run the line down the boom, and cleat it off.
Attach the clew-tie-down a small line that wraps around the ring the outhaul is attached to and wrap it around the boom and tie it so that the clew is as close to the boom as it can be while still being able to slide back and forth along the boom. Attach the boom vang This piece holds the boom down while you're sailing.
Supposing it is already rigged itself, you only have to attach it to the bottom of the mast, then slide it into the little metal clip on the bottom of the boom. Now pull down on the hanging line, and then pull straight up to cleat it. Rig the mainsheet.
Take one end of it, go to the end of the boom, and tie it around the eye on the bottom of the pulley there. Do not put it through the pulley itself; you're going to need that pulley in a moment.
Now that it's tied off, find the other end of your line, and run it through the traveler on the stern of the boat.
Then run it back up, through the pulley on the end up the boom, then forward across the bottom of the boom, through that metal loop, through the next pulley, and then down through the main block at the front of the cockpit. Make sure that your main block clicks when you pull the mainsheet through it - if it doesn't, you have to run the mainsheet through the other side of the main block.
Then tie a knot in the very end of the mainsheet, so the line can't run back through the main block when you are sailing or if you capsize. Just before you put the laser in the water, check to be sure the hull plug is screwed into the drain hole in the stern.
Then attach the rudder, tiller and daggerboard. Slide the rudder pins into the eyes on the backside of the laser, and make sure that the clip is holding it down. Then put on the tiller by sliding it into the space on the top of the rudder. Once it's in, insert the pin to hold it there.
Tie the dagger board with a long loop of elastic to the eye at the very front of the boat. Verify the elastic creates enough friction that the daggerboard will stay up or down even when you invert the boat. The last thing you need to do, just before you start sailing, is tie down the rudder. There is a tiny string, found anywhere around the rudder and tiller, that you have to pull on to bring down the rudder.
Once it's down, tie off the string on the cleat that is on the side of your tiller, and you're set to sail!
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