Connecting External Chainplates to Synthetic Standing Rigging | Sailing Wisdom [S6 Ep11]

[@michellenicholes2087]

That's it I have seen all your videos. Now I look forward to the future ones especially now that you're back to sailing although I do look forward to seeing how windpuff turns out

[@RiggingDoctor]

Amazing! Thank you for watching our years of travel and work! ❤️

[@melinda5777]

The best DYI BOAT INSTRUCTOR I EVER SAW!! ✝️🙏🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️⛵️👣☘️👍🤗

[@johnnydfred]

Why I started watching him years ago. Excellent!

[@markchodroff250]

Always showing and teaching, great video, explaining everything one step at a time 👍🏻👍🏻

[@mattgartside7885]

Brilliantly useful as usual. 😊

[@RiggingDoctor]

Thank you!

[@melinda5777]

They look great! It's hard to believe how the old ones look. ❤❤❤

[@soloflight75]

Knots are quite fascinating. It is amazing how somthing so flexible as a rope can be turned into such solid structures. The types of knots to accomplish different goals seems endless. In the fire service the old joke was if you can't tie a knot, tie a lot. It is so much prettier and more reliable to donit right. Thanks for a fantastic demo. Absolutely and awesome educational video. ❤❤❤

[@johncroucher1903]

I enjoy watching channel. Your rigging videos are my favorites.

[@gr3398]

Awesome info, thanks! So glad you guys will be back on the water soon.

[@BigFiveJack]

Thank you for showing us this.

[@RiggingDoctor]

You’re welcome! Synthetic is great but it’s not perfect. Knowing the good and bad will enable you to make an informed decision.

[@captnmcq]

Like your ring. Like how you keep things square and level

[@RiggingDoctor]

Thanks! If you are ever in Maryland we should meet up

[@tubedin815]

Hi Herby, thank you for another informative video. I've been following your channel since 2017. Good staff !! Learn a lot from you along the way. Wondering if you ever considered publish few digital books in related topics? Such library could be helpful for the fellow sailors, and could become your legacy eventually. Easier for the followers to reach specific topic thank search through all videos. Suggestion: "Synthetic Rigging" could be an obvious topic, "Step-by-step transfer a sailboat diesel engine to electrical", "Preparation on the Atlantic Crossing" could be few other topics. Few bucks on the extra incoming as well.

[@RiggingDoctor]

I am actually in the process of writing a book on rigging (it will include synthetic rigging in there) for a publishing company. I’m more than halfway through the first draft and then begins the editing process. I hope it will be in print during 2025 😎 I like the other topics for follow up books!

[@OnnoKok]

Awesomesauce! Thank you so much for documenting and sharing your knowledge and experiences. I switched to Dyneema rigging earlier this last season using much of your information. The only thing I still need to improve is the soft shackles used as hanks for the staysail. They occasionally tangle and bunch up the chafe sleeve. For the rest of the shrouds I plan to go old school and add service. Thanks again, much appreciated

[@Jim-jh9bd]

enjoy a program you learn something , thanks

[@JimDory]

I'm setting up to install dyneema rigging on my 2 shrouds (using wire on headstay for roller furling) and get a lot of good info from your tutorials. So one thing.. what knot did you use to join the two runners from the lashings - near where it goes into the tensioning dead eye?

[@RiggingDoctor]

I used a sheet bend with a slip that way it is possible to untie it after it’s been tensioned.

[@Audra-littledipper]

Omagerd! It took meway too long to figure out that "rigging doctor" is "sailing wisdom".... Doh! Thanks for so much great content! You guys are a wonderful team. I really enjoy learning from you.

[@RiggingDoctor]

I loved the series of those three comments! Thank you for looking out for us. There have been a few cases where someone reposted our videos. We only found out and got it taken care of because that we got told about it. Thank you and glad you put the pieces together 🫡

[@Audra-littledipper]

@RiggingDoctor Hehe! Much love! It's definitely a big issue on shorts these days, but I've seen quite a few long form ones too. Stay awesome!

[@lenwhatever4187]

The number on the top of the winch of my old barients (22) does not work that way. Lot of boats have old barient/barlow winches. The ratio on my barient 22 with a 10 inch handle, is 34:1 or 40.8:1 with a 12inch handle (I have one of each).

[@lukeleafgren640]

Thanks for the video! Roughly how much dyneema (and in what size) do you use for each lashing and frapping?

[@RiggingDoctor]

The lashing is about 30 feet of 6mm SK78 and the frapping line is 3-4 feet of 1.8mm SK78

[@brickleberry7829]

Well done! Nice.

[@tiborkiss9186]

great video!

[@PyeGuySailing]

Great video as always. I sold my big 40 foot boat and bought a westerly nomad..I should get it Tuesday if all goes well. Is it worth going with synthetic rigging on a small boat with a mast on a tabernacle?

[@RiggingDoctor]

Absolutely! Those boats benefit the most from synthetic. Having a tabernacle means that you can lower the mast with ease. When the mast comes down, synthetic rigging will just come down easily with the mast, without kinking or rubbing hard on the deck. The weight savings is also greatly felt as more of the ballast can work on resisting the wind instead of righting the weight of the rigging. The important thing you want to have are spreaders that go straight out to the side. If you have aft swept spreaders (15° or more swept aft) you want to stay with steel, if you have straight lateral spreaders, then you can enjoy the simplicity of synthetic rigging.

[@PyeGuySailing]

@@RiggingDoctor Thanks 😁. It was built in the late 60s, I'm positive they're straight. Great information, I'll switch over when I replace the rigging 🙂

[@sailingforeverautumn]

This all looks time consuming, but really simple! Only question I have is how do you actually measure the tension? Is there a particular line you use a traditional Loos on?

[@RiggingDoctor]

I don’t use a Loos gauge. If I really need to know the tension, I use the Folding Rule Method. With lateral spreaders (as opposed to aft swept spreaders) the absolute rig tension is less important and all you need to do is make it tight enough to hold the mast in column while on a close reach with full sail in 20 knots of breeze. If you find that the mast is not in column, simply give the offending stay a little more tension. I ended up having to tighten the cap shrouds two more times to finally get the perfect tension that would keep the mast in column when sailing in both tacks. You can use measuring devices which have error in their measurements or you can go by feel and then adjust as needed. (If you have aft swept spreaders, you need to use a measurement method because the rig has a minimum rig tension that it must achieve or the mast can break).

[@alexd7466]

very interesting. But can't you just use a turnbuckle?

[@RiggingDoctor]

You can, but on our situation each turnbuckle cost $100 and we would need 12 of them. Not using turnbuckles, I was able to rerig in synthetic for $4,400. Using turnbuckles would have bumped that price point up to $5,600 which was outside of our budget at that time. We have had them for 9 years and they have worked well, they are just very tedious to adjust as you can see. If you can afford turnbuckles: yes! If you can’t afford turnbuckles: this is an option.

[@lukeleafgren640]

@@RiggingDoctor I can imagine a couple of challenges with turnbuckles: there is a maximum amount that you can tension each one, and that theoretical amount relies on a shroud length that is perfectly measured and spliced. Have you measured the distance that each shroud lengthens as you tighten them on the winch?

[@nodogrunner]

Really love the idea of synthetic rigging. Cost is one thing, but the lessor weight higher on the mast has to be a big change. Hard question, do you know how much of a difference it makes?

[@RiggingDoctor]

When we had steel rigging, the rail was always in the water and sometimes we would heel so far that the deck would go underwater a little bit. When we converted to synthetic, we sail around 10°-15° of heel. We know we have too much sail up and need reef because we reach 20° of heel, at that point the rubrail is still out of the water. In other words, the ballast can do its job at resisting the pressure on the sail and not opposing the weight of the rigging.

[@monaghanpete]

Awsome as your content always is thanks!!

[@RiggingDoctor]

I appreciate that!

[@Pocketfarmer1]

Why use toggles and those thimbles grommets(?) when your using lashed rigging . Why wouldn’t a smooth shackle straight to the chain plate suffice?

[@RiggingDoctor]

The lashings would bunch up on themselves. The big thimble just lets you spread out the lashings so that each one can have its space.

[@DowneastThunderCreations]

👍👍👍

[@carlcarlamos9055]

When you switch from metal standing rigging to synthetic standing rigging, how does that affect the length of the safely usable life of said rigging? Thank you and take care.

[@RiggingDoctor]

Steel has a service life of 10 years, where appropriately sized synthetic will vastly exceed that. Ours is on the thinner side of the spectrum and I estimate that it should last over 15 years. It’s currently 9 years old now.

[@Ranchpig67]

"15 pieces of flair is the minimum, it's up to you if you want to do just the bare minimum" Office Space

[@RiggingDoctor]

😂😎 Yes!

[@Pocketfarmer1]

6:23 friction

[@RiggingDoctor]

Yes indeed!

[@allynonderdonk7577]

Frapping. Rocks.

[@JonMadsen70]

:)

[@RiggingDoctor]

Thanks!

[@markthomasson5077]

Synthetic rigging…so why not synthetic chainplates? I have seen folk bond a heavy Dynema line directly into the hull. Permanent, no bolts, no leaks

[@davecopp9356]

Interesting Idea. Never seen it.

[@RiggingDoctor]

As you know, I am a huge fan of Dyneema as it is an incredible material. I have many concerns with using it in that application as it really isn’t the best tool for the job. I’ve seen it done but have not liked what I have seen so far of it. On Windpuff, we will be playing around with carbon fiber for some of the chainplates, but not Dyneema for the attachment to the hull.

[@Tb0n3]

Did you call a taut line hitch a tout line hitch? Taut pronounced like the past tense of teach taught.