Rigging Terminology and Purpose

[RossR]

I am currently building the Frigate Diana from Occre, and I am trying to learn the terminology and purpose of the various rigging elements.  There is one item that I am having trouble locating information about.  There is set of blocks used at the deck on the halliards.  I can't find anyplace online that gives a name for this arrangement or explains its purpose.  The halliards have a double block at the yard and mast and the line that goes through those blocks has a single block at the end of it that is connected with a lanyard to a block attached to the deck.  This seems like it would be a really ackward way to lift a yard into place, and I would think that you could get the same mechanical advantage with a triple block at the yard and mast.   I have attached a page of the rigging plans and a photo from the instructions that show what I am asking about.  Sorry the photo is not very good quality.

 

Any information on what this is called and why it is used would be appreciated.  Thanks

 

[popeye2sea]

I think the rigging instructions are incorrect (what a surprise).  There should not be an additional tackle at the deck level.  The tackles at the mast heads will suffice.

The hauling part of the halyards should come down aft of the mast and belay to the fife rail.

 

Regards,

 

Henry

[Keith Black]

 Maximum pull power downward from overhead is a man's body weight. Pulling a line through a block anchored at deck level is going to allow more pulling power because a man is pulling with his back and legs.  I've posted a photo of the Tennessee (some 70 yeas later than the Diana) mizzen showing blocks anchored around the mast. 

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Keith Black

[RossR]

Thanks.  Really appreciate the picture.  

[allanyed]

Ross

There are both text and detailed drawings of the jeers for the lower yards, ties of the topsail yards, and halyards of the topgallant and royal yards in Lees Masting and Rigging.  These are for British ships, but the explanations should be a help if you cannot find anything on line.

Allan

Edited March 18, 2023 by allanyed

[Dr PR]

I have posted some rigging information for tackles here. The entire thread is mainly for schooner rigging, but there is a lot of information about sails, rigging and terminology here.

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25679-topsail-schooner-sail-plans-and-rigging/?do=findComment&comment=787020

 

All of the tackle shown in your plans appear to be gun tackles - two single blocks. The lower block hooked to a ring bolt on deck. This is a very common arrangement. The advantages of this scheme are:

 

1. Only one line runs from near the deck to the block on the spar. If the lower block on the line was a double block three or four lines would connect to the spar, and this would require a rope much longer than used in the rig shown.

 

2. The line from the lower tackle can be pulled horizontally, allowing more men to pull on it. Often these lines would be led through a temporary runner block attached to the deck to lead the nine around obstacles and allow a horizontal pull so more hands could heave on it. Sometimes the rigging of the tackle was reversed top to bottom from the gun tackle shown in my post, with the fixed end of the lanyard connected to the lower block and the fall (loose end) running from the lower block so it always pulled horizontally.

 

3. In all cases the falls belayed (attached) to a cleat on the mast or a pin in a fife rail at the base of the mast.

 

For lighter spars there would only be a sheave on/in the mast and the halliard would pass through it and connect directly to the spar. For heavier spars (and sails) the halliard would run through a luff tackle (single block on the spar and double block attached to the mast, or a "gun tackle" arrangement with two double blocks. These tackles provide most of the mechanical advantage. These rigs are sometimes called "jeers" instead of halliards.

 

A good reference for English naval vessels if James Lees' "The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625-1860" (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1984, republished in 1990). I sometimes find it difficult to use because he doesn't always define his terminology and assumes the reader knows what he is talking about. But it has a wealth of information about English men of war.

 

A good general reference for sailing ship models is Wolfram zu Mondfeld's "Historic Ship Models" (Sterling Publishing, Inc., New York, 1989). It has a lot of information about ships of many nationalities and periods.

 

Falconer's "Universal Dictionary of the Marine" (1769) can be copied from the Internet. It is very useful for deciphering arcane nautical terms and jargon.

[allanyed]

6 hours ago, Dr PR said:

3. In all cases the falls belayed (attached) to a cleat on the mast or a pin in a fife rail at the base of the mast.

It depends on the era.  Below are contemporary models as examples where neither were used.  Pins were used for eons, but did not come into common use, at least on British ships until the second half of the 18th century.

 

 

[Keith Black]

8 hours ago, Dr PR said:

Sometimes the rigging of the tackle was reversed top to bottom from the gun tackle shown in my post, with the fixed end of the lanyard connected to the lower block and the fall (loose end) running from the lower block so it always pulled horizontally.

 Phil, this is how the Tennessee was rigged. 

[popeye2sea]

You all make some fine points about different tackle systems, especially about the necessity for a lead block to change the direction of the pull. But the point I was trying to make about having a tackle up at the yard and also down at the deck is this.  It is not done.  For example, what would happen if you haul the line. The two blocks of the tackle move closer together right? Now what if the upper set, or the lower set,  two-blocks (touch each other) before the haul is finished. That tackle would then jamb and your hauling is done until you un-jamb the blocks.  Plus, it is overkill. Even for the very heavy lower yard, the two treble jeer block tackles provide sufficient purchase to raise the yard. Why go through all the extra effort and material for the additional tackles.

 

Regards,

Henry

[Keith Black]

21 minutes ago, popeye2sea said:

For example, what would happen if you haul the line. The two blocks of the tackle move closer together

 Henry, I've got photos that prove that it was done. The blocks were placed further apart than the yard's furthest traveling distance which kept them from becoming two blocked.

[popeye2sea]

28 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

 Henry, I've got photos that prove that it was done. The blocks were placed further apart than the yard's furthest traveling distance which kept them from becoming two blocked.

 

I still say it's impossible. Let's go the other way.  Say you are lowering the main yard. You have a six part tackle at the mast head.  In order to bring that yard down to the deck you need that hauling part to be at least 6 times longer than the distance the block needs to travel. You would get stopped as soon as the block from the lower tackle reaches the lower jeer block and not be able to go any further.

 

Regards,

Henry

[Gregory]

Not sure what constitutes a tackle where you are concerned, but I have seen contemporary models where there are blocks for halyards at the deck.

 

 

 

Petersson shows tackles on the  main and fore lift.

He shows the fore  & main jeers reaving through sheaves in the bitts.

Here is an excerpt from Lee's that describes the jeers/lift rigged to a tackle attached to an eyebolt on deck.

Whether his would be correct for the ship in question, I don't know, but it's not as if this type of rig was never used.

 

 

 

 

 

[Louie da fly]

On 3/18/2023 at 3:42 PM, Dr PR said:

The line from the lower tackle can be pulled horizontally, allowing more men to pull on it. Often these lines would be led through a temporary runner block attached to the deck to lead the nine around obstacles and allow a horizontal pull so more hands could heave on it.

Not sure if this is appropriate to this discussion, but here is the halyard of a (yes, I know, lateen rigged) dhow being pulled horizontally, which I think illustrates Dr PR's point..

 

Steven

[Dr PR]

Allenyed is right that the way lines were belayed changed over time. For earlier smaller vessels the lines were often belayed to cleats or cavels (kevels) on the bulwarks, or just tied off to railings. Sometimes lines were tied off to cleats fastened to shrouds. There was a lot of variation over time.

 

Also, keep in mind that some things were not permanently attached. Runner or lead blocks were often attached to a handy point to allow a line to be redirected to wherever the crew had room to work, and often the attachment point depended upon the tack or wind direction. Some stays had a tackle at deck level that was unhooked and moved to different positions depending upon the tack and where booms or yards were angled.

 

The one thing I have learned from studying sailing ship rigging is that there were no absolute rules. If it could be done it probably was on one ship or another.