Riggers are part of a practical community, one that includes clients, other artisans, and the people who design and provide tools and materials. Outside of this immediate circle, the community extends to include logistical support like shipping, testing labs, and people who handle payroll, and other vital financial services. Take the community out far enough and you get Civilization. I will limit myself here to a very few recommendations, but I urge you, as a rigger, to cultivate a broad and intricate series of connections.
We still fabricate a limited number of rigs, but nowadays I mostly keep busy as a writer, designer, consultant, expert witness, surveyor, and teacher. If you wish to contact me in any of those capacities, here’s how:
Web site: http://briontoss.com/
There you’ll find scheduling for workshops and classes, and a catalog of everything from books and DVDs to tools like our Splicing Wand, Rigger’s Pliers, Point Hudson Phid, Bosun’s Harness, and lots more. You’ll also see links to setting up consultations, surveys, and, yes, the actual rigging of boats.
Email: rigging@briontoss.com
Shop phone: 360-385-1080
Address: 313 Jackson Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
As noted in the preceding pages, Spectra/Dyneema standing rigging is a big development in contemporary rigging. The material itself is amazing, but that wouldn’t have mattered much without someone to do the arduous, involved work of figuring out how to apply it to actual boats—how to work out optimal terminations and tangs, how to measure it so that the finished pieces were the correct length, and how to address issues like creep, UV, and chafe. The person who did almost all the heavy lifting on the topic was is John Franta, of Colligo Marine. John continues to do far more research and development than seems entirely reasonable, for both running and standing rigging applications, and is one of the most refreshingly forthright, modest people I’ve ever known. If you are considering the use of Spectra in your rigging, he is the go-to guy.
Web site: http://www.colligomarine.com/
In addition to merchandise, you’ll find links to detailed description on materials, characteristics, and uses.
Email: through web site
Shop: 480-703-3675
Address: 1165 Highland Way
Grover Beach, CA 93433
Of all the rigging suppliers I’ve dealt with, this one stands out as having the best combination of quality, efficiency, decent pricing, real-world practicality, and what I can only describe as puckish good humor. That last goes for everyone on the staff, it seems, but is particularly true for founder and guiding light Brooks Jones, a canny, rumbling bear of a sailor. Brooks is the U.S. distributor for Sta-Lok, does great in-house swaging and rod heading, carries all the most common running and standing rigging components, and can either get obscure items for you, or direct you to someone who can. Oh, and for all you cruisers, Sailing Services is wise in the ways of shipping to far-off places.
Web site: http://www.sailingservices.com
Bare bones (C’mon, Brooks, flesh that thing out), but it has the essentials. Still, once you have a general idea of what you need, get on the phone to talk with one of the fabulous staff members.
Email: sails@sailingservices.com
305-758-1074
This Seattle company is right up there with Sailing Services in every respect, and it is a lot closer to my shop. The only thing they really lack is anyone half as colorful as Brooks.
206-632-4462
1900 N. Northlake Way
Seattle, WA 98103
In my humble estimation, this is the best cruising vessel sail loft in the country, if not the world. Their designs are brilliant, their fabrication techniques result in remarkable sail longevity, and their customer service is otherworldly.
I am tempted to go on for pages about the wonderfulness of the staff, and particularly of owner Carol Hasse, but I will settle for saying that she possesses an unparalleled level of technical skill, in combination with a spiritual graciousness that makes the Dalai Lama look like a thug. Both attributes, I suspect, are informed by the tens of thousands of sea miles she has covered in the course of her career.
The relationship between sails and rigging is of course intimate; the purpose of rigging is to deal with the energy that the sails deliver, and the two arts have been co-evolving for millennia. So if you hope to be a good rigger, get to know a good sailmaker.
Web site: http://porttownsendsails.com/
Great PDF downloads at that address, on every sail in your inventory. Download them all. Then move over to the “Sources and Resources” section, for articles about sailmaking. Be sure to check out/memorize the video of Hasse explaining the niceties of sail trim.
Email: info@porttownsendsails.com
360-385-1640
Here is the result of a self-reinforcing feedback loop. Many years ago, a few manically dedicated woodworking dilettantes moved to a then-moribund Port Townsend. Rents were cheap. Or free. Opportunities were endless. Over time, some of those dilettantes honed their fabrication skills. A smaller percentage also developed some business skills. The latter group was therefore able to stay in business long enough to develop a reputation, assuring an ongoing stream of work. Other artisans showed up, but if they weren’t really high quality, they didn’t tend to stay, for why would anyone hire a mediocre worker in a town that was rich in maestros?
In time there were so many artisans with sterling reputations that the town started to develop a reputation. And not just for woodworkers; the same feedback loop extended to cover machinists, welders, electricians, sailmakers, and, yes, riggers. Hello Port Townsend Rigging!
Port Townsend Marine Trades Association
Norseman and Sta-Lok are the established names in the mechanical-wire-terminals market. Over the years there have been numerous attempts to compete with them, but no one made any headway until Hayn introduced their Hi-Mod fittings. It was no easy task, as all the failed brands left riggers skeptical. I remember first hearing about Hi-Mod’s and thinking, “Oh, here’s another short-lived attempt.”
But then I took a look at some independent destruction test and metallurgy reports, and saw that this terminal had a claim to reasonable efficiency (about equal to Sta-Lok, and much better than Norseman). And then I tried one, and saw that it was significantly easier to assemble correctly than the competition. Prettier, too. But what really convinced me was when I ordered a bunch for a large-ish job, and got thrown into a very expensive delay when some of the components did not fit the wire. No, that wasn’t a positive experience, but having the owner of the company fly out from the East Coast to apologize, that was a very positive experience indeed. Great design is all well and good; great service is a gift beyond measure.
Hayn Enterprises, LLC
800-346-4296
I am listing these two together because they are both domestic U.S. companies, both providers of blocks and furlers, and both characterized by good, carefully-made gear, and competent, friendly service. They each have their strengths and weaknesses—I tend to prefer Schaefer’s furlers and Harken’s blocks—but they are alike in being straightforward, glad to take time to explain things, quick to rectify mistakes, and they are even kind when describing the competition’s products.
The point here is not just that I am recommending Schaefer and Harken, but that I am holding them up as models of how I think good companies should act. If your supplier bad-mouths the competition, or reflexively blames you if something is not right, or makes excuses about issues, find another brand, one you can trust, and enjoy working with.
Schaefer email: through contact page on web site: schaefermarine.com
Schaefer Marine
http://www.schaefermarine.com/
508-995-9511
Harken
262-691-3320
I have had the pleasure of working with some very, very good ropemakers over the decades. Samson, the biggest, and probably the best-known, is not content to rest on its laurels, and continues to make significant contributions to rope technology. Likewise Yale and Marlow have their own stables of talented rope geeks, who keep coming up with remarkable uses for old as well as new fibers and constructions. But here I would like to single out New England Ropes, for their combination of consistency, meaningful R&D, and what I can only describe as exaggeratedly generous customer service. They recently became part of Teufelberger Fiber Rope, a German company. As near as I can tell, the change has simply added Teutonic obsession with quality control.
Here is an emblematic story about New England Ropes: Early on, I noted that their ropes tended to be harder to splice than the competition’s. When I commented on this, their lead technician said something like, “Yeah, we know, and a lot of riggers buy other rope that is easier to splice. But we think somewhat higher splicing effort is a reasonable price to pay for rope that is tougher and/or stronger.” That’s right, they risked alienating some of the people who buy the most rope, because they want to make a better rope.
New England Ropes
http://www.teufelberger.com/en/products/marine/new-england-ropes.html
508-678-8200
Even production yachts can involve a lot of custom items. If you have broken a no-longer-produced bit of crucial hardware, or you’d like to make the odd upgrade, or if you’d simply like to have a lovely, well-engineered bit of bronze hardware to replace a piece of stamped-out trash, get in touch with the folks at PTF.
Port Townsend Foundry
http://porttownsendfoundry.com/
360-385-6425
This is the forum on our web site for consultation questions that are too short to charge for. Most of the posts there concern details of rigging procedures, but if you are looking for an obscure part, or a rigger in your part of the world, or a tool that we don’t carry in our catalog, Spartalk is the place for you.
http://www.briontoss.com/spartalk/forumdisplay.php?f=1
The Good Luck Knot (back view): See page 344 for an explanation.