Preparing and managing your rig

• Thoroughly inspect the mast and rigging on the ground and replace any suspect items. As well as having an expert rigger, as owner/ skippers you must do this for yourself to ensure you learn as much as possible about the rig. • Check chainplates above and below deck for signs of corrosion. Rub lanolin into the hole where rigging attaches to prevent water seeping between layers of stainless steel. • Remove mast fittings and repair/repaint any areas of corrosion. Have

any cracks welded and strengthened. • Clean off rust stains on stainless fittings paying particular attention

to these areas for hairline cracks and corrosion. • Ensure all stays line up exactly with the swage. Fit toggles so the

stays can articulate freely to reduce work-hardening of the wire. • Try to have about 20cm of the forestay wire exposed on the headsail furler rather than have the furler hard up against the swage. This allows inspection of the wire and swages and if a strand breaks there is room to attach another wire with bulldog grips. If ordering a new headsail, shortening the luff a small amount will allow you to shorten the furler tube. • Set up the rigging to ensure the mast remains as straight as possible

when sailing hard in a seaway. • Have another person check that all turnbuckles, clevis pins and cotter pins; ie, split pins, are properly installed. Some rigs have been lost due to total reliance on lock nuts. Mouse any shackle pins with soft stainless wire to ensure they don’t become loose. Tape sharp edges. • At sea, make a daily visual check on deck for loose pins and nuts and

for chafe on sails and sheets. Use binoculars to check the rig aloft. • Shorten sail in good time to prevent rig and sail damage. A flogging

sail creates high shock-loads that damage the rig as well as sails. • Use sight and touch to inspect the rig thoroughly as soon as possible after arrival at the end of each leg of an ocean voyage. If something needs to be done it will probably take several days so it pays to arrange it early. You don’t want to find out that a stay needs replacing the day before departure. • When going aloft in a bosun’s chair, tie a safety line to a spare halyard. A rolling hitch – better still a prussick knot – can be slid up and down the spare halyard as you go to prevent a fall. • Carry several bulldog grips for each diameter stay. Carry lengths of

Spectra or Dynema rope as spare stays. • Learn how to tie a rolling hitch and practice it often so you can

immediately set up temporary rigging. • Don’t rely only on the Category One inspector to check your

preparations. Have another crew member go over everything too. • Don’t assume that you don’t need to check a rig just because it has

been recently serviced.