Rigging Small Sailboats

Chapter 6

.....deck fittings

FIG. 6-2 - This drawing shows hardware items and how they function on the boat. Note that all lines used to control various functions of the rig lead to a point convenient to the helmsman.

A BECKET is often fitted to blocks at the opposite end of the shackle. The becket is a fitting on the block onto which a line with an eye, or another fitting such as a hook, can be attached, as in forming a tackle. Some of the common blocks are illustrated in Fig. 6-2.

A FIDDLE BLOCK as shown in Fig. 6-3 contains two sheaves, one above the other with one usually smaller in diameter than the other. It looks like a "fiddle." A fiddle block may have a becket as well as a cam cleat arrangement (see Fig. 6-4) for use with main sheets and boom vangs. A CHEEK BLOCK (see Fig. 6-2) lays flat to its base, with the base being fastened to the deck. The cheek block is commonly used to change direction of a line. SWIVEL DECK BLOCKS (Fig. 6-5) have a base which fastens to the deck and allows the block to assume a near-vertical position capable of swiveling in any direction. A BULLET BLOCK is a single block of small size which usually has no shackle (see Fig. 5-12). The top of the bullet block is usually shaped to attach through the eye of a line, an eye strap, or to a boom bail. A TRAVELER BLOCK is one with two sheaves, one above the other, and with one at right angles to the other (see Fig. 6-2). One sheave is for the traveler, and the other for the mainsheet. No shackle is used. Sometimes two bullet blocks interlocked at the straps can be made to form a traveler block.

When wire rope is used, blocks must be used which are intended for this material. Some blocks are available which have sheaves suitable for use with both rope and wire rope. The sheaves of these blocks have a regular groove for the rope, and a narrower but deeper groove within the regular groove to suit the wire rope.

FIG. 6-3 - A typical example of a fiddle block.	FIG. 6-4 - A fiddle block with a built-in cam cleat which can be used with various mainsheet and boom vang rigs.
FIG. 6-5 - A swivel deck block allows the sheave to turn to the proper direction for the line leading through it.	FIG. 6-6 - The cams of the cam cleat hold the line but it can be quickly released with a flick of the wrist.

Continued