The truss tackles are next. There are 2 of these ports and starboard. As I stated before their job was to keep the yard tight against the mast. To do so they wrap around both the mast and the yard. The tricky part of this is that behind the mast the lines after being wrapped around the yard end by first inserting through a small fairlead on the back of the mast. Complexly they then end as an eye through which the DECENDING line of the opposite (port or starboard) truss tackle passes through.
I wanted everything to be nice and neat and tight. The other end of this line is stropped to a single block which another line that becomes the line for a block and tackle is seized to as I showed a few pictures above. Because the line passes through the fairlead you can not do both the stropping of the single block and making the eye off the ship.
So after taking time to think how best to do this in tight quarters, I decided to work "backwards". I threaded the one set of lines to the double blocks that are attached to the rear part of the cap block. I threaded to line so the end of it would feed to the set of cleats I previously affixed to the topsail mast.
I temporarily used small clamps to clamp the line to the cleats so I could adjust the length of the block and tackle to tighten the lines after the truss lines were inserted.
The other line went down to behind the yard. It was then wrapped twice around the yard medial to the jeers rigging and fed to go behind the mast.
Now behind the mast, the lines were fed through the fairlead and wrapped around the opposite line that was descending BEFORE it wrapped around the yard, I then held the loops with those small electric test clamp probes, that make for great clamps for this. I adjusted the lines until the single blocks on the block and tackles were fairly even and all the lines were tight. I then seized the lines to make small eyelets and cut away the spare line. (I should have taken some pictures of this procedure)
Since there was a fair amount of room behind the mast this procedure went easier than I expected.
I then dropped and belayed the stun sail boom line and attached the lift lines.
With that, the rigging is essentially complete! All I have left is installing some of the "fiddly bits"!
I wanted everything to be nice and neat and tight. The other end of this line is stropped to a single block which another line that becomes the line for a block and tackle is seized to as I showed a few pictures above. Because the line passes through the fairlead you can not do both the stropping of the single block and making the eye off the ship.
So after taking time to think how best to do this in tight quarters, I decided to work "backwards". I threaded the one set of lines to the double blocks that are attached to the rear part of the cap block. I threaded to line so the end of it would feed to the set of cleats I previously affixed to the topsail mast.
I temporarily used small clamps to clamp the line to the cleats so I could adjust the length of the block and tackle to tighten the lines after the truss lines were inserted.
The other line went down to behind the yard. It was then wrapped twice around the yard medial to the jeers rigging and fed to go behind the mast.
Now behind the mast, the lines were fed through the fairlead and wrapped around the opposite line that was descending BEFORE it wrapped around the yard, I then held the loops with those small electric test clamp probes, that make for great clamps for this. I adjusted the lines until the single blocks on the block and tackles were fairly even and all the lines were tight. I then seized the lines to make small eyelets and cut away the spare line. (I should have taken some pictures of this procedure)
Since there was a fair amount of room behind the mast this procedure went easier than I expected.
I then dropped and belayed the stun sail boom line and attached the lift lines.
With that, the rigging is essentially complete! All I have left is installing some of the "fiddly bits"!
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