This is the fourth and final installment of our series on the philosophy of rigging. We’ve got some examples of “going with the flow” when rigging the boat, and some miscellaneous tips to make your life easier. Previous posts reviewed what we were going to install in our project boat, covered the ten laws of rigging, and some observations about selecting equipment.
What does “going with the flow” mean?
When an installation just doesn’t seem to be working the way you want it to, there is usually an easier way to do it. Many times, it will follow or take advantage of some sort of natural condition or flow. Here are some examples from Toy Boat 2:
Going with the flow: our 8′ VHF radio antenna mount
In order to get maximum height, we first mounted our 8′ VHF antenna on top of Toy Boat 2’s console grab rail (see picture below, left). What we soon discovered was that the weight and length of the antenna caused the mount to slip when running in rough water.
Because it was mounted on the starboard horizontal section of the top of the console grab rail, the antenna would swing between port and starboard. When mounted on the front cross bar of the console grab rail, it would swing between the bow or stern. Nothing solved the problem permanently, including rubber pads inside the clamps, and over-tightening the mounting bolts.
The solution? How about moving the mount to one of the vertical console supports (see picture below, right). Side-to-side tilt is eliminated, and the ratchet keeps the antenna from fore-and-aft fore-and-aft. A simple and natural fix…
Our original antenna mount location
Current antenna location