Pin rails for satety

[Steve Laume]

I did about a foot of serving on each shroud. I used tarred marlin because of tradition and it smells so good when you work with it. I also think it allows for plenty of oxygen to reach the wire.

For the boards, I glued up about a 2" section and then cut slots in the ends to match the shroud angle. There are two, small, holes on each end so you can lace them on with a whole lot of twine.

Mine have not even thought about moving after quite a few years now, Steve.

[tjr818]

I did about a foot of serving on each shroud. I used tarred marlin because of tradition and it smells so good when you work with it. I also think it allows for plenty of oxygen to reach the wire.

For the boards, I glued up about a 2" section and then cut slots in the ends to match the shroud angle. There are two, small, holes on each end so you can lace them on with a whole lot of twine.

Mine have not even thought about moving after quite a few years now, Steve.

Steve,
I love tarred marlin, but my supply has seriously dwindled, everything I see today is tarred nylon(?), do you have a source for true marlin?.

[Jim Walsh]

This is one source for the real stuff. I'm sure there are others.
http://www.woodenboatstore.com/category ... s_sew_lash

[Steve Laume]

I got mine at either the Maine or Mystic wooden boat show.

Love that stuff, Steve.

[Jim Cornwell]

Tarred polyester and/or tarred nylon are easy to find and I've used them for net making (gear hammocks). Even Amazon can direct you to sources for that stuff. What's the advantage of tarred hemp for serving? Somewhere I read that a parcelling of good old friction tape on stainless cable was a good foundation for serving. Any opinions on that idea?

[Sea Hunt Video]

I have been reading these posts as a form of education. I kept reading the word "serving" and how the word was used in the posts. It did not make any sense. I kept trying to connect the word "serving" to "serving dinner", "serving a tennis ball", etc.

Frustrated, I called on my friend "Mr. Google". He "served up" the following:

http://www.schoonerman.com/sailingterms ... orming.htm

I am probably the only one (or one of only a very few) who had never heard the term "serving" used in this way. This board is very educational. I may yet get my GED some day.

[tjr818]

I guess you had some concerns about "worming" too

[tjr818]

Well, I see that this topic is not going to get the same amount of traffic as the locked prop thread, but I would like to keep it going until I am ready to install the pinrails, at least.
I would like some more input on the height off the deck. II have ash rollers on to forward lowers to help feed the genny around the stay. The rollers are 48" tall and they ride on top of the forward stay turnbuckle, I think that is about 10", so the bottom of the pinrail is going to be 58" above the deck, unless I trim the rollers down a bit.

What size pinrail do you use? It has to wide enough for the 1/2" pins and deep enough so that the pins don't fall out,but not so deep that you can't tie a proper hitch.
Are the tops of the pinrails level with the horizon or perpendicular to the shrouds?

Any other suggestions

[Jim Walsh]

Well, I see that this topic is not going to get the same amount of traffic as the locked prop thread, but I would like to keep it going until I am ready to install the pinrails, at least.
I would like some more input on the height off the deck. II have ash rollers on to forward lowers to help feed the genny around the stay. The rollers are 48" tall and they ride on top of the forward stay turnbuckle, I think that is about 10", so the bottom of the pinrail is going to be 58" above the deck, unless I trim the rollers down a bit.

What size pinrail do you use? It has to wide enough for the 1/2" pins and deep enough so that the pins don't fall out,but not so deep that you can't tie a proper hitch.
Are the tops of the pinrails level with the horizon or perpendicular to the shrouds?

Any other suggestions

I bet you could decide what height is optimal for your pinrail and cut the roller so a portion is below the rail and the remainder is performing its function above the pinrail. That seems like a practical solution unless the amount trimmed from the roller were minuscule, then I'd just trim a few inches off.

[Steve Laume]

I got most of my information from http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Riggers- ... bc?ie=UTF8 and then winged the rest.

As I said before, the primary reason I wanted the rails was to provide a butt rest when working at the mast. I determined the height by bringing a length of scrap pine down to the boat and holding it up to the lower shroud; leaning back against it while standing on the cabin top at the mast. I set mine so it is just below the small of my back. Once you get the height right then you need to make some fine adjustments for level. You can either do this by sighting the horizon or with a small bubble level. Once the scarp piece is in the right location, you can use a pencil to trace the shrouds. This gives you a pattern to take home and make up the finished rails. I think mine are just shy of 2" thick and 3 or 3&1/2" high. When you cut the slots in the ends you do have to make an allowance for the serving. You want a nice snug fit around the shrouds and the slots need to be the proper depth so they fall in the right place as far as height is concerned. Basically you just fuss with it a bit until everything falls into the right place.

I would slide those rollers way up the shrouds and tape them in place until you figure out where you want your pin rails and then trim them to suit.

I think I cut 12" sections of round rod and drilled 4" into the handles. I wanted the metal to pass through the smaller part of the handles. The 8" pin seems to be plenty to pass through the rail and still have enough to get a few wraps around. I drilled the handles before I did any turning so I could just chuck up the pins and turn the handles after they had been epoxied in place.

These things add a tremendous amount of security when working at the mast, Steve.

[tjr818]

I have the pins made and I have a mock-up of the pinrail made. I am waiting for my tarred marlin and warm weather so I can serve the shrouds and do a test fit.

Belaying Pin.jpg

Lignum Vitae with 1/2" Brass Rod

Pinrail.jpg

This is a test piece, I am not going to use up my teak until I installed and tried this one for part of the season.

[Jim Walsh]

That looks fantastic, Tim. It amazes me just how talented some of the members are.

[Jim Cornwell]

That does look nice! I see one fastener through the rail. How's the rail going to clamp to the shrouds, exactly?

[tjr818]

Those fasteners are just for this prototype, they are there to hold the three plys together. The rails will be lashed on per the instructions from The Riggers Apprentice for lashing ratlines, page 268. The finished pinrail will be made of teak and laminated with epoxy and lashed together and lashed to the shrouds.