Elaine Bunting's blog
Web log entry dated 6 November 2008
Niggling rigging trouble
Alex Thomson's Hugo Boss is back in the water looking pristine after repairs to the gaping hole he suffered in a massive 8-knot collision with a fishing boat two weeks ago. However, there are still some worries on board.
As we reported here Thomson was disheartened yesterday after a day's sail trials to discover that the main halyard had chafed.
That's fixed now. Pity Thomson's shore team with the glamorous job of running the mousing line back and forth for 15 hours throughout the night!
But something that will be less easy to fix is stretch in the PBO rigging. Unlike metal rigging which has rigging screws for adjustment, modern textile rigging is just like classic yacht rigging: all done with blocks and lashings.
Once set up, there's no way of adjusting it except to re-do the lashings, something that needs to be done at the dockside. The problem is there isn't enough time to properly bed in the rigging.
Elaine Bunting
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