Rigging glossary
Every rigging, rope, splicing and hardware term we use, and the classes we rig, in plain words. Terms elsewhere on the site link here.
B
- Bail
- Also: crown
- The closed, rounded end of a shackle that the rope's eye goes round. On a halyard shackle the eye is spliced or luggage-tagged onto the bail; the pin or snap end clips to the sail.
- See also: Shackle, Luggage tag, Eye splice
- Breaking load
- Also: breaking strength
- The load at which new rope breaks in a laboratory pull test, given in kilograms. It is not a safe working load: knots, splices, small sheaves, chafe, sunlight and age all reduce what a rope can hold.
- See also: Working load, Safety factor
- Bury
- The part of a splice where the rope's tail is pushed back inside the rope itself, so the splice holds by friction along its length. A longer bury holds better; the loft locks it with a lock stitch.
- See also: Eye splice, Lock stitch, Throat
C
- C&C 99
- A 32 ft 6 in racer-cruiser designed by Tim Jackett and built by C&C Yachts from 2002, raced as a one-design fleet.
- Hardware and rigging for the C&C 99
- C&C 115
- A 37 ft 9 in racer-cruiser designed by Tim Jackett and built by C&C Yachts from 2005.
- Hardware and rigging for the C&C 115
- C420
- Also: Club 420
- The Club 420: a two-person, 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) planing dinghy with a spinnaker and a trapeze for the crew, sailed widely in high school and junior racing.
- Hardware and rigging for the C420
- Cape Fear 38
- A 38-foot fractional-rigged sport cruiser designed by Bruce Marek and built by Cape Fear Yacht Works in North Carolina from 2001. Built to one standard design, though not a formal one-design class.
- Hardware and rigging for the Cape Fear 38
- Captive pin shackle
- Also: captive shackle
- A shackle whose pin is held in the shackle body, so it cannot be dropped overboard or lost aloft. Harken's 2107 is a captive pin halyard shackle.
- See also: Shackle, Twist shackle, Long opening shackle
- Class line
- Also: class length, class standard
- The rope, diameter and length a class's sailors normally use for a given job, such as a J/70 main halyard. The halyard builder starts from the class line when you pick your boat.
- See also: Halyard, Diameter
- Cleat
- A fitting that holds a line by friction or by jamming it in a groove, so it can be made fast without a knot.
- See also: Clutch, Jammer
- Clutch
- A lever-operated jammer on deck that holds a halyard or control line under load and releases it at the flick of a handle. Clutches wear the rope's cover, so the section that sits in a clutch should keep its cover.
- See also: Jammer, Cover, Strip
- Control line
- A line that adjusts sail shape or trim rather than hoisting or sheeting a sail, such as a cunningham, outhaul, vang or backstay.
- See also: Running rigging
- Core
- The inner braid of a double-braid rope. In modern racing rope the core carries most of the load; in Lion Sailing rope it is LS ApexCore, a high-modulus fibre.
- See also: Cover, Double braid, Exposed core
- Cover
- Also: sheath, jacket
- The outer braid of a double-braid rope. It protects the core from chafe, sunlight and clutch wear, and gives the rope its grip and colour.
- See also: Core, Double braid, Cover sleeve
- Cover sleeve
- Also: dyneema cover, kevlar cover, added cover
- An extra braided cover added over part of a line, usually the part that runs through clutches or round winches, for grip and chafe protection. On this site you can add a Dyneema or Kevlar cover over a chosen length from End B, running through the eye. A sleeve adds grip; it does not make the line stronger.
- See also: Cover, Strip, End B
- Cut end
- Also: cut
- An end finished with a heat-sealed cut only: the fibres are melted together so they do not fray. It is the simplest end and the easiest to reeve through a mast, but it can still fray in use.
- See also: Whipping, End A, Heat-sealed cut
D
- Diameter
- Also: rope diameter
- The thickness of a rope, in millimetres. It has to suit your sheaves, clutches and winches as well as the load; the builder limits diameters to the range your class uses.
- See also: Class line, Sheave
- Double braid
- Also: kernmantel
- A rope made of a braided core inside a separate braided cover. Most halyards and sheets are double braid. Compare single braid.
- See also: Core, Cover, Single braid
E
- End A
- The end of a halyard that comes down to the deck: it runs to the clutch, cleat or winch, so it is usually whipped rather than spliced.
- See also: End B, Whipping, Whipped eye
- End B
- The working end of a halyard, at the head of the sail: usually an eye splice with a shackle, a luggage tag or a pigtail.
- See also: End A, Eye splice, Luggage tag, Pigtail
- Endless rope
- Also: endless loop, end-to-end splice, continuous line
- A rope loop with no ends, made by splicing one end into the other. Used for continuous furling lines, which run round a drum and back without ever reaching an end.
- See also: Splice, Furling line
- Exposed core
- Also: core exposed, stripped core
- A double-braid rope with its cover removed over part of its length, so only the core remains. It saves weight and windage aloft; the bare core has no protection from chafe or sunlight. Also called a strip.
- See also: Strip, Core, Eye splice without cover
- Eye splice
- Also: eye, spliced eye
- A permanent loop made in the end of a rope by passing the end back into the rope (the bury), with no knot. A proper eye splice keeps most of the rope's strength; a knot can lose half of it.
- See also: Bury, Throat, Lock stitch, Eye splice with cover, Eye splice without cover
- Eye splice with cover
- Also: covered eye, cover kept over the eye
- An eye splice in double-braid rope where the cover is kept over the eye, so the loop is protected from chafe on the shackle or sail. The loft's standard eye on covered rope.
- See also: Eye splice, Eye splice without cover, Cover
- Eye splice without cover
- Also: core eye, bare eye
- An eye splice where the cover is stripped from the eye so the loop is bare core: smaller, lighter and more flexible through a tight shackle bail, with less chafe protection.
- See also: Eye splice, Eye splice with cover, Exposed core
F
- Fid
- A tapered tool, hollow or solid, used to open a braid and pull the rope's end through it when splicing.
- See also: Splice, Bury
- FJ
- Also: Flying Junior, International FJ
- The International FJ, or Flying Junior: a 13-foot two-person racing dinghy designed in 1955 by Uus Van Essen and Conrad Gülcher, long a mainstay of college sailing.
- Hardware and rigging for the FJ
- Flemish eye
- Also: flemish splice
- An eye made without a full splice: the end is opened up or laid back along itself and the join is bound tightly with whipping or stitching. Quick and compact, but weaker than a proper eye splice. The loft makes spliced eyes on halyards.
- See also: Eye splice, Whipping
- Furling line
- Also: continuous furling line
- The line that turns a furler's drum to roll a sail away. A continuous furling line is an endless rope.
- See also: Endless rope
G
- Gennaker halyard
- Also: asymmetric halyard
- The halyard that hoists a gennaker or asymmetric spinnaker. It is usually finished with a snap shackle so the sail can be released under load.
- See also: Halyard, Snap shackle, Spinnaker halyard
H
- Halyard
- Also: halyards, halliard
- A line that hoists a sail up the mast: main halyard, jib halyard and spinnaker or gennaker halyard. One end (End B) attaches to the head of the sail; the other (End A) comes down to the deck.
- See also: Main halyard, Jib halyard, Gennaker halyard, End A, End B
- Heat-sealed cut
- See cut end. The rope is cut with a hot knife so the fibres melt together and do not fray.
- See also: Cut end
- Hoisting tail
- Also: halyard tail
- A separate length of line spliced to a wire or strop part of a halyard, or the part of a two-part halyard that runs to the deck. On the J/70 jib halyard, the hoisting tail runs from the working strop to the deck.
- See also: Strop, Jib halyard
- HT polyester
- Also: ht poly, polyester
- High-tenacity polyester: a hard-wearing, UV-resistant fibre with more stretch than high-modulus fibres, used in rope covers and cruising ropes.
- See also: Cover
I
- Ideal 18
- An 18-foot one-design keelboat designed by Bruce Kirby and first built in 1989; stable and simple to sail, it is a favourite of community sailing programmes.
- Hardware and rigging for the Ideal 18
J
- J/24
- A 24-foot one-design keelboat designed by Rod Johnstone in 1977, and one of the most widely sailed keelboat classes in the world.
- Hardware and rigging for the J/24
- J/35
- A 35 ft 6 in racer-cruiser designed by Rod Johnstone; 330 were built between 1983 and 1992, and the class still races as a one-design.
- Hardware and rigging for the J/35
- J/70
- A 22 ft 9 in (6.93 m) one-design sportboat designed by Rod Johnstone and launched by J/Boats in 2012, with a lifting keel and an asymmetric spinnaker; one of the largest one-design keelboat classes.
- Hardware and rigging for the J/70
- J/80
- A 26-foot one-design sportboat designed by Rod Johnstone and introduced in 1993, with an asymmetric spinnaker set from a retractable bowsprit.
- Hardware and rigging for the J/80
- J/88
- A 29-foot one-design sportboat from J/Boats, introduced in 2013, with a small cabin and an asymmetric spinnaker.
- Hardware and rigging for the J/88
- J/92
- A 29 ft 11 in fractional-rigged sportboat designed by Rod Johnstone; J/Boats built 150 between 1992 and 2003.
- Hardware and rigging for the J/92
- J/100
- A 32 ft 8 in daysailer with a carbon rig, designed by Rod Johnstone and built by J/Boats from 2005 to 2010.
- Hardware and rigging for the J/100
- J/109
- A 35-foot racer-cruiser from J/Boats with an asymmetric spinnaker on a retractable sprit, raced as a one-design class.
- Hardware and rigging for the J/109
- J/111
- A 36-foot one-design sportboat from J/Boats, introduced in 2010, with an asymmetric spinnaker.
- Hardware and rigging for the J/111
K
- Kevlar
- Also: aramid
- An aramid fibre: strong, low stretch and heat resistant, used in covers and cover sleeves for grip and chafe resistance.
- See also: Cover sleeve, Technora
L
- Lock stitch
- Also: locking stitch
- Stitching sewn lengthwise through a splice's bury so the bury cannot slide out when the line is slack. The loft sews it in a thread that contrasts with the rope.
- See also: Bury, Eye splice
- Loft
- Also: rigging loft
- The rigging loft: the workshop where Lion Sailing's riggers cut, splice and whip rope to order.
- See also: Loft splicing quote, Splice
- Loft splicing quote
- Also: splicing quote
- After you order a halyard with spliced ends, the loft prices the splicing and emails a payment link within one business day. The halyard ships once the splicing is paid.
- See also: Loft, Splice
- Long opening shackle
- A shackle with a wider opening, for a thick headboard, tack ring or two parts at once. Harken's 2106 is one.
- See also: Shackle, Captive pin shackle
- Luggage tag
- Also: cow hitch, lark's head, girth hitch
- A way of attaching a spliced eye to a shackle or ring without a pin: the eye goes through the shackle's bail and the shackle is passed back through the eye, so the eye cinches round the bail in a cow hitch. Neat and secure, with no metal on the rope.
- See also: Eye splice, Bail, End B
M
- Main halyard
- The halyard that hoists the mainsail. It carries high static load, so it is made from low-stretch rope.
- See also: Halyard, End B
- Mainsheet
- The line that trims the mainsail, usually through a block system on the boom and traveller.
- See also: Sheet, Traveler
- Melges 15
- A 15-foot two-person dinghy designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by Melges Performance Sailboats since 2020, raced as a one-design and used as a sail trainer.
- Hardware and rigging for the Melges 15
- Minimum advertised price
- Also: map
- The lowest price a manufacturer lets its dealers show. Harken parts on this site are listed at Harken's minimum advertised price (MAP).
O
- Opti
- Also: Optimist
- The Optimist: a 7 ft 9 in single-handed dinghy for sailors up to 15, designed by Clark Mills in 1947; the boat most young sailors learn to race in.
- Hardware and rigging for the Opti
P
R
- Rhodes 19
- A 19-foot keelboat designed by Philip Rhodes, raced as a one-design by fleets on both US coasts since the late 1950s.
- Hardware and rigging for the Rhodes 19
- Running rigging
- All the lines that move: halyards, sheets and control lines. Standing rigging (shrouds and stays) holds the mast up.
- See also: Halyard, Sheet, Control line
S
- Safety factor
- The margin between the load a line meets in use and its breaking load. A common rule for running rigging is a working load of no more than one fifth of the breaking load.
- See also: Breaking load, Working load
- Shackle
- A metal fitting that joins a line to a sail, block or fitting. Halyard shackles are captive pin, twist, long opening or snap shackles.
- See also: Bail, Captive pin shackle, Snap shackle, Twist shackle, Long opening shackle
- Sheave
- Also: sheaves
- The grooved wheel in a block or at the masthead that a line runs over. A sheave too small for the rope weakens and wears it.
- See also: Diameter
- Sheet
- Also: sheets
- A line that trims a sail from its clew: mainsheet, jib sheet, spinnaker sheet.
- See also: Mainsheet, Jib sheet, Clew
- Simple whipping
- Also: common whipping, plain whipping
- Turns of twine wound round the end with both ends of the twine tucked under the turns. Quick to make, but it can slide off a slippery modern rope in use.
- See also: Whipping, Stitched whipping
- Single braid
- Also: 12-strand, 12-fach geflochten
- A rope made of one braid with no separate cover, often 12 strands. Light and easy to splice, but with no cover to protect it or to strip. LS Garda is a single braid.
- See also: Double braid, Strip
- Snap shackle
- A shackle that opens with a pull on a trip cord, even under load. Used on gennaker and spinnaker halyards so the sail can be dropped quickly.
- See also: Shackle, Gennaker halyard, Spinnaker halyard
- Spinnaker halyard
- The halyard that hoists a symmetric spinnaker; usually finished with a snap shackle.
- See also: Halyard, Snap shackle, Gennaker halyard
- Splice
- Also: spliced, splicing
- A join or eye made by weaving or burying rope into itself instead of tying a knot. Splices keep far more of a rope's strength than knots.
- See also: Eye splice, Bury, Endless rope, Loft
- Stitched whipping
- Also: sewn whipping, sailmaker's whipping, palm and needle whipping
- Twine wound round the end and then sewn through the rope, with frapping turns along the rope between the stitches, so it cannot slide off. Also called a sailmaker's or sewn whipping; the loft's standard on halyards.
- See also: Whipping, Simple whipping
- Strip
- Also: stripped, cover strip, strip the cover
- Removing a double-braid rope's cover over a chosen length, leaving exposed core. On this site a strip runs from End B, through the eye; keep stripped sections out of clutches and self-tailers.
- See also: Exposed core, Cover sleeve, Single braid
- Strop
- Also: working strop
- A short length of line, often spliced into a loop, used to attach or extend a fitting. On the J/70 the working strop is the short upper part of the jib halyard.
- See also: Hoisting tail, Jib halyard
T
- Tack line
- The line that pulls an asymmetric spinnaker's tack down to the bowsprit, or adjusts a jib's tack height.
- See also: Control line, Clew
- Technora
- An aramid fibre related to Kevlar, with very good heat and abrasion resistance; used in the covers of LS Palma and LS Rio.
- See also: Kevlar, Cover
- Throat
- The point where an eye splice's two legs meet the line, at the start of the eye. The loft closes it with a few turns of twine, the throat whipping.
- See also: Throat whipping, Eye splice, Bury
- Throat whipping
- A few tight turns of waxed twine round the throat of an eye splice, so the eye does not open up and the splice stays neat.
- See also: Throat, Whipping
- Traveler
- Also: traveller
- A track and car across the boat that sets the mainsheet's position; the traveler lines move the car.
- See also: Mainsheet, Control line
- Twist shackle
- A shackle whose crown is turned 90 degrees, so it lies flat against the eye or sail; light and low profile. Harken's 2105 is one.
- See also: Shackle, Captive pin shackle
U
- UV treatment
- Also: uv treated
- A coating or fibre treatment that slows damage from sunlight. It extends a rope's life but does not stop UV damage.
- See also: Core, Cover
V
W
- Whipped eye
- A small eye at End A made by folding the end back and whipping it, handy for pulling the halyard through the mast or tying on a messenger line.
- See also: End A, Whipping
- Whipping
- Also: whipped
- Twine wound tightly round a rope's end so it cannot fray or unlay. There are two kinds, simple whipping and stitched whipping; the loft uses stitched whipping on halyards.
- See also: Simple whipping, Stitched whipping, End A, Throat whipping
- Working load
- Also: safe working load, working load limit
- The load a line or fitting is meant to carry in normal use: well below its breaking load. Harken publishes working loads for its hardware.
- See also: Breaking load, Safety factor
X
- X-332
- A 33-foot racer-cruiser designed by Niels Jeppesen and built by X-Yachts in Denmark from 1994 to 2005; 432 were built.
- Hardware and rigging for the X-332
- XR-41
- Also: XR 41
- X-Yachts' XR 41: a 41 ft 10 in racer launched in 2025 and optimised for ORC racing. It is not a strict one-design: keel, rig and sail plan can vary.
- Hardware and rigging for the XR-41