Hina: We Built A Live-on Boat For $300! Part II

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RIGGING: Once the boat is all put together, you face the delicate task of rigging the sails. Here's how we rigged Hina:

Most ships use either, a slotted mast or a metal track to hold the mainsail to its support. Both methods are costly and subject to sudden jamming. So, we went back to the 1800's and adapted an old-time common lashing technique for holding our sail. It was inexpensive and simple and worked well. It never jammed on us. For strength and safety's sake, you might note, we put grommets in the sail's lashing holes.

The jib sail runs 'along a rope which is held to the mast by a chain repair link which cost all of 25 cents.

The sail lashing also functioned as a downhaul, holding the leading edge of the mainsail taut. In addition, this diagram shows the boom, which was simply a 2 X 2 lashed to the mast.

We used the following sails:

MAIN: "Widgeon" class dinghy
JIB: "Rhodes 19"

A good Genoa jib for the Hina would be the "INT. 14". But it will cost close to $100. For used sails, write to Bacon & Associates, 528 2nd St., Annapolis, Md. 21403.

At deck level, the stays were fastened by adjustable lanyards and eyes. This effective, ancient attachment method cost only about $2.00 for all the stays on the boat, which was a savings of about $50.00 over common turnbuckles. The chain plate shown here—which connected the lanyards to the hull—can also be seen in position at the upper left end of the diagram (already shown) illustrating the mast and ballast keel.

Our mast stays were held in place at the top by "hounds". We carved these from smallish wood scraps. Make sure all sharp edges are sanded down to protect the rope.

Instead of using pulleys to raise and lower our sails'
ropes, called "halyards", we made simple guides that
proved quite satisfactory.

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