Rigging

Fortuna II’s mizzen mast was rotten and a new one was made up (not a major task given its size!).

When delivering the boat from Exeter the owner and I both noticed that moving forward along the side deck either involved crawling under the mizzen shrouds or climbing out on the bulwark capping and swinging outboard to clear the shrouds. This was a pretty silly arrangement so we agreed to move the mizzen chainplates from the deck edge to the top of the wheelhouse roof. This of course, meant some structural changes to the wheelhouse to take the loads. However, given that the mizzen tabernacle was located above the wheelhouse door, with no compression post to take the load, we could be satisfied that our arrangements for the re-located chainplates would not be the first point at which the rig failed. We did, of course, also reinforce the supports for the mizzen tabernacle.

New mizzen chainplates

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Bronze straps inside the wheelhouse to transfer rig loads down to the carlins

With a new bronze mizzen tabernacle (from ebay) we managed to arrange that the main and mizzen masts both dropped in opposing directions and (just) cleared each other.

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New standing rigging and running rigging was made up and fitted by Lee Rogers. Hand spliced stainless steel wire on thimbles are deck level attached to salvaged bronze rigging screws.

Test fit of the mizzen shrouds

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Guardrail wires with cast bronze thimbles. rig-6

Mizzen control lines

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The control lines for the mizzen (halyard, downhaul, topping lift & lazyjacks) were all led to the side of the wheelhouse roof so that the mizzen could be raised and lowered without climbing on to the roof. Note that the mast cabling exists from the wheelhouse via a swan neck. The cables were later leathered as far as the mast where they are then concealed in white trunking (just visible in the photo above) as they lead up the mast.

New sails from James Laurence completed the picture

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