Remember when I told you that
Paul Miller offered to make some deadeyes for
Saga?
The man is good as his word.
These lovely carvings have a way to go before they become rigging, but I had to show them off. They are turned from some
Black Locust wood Paul had left over from making his own deadeyes.
As you can see, each piece is essentially a triple block. The whole assembly provides a three-to-one tackle for setting shroud tension. One block has a half-round groove 3/8" wide and is spliced directly to the shroud wire, which is typically wormed, parceled and served.*
The blocks work in pairs, with the other end strapped to a chainplate. This second block has a groove cut in it's circumference 5/8" wide and will require a custom made bronze strap.
It may be awhile before
Saga's deadeyes look as bristol as those on
Paul's Friendship.
First, the finish. Paul applied one coat of Cetol, his favorite, to my new deadeyes.
Hervey Garret Smith has been known to say, "Deadeyes and lanyards are seen but seldom nowadays, having been supplanted by the more easily obtained turnbuckles. Deadeyes have long since disappeared from the marine hardware catalogs and are obtainable only on special order, if at all. Yachtsmen wishing to convert to the old fashioned rig will probably make their own..."
* From the
DoryMan Glossary:
Worm, Parcel and Serve – To protect a section of rope or wire from chafing by laying yarns (worming) to fill in the cuntlines, wrapping canvas along the length (parceling) and seizing marline or other small stuff around it (serving).
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