The Complete Rigger's Apprentice: Tools and Techniques for Modern and Traditional Rigging (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Welcome. This apprenticeship begins with a few of the basic artifacts, principles, and procedures that define and make possible the art of rigging..." (more)
Key Phrases: primary halyard, boomkin shrouds, thimble length, Sheet Bend, Turk's Head, Matthew Walker (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A masterpiece on the subject of rigging." -- Sailing

Review

``A masterpiece on the subject of rigging.'' (Sailing )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070648409
• ISBN-13: 978-0070648401
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #181,015 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as it ought to be, May 12, 1999

By A Customer

Brion Toss is a demi-god among modern riggers -- not only a master rigger but someone who, judging by his TV appearances and classes, can also teach and explain. I bought this book expecting it to be a lucid compendium of everything one might want to know about rigging. It falls short.

1. Many of the illustrations and explanations are difficult to understand. There's a difference between artistic illustration (which is used in the book) and good technical illustration (which it should have). There's also a looseness with written explanation, eg, "bring it up even with the mark" where it's not clear which "it" is meant.

2. The book is fraught with typos. For example, Fig 4-15C shows a braided core buried for "4 rope diameters" when it should be 14 (the text has it right). Someone who has done eye splices in braid (like myself) and is using the book as a refresher would probably follow the figures rather than the text -- and get hurt. In another place, 8mm line is referred to as "1/16 inch" when it should be 5/16.

3. The eye splice for standard braid can be done as described only by using Brion's proprietary Splicing Wand. Not only is this a $50 item, but it can't be used with 1/4" or smaller braid (which I do have some of on my boat). I would have expected someone of Brion's stature to tell how to do a splice using a Uni-fid (or regular Samson fids) and then "here's how it's easier with my wand if you want to buy one."

4. Tables for things like sheet and halyard loadings are published without comment (and, in fact, contradictory data is given between Fig 2-1 and the Lewmar data in the Appendix -- almost a 2:1 difference in mainsheet loading for a 35' boat!). I would certainly thing someone of the author's experience would have his own opinions about these vital numbers.

Shortly after I bought the book I decided to completely replace all the running rigging on my 36' boat. While I had New England Rope's instructions, I turned to this book for a second opinion on how to splice ordinary braid, StaySet-X, and T-900 (this experience obviously colors my feelings about the book). After experiencing the difficulties I reported above, I discovered my local library had Barbara Merry's (out of print) Splicing Handbook. While the latter doesn't have some of Brion's exotics like the Mobius Brummel splice, what it does cover is how this book should have done it.

Will I keep this book? Yes. Will I refer to it? Yes. Do I think it provides one-stop shopping for everything I ever wanted to know about rigging? No. The next time I want to do some rigging work will I go to other books for alternate views rather than implicitly trusting this book? Absolutely.

51 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars there is more to rigging a sailboat than knots!, December 15, 1999

By	T. Oneill "kiss" (Chesapeake Bay) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you want to impress your friends with rope and knot tricks buy this book. If you were looking for a book that would actually assist you in rigging a sailboat ,save your money. Where is the info on standing rigging?,wooden spars sailtracks, spreader placement ,masts head configuration, boom vangs etc not in this book. This is just another book for armchair sailors with very little for the average sailor trying to build, modify, improve or just maintain their sailboat.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only thing like it for traditional craft, December 4, 2003

By	Ryan McNabb (Ooltewah, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Brion Toss has become "da man" in modern rigging in many ways, and a lot of that is attributable to this great book. It's a big, thick thing, loaded with information, not all of it easily absorbed on the first read. It's meant to give you a firm grounding in what rigging is, what it does, and how to inspect and maintain your own rig, how to adjust it, how to replace worn sections. Will it tell you everything you need to know to design a rig from the ground up on a serious racing yacht? Heck, no. It isn't meant to. What this book does is give you the tools you need to approach your own rig without fear and trembling - to realize that, after all, it's just a bunch of parts, and that you can comprehend and work with those parts, understand their roles, and get the most from your boat. Will you be forever independant of professional riggers? Probably not. But it goes a long way toward making that a realizable goal, if you apply yourself. And it should be known that this book is especially strong on traditional rigs, the more traditional the better. You'll learn how to worm, parcel, and serve, how to lace deadeyes, and why galvanized is great and stainless isn't stainless. And if that last sentence frightens you, you're probably not in the intended demographic. Rod rigging and carbon fiber masts are mentioned, at best, in passing, and largely for comic relief. Keep that in mind. Makes an absolutely perfect companion to Marino's "Sailmaker's Apprentice."