Winding up the gear

November 2019

Raybel's main and top masts are now raised.  On a sailing barge the masts, sprit, wire rigging, sails etc. are traditionally referred to simply as 'gear'. Rigging a barge takes skill and careful work and, when all is ready, the sheer physical grunt of four people to turn the winch on the bow - the windlass - which winds the gear up until it's vertical.  Many thanks to our friends building the skatepark who offered muscle at just the right time.

To pass under the low bridge of Milton Creek the gear had been lowered almost flat on the hatches. So first the main and top masts had to be lifted back onto the 9' high mast prop by bargemen Ian Ruffles and Mr Shiner. As Raybel has been kept under cover for eight years much of the topmast and running rigging has been stored below decks and had to be heaved up and into place.

The heavy wire standing rigging was made over 10 years ago in the forecastle of Cutty Sark by rigger Ian Bell and was collected just before the terrible fire of 2007. The top mast rigging was spliced at Chatham Dockyard by ex PLA rigger John Barber who generously carried out much of the work at greatly reduced price. Raybel also has a new mains'l, finished about 8 years ago by now retired sail-maker Mike Putt, and rigged now for the very first time. We wanted Raybel to look as splendid as possible for our open-day event on 30th November but also the gear has to be carefully set up to enable accurate measurements to be taken for new top and fore sails. When restoration of the hull begins in earnest all the spars will be lifted ashore out of the way, so this is our window of opportunity.

We are fortunate that the steel main mast and wooden topmast, both made by shipwright Tim Goldsack, are also relatively new and in very good order. With reference to early photographs it was possible to accurately determine the original sail plan and everything has been carefully made to those dimensions... although the topmast may be just a trifle more lofty!