Wire rope, thimbles & turnbuckles
A mast should not be trimmed stiff. In practice, the standing rigging requires a certain degree of flexibility. Stainless steel wire rope combines high strength with low stretching and sufficient flexibility. Galvanized wire rope is a little less strong for the same diameter, but has less tendency to stiffen and clearly shows warning signs of corrosion and weakening. On traditional ships, wire ends are fitted with spliced or pressed thimbles. In the yacht sector, terminals in the form of fork terminals or eye terminals are more commonly used. A cone with …
