Endeavour rigging project
The replica of Endeavour is undergoing a major rope rigging renewal program.
The vessel carries nearly 30 km of handmade rope, hundreds of blocks, and complex standing and running rigging systems.
This is the ship’s most significant midlife rigging overhaul since 2010–11 and is essential for ongoing safety, performance, and historical integrity of the vessel.
"We cut our first shroud this week. Starting with the Fore Swifters.
I picked these shrouds first as they are short enough to stretch without needing turnbacks. This also allowed us to test the winch system without overloading it. We have collected an excellent amount of data about how Manila behaves under load"
Matt, update 6 February
Early February update
The construction stage of the new standing rigging for HMB Endeavour is well and truly underway. The last few weeks have been spent setting up the shed and building our processes for the stretching and tarring of the new Manila rope. We have turned a 100 year old empty warehouse into an 18th century rigging workshop.
The process for turning our raw Manila rope into functional rigging starts with measuring and cutting each component and stretching it at the required load for 24hrs. This has been possible with the use of Andrew's design for a winch and computer system, that allows us to set a target weight and maintain it for the duration of the stretch. The rope then soaks in a tar bath for a further 24hrs ensuring the Manila fibres become water proof. After this stage the rope can be worked on and made into the various components of Endeavour’s rig.
We have employed three locals, all with tall ship experience and are teaching them the intricacies of 18th century rigging. This has been a fundamental reason for bringing this project to Port Adelaide. The crew employed on this project will be able to go back to their various vessels and pass on the knowledge learnt here, keeping the traditional skills alive for future generations.
"The project is well and truly up and running. We now have a firm process for cutting, stretching and tarring the manila rope...
Once the rope is cut, we stretch for 24hrs, then into the tar bath for 24hrs and finally let it drain for at least 12hrs. We then can set up the manila at our rigging stations where they can be measured and worked upon. This includes worming, parcelling and serving as well as splicing the cable laid rope to form an eye. Seizings are then put on to set the eye at the required circumference."
Matt, update 13 February
Definitions
Worming - Using thinner rope or string to fill the channels between larger stands, protecting the rope and smoothing the surface ready for parcelling.
Parcelling - Wrapping the rope with overlapping strips of canvas.
Serving - A further layer of protection using tightly wrapped twine covering the line completely.
Late Feburary update
Today marks four weeks of continuous production of Endeavour’s standing rig. We have seven pairs of lower shrouds and two swifters nearing completion whilst also having manila cut, stretched and tarred at all times.
We started this project with an empty shed on the 19th of January and set to work designing and implementing the various processes needed to manufacture the numerous shrouds and stays for Endeavour.
Issues we have faced and overcome so far include having to rebuild the stretching winch and load cell computer, re spool kilometers of polyester to fit our mallets, cutting the roll of canvas into usable sizes for parceling and designing a system for stretching our long lengths of manila in the confines of the shed space.
On top of that we have three crewmembers with very basic rigging skills. Time has been invested in training these crewmembers to the standard required for completing this project. All three have learnt quickly and are now able to work independently.
This last week I have been working closely with Anthony and Mike to finalise the position of the deadeyes on the lower shrouds. This is important for two reasons. First and foremost, if the deadeyes are too close together then it limits how the rig can be tensioned and as the shrouds stretch over the years our ability to tension effectively reduces. Secondly, the line of deadeyes is one of the first things people notice when viewing the rig. Having the line follow the sheer of the ship is how these ships were rigged traditionally and is also aesthetically pleasing.
Unfortunately, the three strand polyester we use for serving and seizing arrived from the manufacturer in loose coils. Mario has designed a system that can spool a whole coil of 250m polyester in a few minutes. This has taken some time to implement but we are now up and running with it. By the end of this build I estimate we would have spooled approximately 20km of polyester.
Once the lower shrouds are completed, we will move onto the Fore and Main stays. These are Endeavour’s largest pieces and require us the pre stretch them to 5000kgs. I have ordered heavier slings and shackles to increase our safety factor when stretching.
The time spent during these last few weeks setting up our processes will speed up production as the work continues. As with any project but more so when building an 18th century rig, not all the answers are apparent at first because we don’t know all the questions. As we’ve progressed, we had worked out solutions to every issue faced and have recorded our findings. This data will be invaluable in future rigging projects not only for Endeavour but other traditionally rigged vessels.
Matt Daaboul (Lead Rigger)
"Last week we cut and stretched our final lower shrouds for the Fore and Main. We still have about four lowers to serve and seize but should get through them this week."
Matt, update 16 March
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“There’s a lot of work, especially in the rigging. There is no other means of constructing the rigging other than doing it the old traditional way, which has been unchanged for 250 years.”
Master Anthony Longhurst
