Syren Driver Syren is set up to with the four different driver configurations shown.

Semi-prototypical rigging is used to make fairly quick adjustments to achieve the full, triced-, and furled . The reefed sail is a separate sail marled onto a separate, dedicated gaff. The rigging adjustments can be discussed in three groups – sail rigging, rigging, and the reefed driver/gaff changeover. First, the main rigging components are shown generally:

The sail rigging used to make the R/C configurations are the driver (or outhaul), tack tackle, tack tricing line, brails and reef-points. The driver sail- related rigging is shown in Fig.1.

Numerous spar rigging lines need to be adjustable to make the full, triced and furled sailed configurations. The spar rigging is shown in Fig.2.

A different approach is used for the reefed driver/gaff changeover. Since scale- looking reefing would be hard to achieve on the model-mounted driver, a separate reefed driver was made. It is marled to its own gaff. The complete reefed sail/gaff assembly is simple changed-out with the unreefed full driver and gaff. The snow lifts up and out to allow the sail hoops to slide off. Figure 3 shows the rigging adjustments made to mount the reefed driver.

Explanation of Semi-Prototypical Rigging Use With no crew on board, and in order to keep manual adjustments somewhat simple, the rigging is set up with some creative license. In Figure 1, the driver outhaul, tack tackle and tack tricing line are pretty much set up prototypically. The driver outhaul is cleated-off on the . The tack rigging is pinned on the mainmast pinrail. The brails, however, are not prototypically rigged. Each brail is attached on the starboard side of the sail, run freely through its (vs being tied-off there), and threaded through a brail on the port side of the sail. The brail ends after the block, with an end-knot keeping it from slipping back out of the block. To take-in the sail, the knotted end of the brail is pulled, and since it slides through the cringle, it shortens on both port and starboard. When pulled in, the free length of the brail is then used to wrap and hold the sail in place. The spar rigging shown in Figure 2 is used primarily to control the extent travel of the boom and gaff during R/C sailing, and to help keep the shape of the driver. The peak lift and halliard are used to adjust height and angle of the gaff, and to “hang” the driver. Rigging is prototypical. The gaff vangs and pendant are added for prototypical appearance. But since no crew is available to trim the vangs when the gaff crosses port-to-starboard, it is rigged to self-adjust tension: the pendant is continuous through a hook in the top of the gaff and it slides freely P to S. Rather than let gaff contact with the main backstays limit the gaff travel, the vang lengths are adjusted to just let the gaff touch the P &S backstays. An added benefit of this vang adjustment, which also pulls downward on the gaff, is that the tip of the gaff can’t rise up as it rotates. That, in turn, keeps the driver sail peak and leech and driver boom from lifting upward. The gaff throat tackle and halliard are adjusted prototypically to keep the driver taught and to allow lowering of the gaff when the reefed driver/gaff assembly is used. The driver boom rigging deviates from prototypical rigging. The driver boom would typically have a boom sheet and boom vangs. To keep a similar “look”, but to have R/C function, port and starboard boom sheets are used, each with a block mounted under the boom. The doubled lines do not move through the blocks. Each set is pulled as one, through a in the deck, by the driver servo. The details of how this works to allow free, wind controlled boom travel are covered separately. There are two topping lifts, one on each side of the sail. The lifts are rigged through blocks beneath the main top. Since the blocks are separated (not on center), one lift tightens and the other loosens as the boom rotates. This needs to be automatically corrected. Since the prototype has spans on the lifts, a single, continuous P to S lift span is set up to “trolley” through an eye under the boom. As tension increases on one lift, it pulls the span, which in turn pulls on the opposite lift which is loosening. This allows boom rotation without tip lift and allows the leeward lift to “belly” out with the sail. Figure 3 shows the gaff lowered for the size of the reefed driver. Various rigging adjustments are as explained above.

Syren Pictures Showing Further Driver Rigging Detail

Triced Driver Tack – “Hitched Skirt”

Reefed Driver