spars should be hollow on 20-footers and all in excess of that class. The standing rigging should be of silver-steel wire, set up by turnbuckles. The blocks should be strong and light, and the running rigging of the best quality. There should not be a superfluous ounce of weight in the craft alow or aloft if the winning of cups is what the owner has in view.
Rigging screws or turnbuckles, which have superseded deadeyes and lanyards for the setting up of standing rigging, were first used in 1877 on the English cutter Verve. They are used now on all racing yachts.
In the old days of reefing bowsprits it was quite a usual event to carry away several bobstays during the season. The long overhang forward of the modern yacht has reduced the length of the bowsprit, and consequently the strain on the spar when pitching into a heavy head sea. The overhang also gives better facilities for handling the head-sails.
Flexible silver-steel wire rope is now used for running rigging in many yachts, notably for runners and runner tackles, and also for peak and throat halyards.
The best spars for large yachts are made of Oregon fir. This splendid wood is the best in the world for the purpose. Some spars have been known to measure nearly 40 inches in diameter, and some 172 feet long; the average length of spars shipped to Atlantic ports
