Marlinspike Seamanship
By Ted Walsh
Wire Pulling Grips
With rigging season right around the corner it seems
like a good time to mention a slightly obscure rigging tool.
A wire-pulling grip, sometimes called just a wire grip, or
a Haven grip, is a cam device for quickly locking on to a
wire cable so that it can be pulled.
If you set up your own shrouds this is one of those
simple tools that can save you a lot of time. We keep one
in our rigging bag and use it primarily at the beginning of
the season. There are times when you need to pull on a line
or a stay, for example, but leave the end of the line or stay
free so it can be secured. A wire grip allows you to quickly
grab a stay, shroud, or even a line, give you a purchase to
haul on it so that the bitter end can be brought to the correct
place.
Another use for this grip is in
bowsing the deadeye pennants.
Wire grips, or Haven grips
can be found at some big-box
stores like Home Depot, and
at suppliers for arborists. They
are not very expensive but can
save you a lot of time setting up
shrouds.
For example: The mast on our boat has a tendency
to lean aft just after it has been stepped. That means
that the main stay will not reach the turnbuckle to
which it is supposed to attach. The wire grip allows
us to grab the stay, attach a tackle to haul on the stay
until the eye reaches the turnbuckle on the stem.
