Rigging Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Sailboat Rigging
From YouTube’s popular Rigging Doctor channel, The Rigging Handbook is an introductory to mid-level book intended for boat owners, sailors, and cruisers who want to better understand how their masts and sails work.

Part I covers the function of rigging on a sailboat and a general overview of common rig designs—with a focus on single-masted sloops and cutters, and two-masted ketches, yawls, and schooners—as well as the slight nuances between them. Chapters then progress to introducing the parts of standing rigging (the parts that hold the mast up) and running rigging (the parts that hold the sails), the function of each piece, and a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of all rigging materials, including hemp, galvanized steel, stainless steel, titanium and aluminum, and Dyneema (synthetic).

Part II discusses how to evaluate, tune, repair, and replace rigging. Chapters cover in detail what happens when rigging parts fail or reach the end of their serviceable life, including from corrosion, cracks, and UV damage. Learn how to perform a rig survey and what to consider when it comes to the wear and tear that happens with time, distance, and use and abuse. The final chapters discuss the basics of replacing standing and running rigging—including set up and tuning—and the advantages of steel versus synthetic and polyester versus more modern fibers, enabling readers to make an informed decision as to what grade of equipment to use to outfit their boats.
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Rigging Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Sailboat Rigging
From YouTube’s popular Rigging Doctor channel, The Rigging Handbook is an introductory to mid-level book intended for boat owners, sailors, and cruisers who want to better understand how their masts and sails work.

Part I covers the function of rigging on a sailboat and a general overview of common rig designs—with a focus on single-masted sloops and cutters, and two-masted ketches, yawls, and schooners—as well as the slight nuances between them. Chapters then progress to introducing the parts of standing rigging (the parts that hold the mast up) and running rigging (the parts that hold the sails), the function of each piece, and a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of all rigging materials, including hemp, galvanized steel, stainless steel, titanium and aluminum, and Dyneema (synthetic).

Part II discusses how to evaluate, tune, repair, and replace rigging. Chapters cover in detail what happens when rigging parts fail or reach the end of their serviceable life, including from corrosion, cracks, and UV damage. Learn how to perform a rig survey and what to consider when it comes to the wear and tear that happens with time, distance, and use and abuse. The final chapters discuss the basics of replacing standing and running rigging—including set up and tuning—and the advantages of steel versus synthetic and polyester versus more modern fibers, enabling readers to make an informed decision as to what grade of equipment to use to outfit their boats.
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Rigging Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Sailboat Rigging

Rigging Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Sailboat Rigging

Rigging Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Sailboat Rigging

Rigging Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Sailboat Rigging

Paperback

$39.95 
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    Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on March 3, 2026

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Overview

From YouTube’s popular Rigging Doctor channel, The Rigging Handbook is an introductory to mid-level book intended for boat owners, sailors, and cruisers who want to better understand how their masts and sails work.

Part I covers the function of rigging on a sailboat and a general overview of common rig designs—with a focus on single-masted sloops and cutters, and two-masted ketches, yawls, and schooners—as well as the slight nuances between them. Chapters then progress to introducing the parts of standing rigging (the parts that hold the mast up) and running rigging (the parts that hold the sails), the function of each piece, and a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of all rigging materials, including hemp, galvanized steel, stainless steel, titanium and aluminum, and Dyneema (synthetic).

Part II discusses how to evaluate, tune, repair, and replace rigging. Chapters cover in detail what happens when rigging parts fail or reach the end of their serviceable life, including from corrosion, cracks, and UV damage. Learn how to perform a rig survey and what to consider when it comes to the wear and tear that happens with time, distance, and use and abuse. The final chapters discuss the basics of replacing standing and running rigging—including set up and tuning—and the advantages of steel versus synthetic and polyester versus more modern fibers, enabling readers to make an informed decision as to what grade of equipment to use to outfit their boats.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781493086009
Publisher: Globe Pequot Publishing
Publication date: 03/03/2026
Series: Sheridan House Guides
Pages: 352
Product dimensions: 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

Herb Benavent, the Rigging Doctor, has been living the cruising life since 2017 when he and his wife, Maddie, left Baltimore, Maryland, and set off to do the impossible: cruise full-time in a 1968 Morgan 45 with an electric motor and synthetic rigging, showing how you can sail sustainably as far as your heart desires! Some 18,000 nautical miles later, they have sailed to the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Azores, Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Madeira, Cape Verde, Suriname, USVI, and Puerto Rico. Currently, Herb and Maddie are back living in Baltimore as they refit a 1966 Alberg 30 into a proper cruising yacht.

Table of Contents

Introduction



Part I: Foundations of Rigging

Chapter 1: Looking Up

Chapter 2: Setting Sail

Chapter 3: Rigging It

Chapter 4: The Mast Itself

Chapter 5: How Running Rigging Ties In

Chapter 6: How Sails make it all work

Chapter 7: Going to the Top

Chapter 8: Down to the Bottom

Chapter 9: Rigging Materials

Chapter 10: Building It

Part II: Mechanics of Rigging

Chapter 11: When Things Go Wrong

Chapter 12: How to Carry Out a Rig Inspection

Chapter 13: When To Replace

Chapter 14: Avoid Repeating Your Mistakes

Chapter 15: Steel versus Synthetic

Chapter 16: A Frayed Knot

Chapter 17: Setting Up the Standing Rigging

Chapter 18: Setting Up the Running Rigging

Chapter 19: Tune Your Sailboat

Afterword

Glossary

Index
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