Preventer Rig on a Vagabond 47

[Ian McColgin]

Sometimes you see a U-bolt or 'biner hooked through the turnbuckle lower fork, fitting between the fork and the chainplate, but this does not seem to me much of a good idea. A selvagee is just a sort of strap loop - I make them from inner or outer bits of left-over double braid from other projects. I think one of Brion's books show how to use one on a pole, like for a safety line when aloft on a mast. But what I had in mind here was simply a loop around the chainplate itself, below the turnbuckle fork and held down by that fork.

Two ways of attaching occur to me.

You could make a nice loop, like a soft quoit. Put the loop on the preventer shackle or 'biner or whatever you have there and then hold the loop out on a finger simply pass it around the chainplate twice and bring the bight back to attach to the preventer shackle. You'd only need to unhook one side of the loop for tacking and wrapping it around the chainplate and reattaching would be dirt simple.

Alternativly you could make the selvagee a loop that's wrapped permanently around the chainplate like three loose winds of a service and just pull one wind out enough to get the preventer's shackle or 'biner attached.

Either is a nice soft attachment.

G'luck