Gerry,

Your question does not have a simple answer! There are dozens of
different sets of standing and running rigging. Some are natural
fibre - others flexible steel wire rope.

However, on working thro' the following:

BAGSHAW, Captain Harry, "Re-fit: Unrigging And Rigging Thames
Spritsail Coasting Barge Scone", privately published, n.d. [2002].
Harry Bagshaw recounted the work of refitting his barge in 1925 to
his son Arthur many years later.

I've extracted the following main items of rigging info from various
parts of the book:

1. shroud lanyards - 3in. hemp
2. ratlines - 1in. hemp
3. mizzen rigging [unspecified] - 1in. hemp
4. bowsprit rigging [unspecified]- 1in. hemp
5. barge boat davit falls - 2in. rope
6. stanliff - 1.75in. steel wire rope
7. fall of stanliff tackle - 1.75in. rope
8. mizzen mast forestay - 1.75in. steel wire rope
9. mizzen mast runners - 1.75in. steel wire rope
9. mizzen sail brails - 2in. rope unspecified
10. running part of mizzen halyards - 1.75in. rope
11. mizzen sprit signal halyard - 0.75in. rope
12. mizzen sail peak line - 2in. rope
13. mizzen sail sheet - 2in. rope
14. mainsheet & jib sheet - 3in. rope
15. vang falls & topsail sheet - 2.75in rope
16. runner falls, foresail & staysail halyards - 2.5in. rope
17. rolling vang falls & staysail sheet - 2.5in. rope
18. topsail clewlines - 2in. rope
19. mizzen brails - 2in. rope
20. foresail hauldown - 2in. rope
21. fore tack, topsail tack, jib & staysail halyards - 1.75in.
22. lanyard for draw bucket - 1.75in. rope
23. crosstree halyards & downhauls - 1in. hemp rope
24. standing backstays - 2in. steel wire rope
25. running backstays - 1.75in steel wire rope
26. topmast stay - 1.75in. steel wire rope
27. topmast stay & fore tack tackles - 1.75in. rope
28. footropes on bowsprit - 2in. hemp rope
29. barge boat's painter - 3in. bass rope
30. lead line - 1in. "water-laid" rope [whatever that is/was!]*
31. "working ropes" stowed on fore hatch cover: 1 x 2in. cotton line
x 120fm, 1 x 2in. manilla check rope x 30fm., 1 x 9in. tow rope x
30fm., 2 x 6in. bass ropes x 30fm.
32. "working ropes" stowed on after hatch cover: 2 x 6in. bass plus 1
x 3in. manilla x ??? fm., 1 x 2in. mooring wire x 30 fm., 4 x ?in.
springs x 5 fm.

Note: where "rope" is unspecified it was probably manilla.

You really need this book. It's a bible of barge un-rigging and re-
rigging with dozens of sketches and 184 pp. It's heavy. It is
distributed by John Beaumont [publisher], The Cottage, Braces Quay,
Dock Lane, BEAULIEU, Hampshire, SO42 7YJ, UK

HTH, Regards, Mike

* BGO - non-stretch/non-shrink qualities - otherwise lead line
useless!


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