Roy,

I think that what you are describing is a "yard hauling parrel" or simply a "yard parrel".  You will see that Bob Ager retains a "yard parrel" as one of  his only two other parrels.  However, please note the "I think" because, as you are aware, I am only two steps ahead of you on this business and certainly not one of the experts.  Certainly if Pete Hill describes that as a Snotter, then who am I to say that he is wrong.  However, I would say that a Snotter on a sprit rig is pretty much what Bob has put on his battens. 

Peter,

Robin Blain will scour the chandleries in the Southhampton area for nylon brail balls, probably the largest size.   (Nylon may not be the exact material but I think that most non chemical engineers would understand that general description.)  Thirteen Snotters, if hthat is what they be, at say ten balls per Snotter at say 50 p each.  Ouch. Bob's photos show each loop attached by a plastic clip but on the larger sail size that may need to be a small metal carabiner.   More ouch. 

Jonathan,

No entry for snotters in the index of my copy of PJR.  Pete Hill referred to the yard hauling parrels on the boat I bought from him as snotters, and I continue to think of them as such.  These lines go from the cockpit to a block at the mast foot, then to a block on the yard at the lifting attachment, round the mast and back to terminate at the block on the yard.

Sorry to upstage your SS's!

Roy.

I was very pleased to receive the paper copy of the Maqazine Issue Number 59, full of interesting and useful information.  John Dinnin's article on pages 26 and 27 is titled:  "With two masts, who needs parrels?" 

John describes and shows photographs of how Bob Ager on his Hunter Liberty has rigged loops from the tack of the boom and  the luff of each of the horizontal battens round the mast, each loop fitted with wooden parrel beads to allow the sail to be easily hoisted and dropped.  He states that "the only parrels he (Bob) has are: 'tack downhaul' and 'yard'."  The sails cannot be moved backwards and forwards relative to the mast "because he can do all the sail balancing with his two sails."  As a result, "Bob ... did away with both the creases and the yards and yards of lines involved with luff parrels."

John's article states that the loops are "attached to the forward ends of the booms and battens numbers 2, 3 and 4" but the photographs show them attached to the booms and what would normally be desribed as battens 1, 2 and 3, ie in Bob's case, all the horizontal battens.  Simply a minor difference in nomenclature I think. 

Well, we have a Sunbird 32, Lexia, with two masts.  I am very interested. 

I was then telephoned by the ever generous and encouraging Robin Blain:  "Have you seen ... ?"  "Indeed I have, and thought about it a lot!"   Robin offered and I accepted that we should combine to try Bob's arrangement on Lexia.  We have set ourselves the target of achieving this by the Plymouth rally on 26 & 27 May.  That is not long ahead and I have lots of other things to achieve before then, on the boat and elswhere, not least getting the boat out of the water, scrubbed and antifouled.  However, that target is now public.  

John's article does not give a name to the loops.  I wondered if they might be described as "batten luff brails".  However, as I walked round our Peak Distict hill today with two collies, always a good time to think, I realised that if it were a sprit sail, the loop would be called a "Snotter". 

Back to the computer and put "Snotter" into Google and up comes the following from Wikepedia:

A snotter is a rope or tackle used in sailing to tension the sprit on a spritsail, or a sprit boom on a sprit-boomed sail. It is also used in a junk rig.

"Junk rig" no less.  However, follow the link to junk rig in Wikepedia and there is no mention of "Snotters".  My copy of Practical Junk Rig is on Lexia which is 300 miles away so I can't see if "Snotter" is in there, but perhaps someone else could. 

However, it appears to me that Lexia, dear fortunate lady, is to have 13 "Snotters".  Any resemblance to "Snodders" the name to which I answered for 38 years in the Army is purely coincidental but "Snodders' Snotters" does have a certain aliterative ring to it.  As Mad Dog has said: "Never let it be said that he took himself too seriously!"

Robin and I will keep you posted and with any luck Lexia will be showing off her Snotters in Plymouth.  Whether they will work remains to be seen ...

In the meantime, if anybody has any comments or further information, Robin and I would be very pleased to receive it, the sooner the better.