materials for deadeyes, and lanyard question
 

Hello Riggers,
I am having trouble finding a satisfactory source for deadeyes and we are therefore going to make our own, problem is getting -lignum vitae-(sp?). I have been able to locate enough for one deadeye so for, and the wood is REALLY expensive ($80 for one 6by6by3" chunk !)
The deadeyes on this boat now were made out of white oak and they lasted about 6 years before cracking apart in lines from hole to hole to hole. I suppose part of the reason for this could have been that the old ones were home-made and there was simply not enough 'meat' between the holes. None the less, I am still left with the problem of finding a suitable wood to use for new deadeyes and would like some input from you riggers on what I might use successfully. We have been pondering purple heart, as I recall it is very strong and tight grained and durable, shipping cradles and containers are often made of the stuff. Any thoughts on what wood to use ?

My next question is in reference to the lanyard leading on deadeyes, the 'traditional' (tough word to use in any applicable manner unless addressing a particular type, region and date as the rule for tradition, but whatever) the traditional reeving is with a stopper knot up on the top deadeye. I have seen reference in quite a few books, and also here on this board, that the deadeyes could be set up with the dead end on the chain plate, or an eye bolt on the ships rail. I agree with the comments that this is surely stronger, and feel this would be better looking than a stopper knot up top.
So my question is why I can not find any vessels rigged with the dead end of the deadeye lanyards lead to deck or chain plate, not even a photo of it anywhere? I have only seen drawings and descriptions of this set-up. Some riggers must have recognized this was better and set their rigs up this way, but where?

It seems that leading the dead end to the rail or splicing the dead end onto the top deadeye would be a better way to rig lanyards, and I wonder why it was not universally done this way . Umm.

Good wood....
 

Real!! Lignum Vitae is an endangered wood these days and very hard to get. There is this guy if you must have the real thing. http://www.lignum-vitae.com .... he has more than his fare share and meeds to give me some!!!!!
As for substitutes there is "Vera" which is very similar to Lignum Vitae and can be hard to tell apart when old..... when new its very green... lignum has more brown in it. Its nearly as hard and heavy and is also very homogenous, smooth and slipery. In fact 90+ percent of what i see being sold as Lignum Vitae (Guaiacum Officinale) is really Vera also known as Maracaibo Lignum Vitae (Bulnesia Arboria). Functionally i don't think there is much difference in usage for things like deadeyes. For applications were the inherent lubrication quality of Ligunam Vitae are desirable such as lubrication free bearings (prop shaft and such) there is no substitute. There is a another wood that is readily available and cheep..ish......."Ipe".... Its very hard!, tough, and lasts forever with no treatment. Think of it as kinda a cross between Lignum Vitae and Teak.... kinda.....and kinda similar to Iron bark. Nearly as hard as lignum and weathers like Teak. Not as slippery as Lignum or Vira but a lot more so that Oak!. Its available threw lot of lumber yards as a new type of decking... At times its given the catch all phrase of "iron wood decking". It comes in common sizes 1x4,1x6, 2x4, 2x6, 4x4...ect. It surface checks a little but stays structurally sound. I have used it as a Teak replacement for a number of years were weight is not an issue (don't drop it in the water without some scuba gear handy!) and love it. Im putting guards on my boat of the stuff this weekend. Personally i don't like Purplehart.... It (for me at least) has had a very bad habit of hiding fatal checks. I once spent 2 days working on a Purplehart stem only to have it fall in half. The check/crack was invisible and the two pieces would mate together again perfectly with an invisible seam. This is not the first time this has happened to me or other people i know. The wood is stiff and strong but brittle. I think when these things hit the ground they acquire some shock checks(there is a name for it , just cant remember..)...I don't trust the stuff anymore.. my two cents!.......... As for your lanyard leads... i don't have a clue.

Bill....
Seattle....

Lanyards
 

Hello,
First, thanks to Bill for the great wood information. Nice to know that there are good substitutes for the scarce, lovely Lignum. As for the lanyards, the stopper knot is by far the most common method, and as "traditional" has become rare, practices have tended to fossilize, sometimes regardless of merit. And the stopper knot version is much easier to produce (no landing needed in the rail), so the more elaborate version, along with things like left-laid rope on portside, right-laid rope on starboard, have largely disappeared. Nowadays, if you want innovative, unusual, and structurally superior deadeye configurations, you have to go to people who are using them in earnest: multihullers. Check out precourt.ca for some samples.
Meanwhile, I use the Ashley #880 button instead of the Matthew Walker when possible, as it is handsomer, and needs no whipping.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

materials for deadeyes, and lanyard question
 

Uh could it be that you are not finding references to that system because it didn't work quite as well in the real world of wooden boats as it did on someones drawing board? I've owned and rigged more traditional / classic/ hysterical boats than I can remember. Dead eyes are great. They work well and have a lot of shock absorbing action in them. The thing is do you really want one end of your lanyard affixed to some solid point that will not move as the rig moves? You know that weird way the down wind ones go all limp and the windward ones get all hard? Wouldn't that tend to work the lanyards in their nice little holes chaffing them just where you can't see? And then again how would you lash the standing legs together to get that "extra" tension and spring out of them ? Maybe I am just an old duffer that used to muck around in boats and now boats around in muck but I would be careful of anything that didn't make it with the working sail boats, there is usually a very good reason.

A frayed knot
 

Hi there,
If anything, taking the end of the lanyard to the rail would lessen the effects of shock loads: the strain would be distributed more evenly among the lanyard legs; and the entire load would not land on the deadeye chainplate, so the load would also be distributed better on the hull. For that matter, tuning the rig so that the leeward lanyards don't go dead slack would also be a boon.
As for those seizings, they do nothing at all to "get that "extra" tension and spring out of [the lanyards]"; the seizings are there to provide redundancy, so that if any leg of the lanyard fails, the whole won't pull out. This is exactly the kind of thing that tends to get lost as traditional arts get passed on. The logic that gave rise to the structure is forgotten or distorted, so the form that remains is vulnerable to mistaken assumptions. Even someone as deeply experienced as yourself can be tricked by this data vacuum. The only thing for it is to keep thinking, keep that original logic alive.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss