Fastening

The rig and half the deck gear ultimately hang on fastenings you could carry in one hand. This collection gathers the marine fastening essentials: A4 stainless machine screws in the common metric sizes, clevis pins for rigging connections, cotter (split) pins and split rings, brass screw eyes, and bronze ring nails for timber - the small hardware every boat's spares box should hold.

Rigging hardware deserves particular care: match clevis pin diameter and length to the fitting exactly (a pin that is too long bends, too short overloads its tip), secure every pin with a new split pin or ring, and tape over sharp ends where sails and sheets pass. A film canister of assorted pins and rings weighs nothing and has saved many a race day and passage.