Editing Running rigging (section)

== History of materials ==

In centuries past, a ship's rigging was typically fashioned from [[rope]]. In the 19th century this was commonly referred to as Manilla, a reference to the origin of much good quality rope. Traditionally the running rigging was easily recognized since, for flexibility, it was not coated with [[tar]] and therefore of a lighter color than the [[standing rigging]] which was tarred for protection from weather and therefore darker or even black in color. On modern vessels, running rigging is likely to be made from synthetic fibers, while the standing rigging is most often fashioned from stainless steel "[[wire rope]]". Since the 1990s, several new synthetic fibers have become common, particularly on racing and other high-performance sailing boats. These fibers include Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene  ([[UHMWPE]]) (also known as Spectra or Dynema), [[Vectran]], and [[Technora]].<ref name=HowardDoane>
{{cite book
 | last = Howard
 | first = Jim
 | last2 = Doane
 | first2 = Charles J.
 | title = Handbook of Offshore Cruising: The Dream and Reality of Modern Ocean Cruising
 | publisher = Sheridan House, Inc.
 | date = 2000
 | pages = 468
 | language =
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NB4uFQuUlnEC&pg=PA63
 | isbn = 9781574090932 }}</ref>