Correct ways to set up guys:

The importance of setting up guys at the correct position should

be of prime concern to the duty officers due to the varying
stresses the guys undergo depending on their position.
Guys made fast on the outboard side of the booms are called
outboard guys. These guys are often referred to as the working
guys because they are under greatest stress. The maximum stress
occurs when the load is being transferred athwartship between
runners.
Guys made fast on the inboard side of the booms are referred to
as inboard guys. The amount of stress on these guys is low
because the cargo load is borne by the hook which is always
between the booms.
As usually rigged in a Union Purchase, the guys connected to the
boom plumbing the hatch (Midship boom) carries more strain
than the boom plumbing the dock area (Outboard boom).
The athwartship position of the heel of the individual booms in
terms of distance from the centreline plays an important part in
causing stress on the guys however this cannot be rectified by the
ships staff.
In order to secure guys correctly, the location of the lower end of
the guy must be considered in order to keep the stresses on the
guy in check. Guy failures result in cargo operation delays and
breakdowns.
The position for securing the lower part of the guy will depend on
the angle of the boom when measured form the Fore and aft line
passing through its heel.
 If the boom is set at an angle which is towards the “inboard” part
of the vessel (as seen from a line that runs fore and aft passing
through its heel), least stress on the guy will be placed when the
guy is made fast at right angles to the boom or almost in line with
the falls.
If the boom head is set at an angle which is towards the
“outboard” part of the vessel (as seen from a line that runs fore
and aft passing through its heel), or the boom head is set over the
hatch coaming, least stress on the guy will be placed when the guy
is made fast at a position which is abaft the heel of the boom.

OUTBOARD BOOM
DOCK AREA

FORE AND AFT LINE PASSING

INBOARD BOOM
THROUGH THE HEEL OF THE BOOM
CARGO HOLD

GUY FIGURE 1

GUY POSITION FOR LEAST STRESS

GUY UNDERGOES MAX STRESS GUY POSITION FOR LEAST STRESS
The greatest amount of stress occurs when the boom is set outboard
and the guy is secured in-line with the runner falls.
The Union Purchase System:
This is one type of a derrick rig (Figure) which is used for loading and
discharging cargo. This rig is sometimes referred to as the Yard and
Stay rig, married falls, or burton system.
While using the Union purchase method of rigging, the operator fixes
one boom over the centre of the hatch (referred to as the amidship
boom, the stay boom, or the hatch boom) and the other boom over
the side of the vessel over the quay or wharf (referred to as the
outboard boom, the yard boom, or the burton boom). The ends of
the cargo runners are shackled or married to a single cargo union
hook through swivels.
During the discharge operations, responsible personnel attach the
cargo to the cargo hook in the centre of the hatch. The draft is lifted
directly up by the cargo fall of the boom spotted over the hatch. At
the same time, the slack in the other fall is taken up. As the draft
reaches the desired height above the coaming, the lifting cargo fall is
stopped and then slacked off while the fall on the outboard winch
continues the lifting operation. This action carries the draft of cargo
over the side of the vessel. The outboard winch then lowers the draft
to the pier. In loading cargo, the operation is reversed.
This is the fastest method of working cargo; however the loads that
this arrangement can lift are at a risk of exceeding the SWL of the
gear due to the angle subtended at the hook, between the two-
gynfall (runner) wires, going beyond 120degrees. It is at this angle
and beyond, that the stress on each runner increases in excess of the
load thereby causing severe stress on each rope guy and eventually
the preventer.
Thus while the Union Purchase may be the fastest method to
conduct a cargo operation, it requires not only careful rigging of the
derricks but experienced winch men to handle the operation. At the
same time the duty officer is required to keep an alert watch on the
working.
Amongst the other precautions that need to be taken are
 Ensure that the angle of the derrick should not be less than 30
degrees to the horizontal and in no case should be less than 15
degrees.
 To avoid excessive tension in the rig the safe working angle
between the married cargo runners should not under normal
operations exceed 90°, and an angle of 120° should never be
exceeded.
 The cargo sling should be kept as short as is practicable to
enable the cargo to clear the hatch coaming such that the safe
working angle between the cargo runners is not exceeded.
 Derricks should be topped as high as practicable, and not rigged
farther apart than is absolutely necessary.
  Derricks should normally be marked with the safe working load
when rigged for union purchase. If no marking is found then
the safe working load should not be more than one-third the
SWL of the derrick.
 Preventer guys of adequate strength should be rigged on the
outboard side of each derrick, and secured to the deck in the
same line and with similar tension as the slewing guy. However,
they must be secured to separate pad eyes from the eyes
which accommodate the slewing guys.
Single Swinging derrick system:
Single Swinging Derrick is used to load and discharge cargo by
moving the cargo from the quay (wharf) to the vessel or vice-versa.
This is the most basic form of cargo gear. The derrick boom is picked
up and fixed at an elevation as required through a set of span blocks
and the topping lift wire is permanently fitted to a winch. The
topping lift may be of a single span or a purchase; either way the
span wire is led from the spider band of the derrick via the masthead
span block to a convenient winch. In a single span the topping wire is
secured to a union plate, which also accommodates a chain
preventer and a bull-rope. The bull-rope is a continuation of the
topping wire for the purpose of topping or lowering the derrick.
The derrick is brought into position to plumb the load (over the load)
by slewing (swinging) the boom from port to starboard by means of a
slewing guy secured on either side of the spider band. Slewing guys
come in two parts, namely a cordage tackle (wire in the case of
heavy lift derricks) secured to a wire pendant which is shackled at
the derrick head.
The derrick may be equipped with a lifting purchase or a whip
(single) cargo runner. In either case, once the derrick has been
plumbed at the correct height for the load, the topping lift is secured,
and the runner wire of the lifting purchase is led to the winch via the
derrick heel block.
Many vessels are provided with winches for the sole purpose of
topping and lowering derricks. Winches for topping or lowering are
usually fitted with a safety device normally a bar. The main cargo
winch is then left to handle the lifting purchase or runner wire.
In a single derrick where, the cargo purchase, the topping lift and the
two slewing guys (if led to a winch); will require four independent
winches for operation.

The Angle between runners and its effects:

.

90⁰
140 ⁰

1 M/T 1 M/T

 
Figure 1. Load suspended at Figure 2. Load suspended at
90-degree fall angle 140-degree fall angle
 120 ⁰ 150 ⁰

   
Figure 3. Load suspended at Figure 4. Load suspended at
120-degree fall angle 150-degree fall angle

The strain on the falls in Figures 1 through 4 varies with the angle
between them and this strain is produced by the load in each
position. This is illustrated in Figure 5 in detail.

It can be seen that as the angle between the falls increases, the
strain on each fall increases according to the percentages shown. The
angle of 120⁰ is the cut off angle because once the angle between
them increases beyond 120⁰, even a small increase in the angle
causes a major increase in the strain exerted on each fall.

For example, Fig 5 D, shows only a 20-degree increase in angle

(from 120 degrees to 140 degrees) from Fig 5 C which in effect
causes a 41 percent increase in the strain exerted on each fall.
In Fig 5 F, a 10-degree increase in angle (from 150 degrees to 160
degrees) compared to Fig 5 E causes a 95 percent increase in the
strain exerted on each fall.

Finally, in Fig 5 H, a 5-degree increase in angle (from 170 degrees to

175 degrees) as compared to Fig 5 G causes a 572 percent increase
in the amount of strain exerted on each fall.
A load held with a 175 degree angle between falls exerts a strain
equivalent to 1,146 percent or about 11 1/2 times the weight of the
original load on each fall.

The additional pull exerted on the falls as the angle increases is

mainly a horizontal pull that tends to pull the two supporting booms
toward each other
  
Figure5. Strain shown for different angles.

From the table below and the figures above it can be seen that
severe tightlining of even very light loads between two booms is
dangerous because a difference of only a foot or two in the height of
the load (increase in the fall angle) may increase strain
tremendously. The following techniques can be used to avoid this
between married falls:
 Slings should be only as long as required.
 The hook should be as close to the junction of the runners
as possible.
 Loads to kept as low as possible, but maintain sufficient
height for them to clear the ship's rail.