RIDING _between the wind and tide_, the situation of a vessel at anchor, when, the wind and tide act upon her in direct opposition; in such a manner as to destroy the effort of each other upon her hull; so that she is in a manner balanced between their reciprocal force, and rides without the least strain on her cables. When a ship does not labour heavily, or feel a great strain when anchored in an open road or bay, she is said to ride easy. On the contrary, when she pitches violently into the sea, so as to strain her cables, masts, or hull, it is called riding hard, and the vessel is termed a bad roader. A ship is rarely said to ride when she is fastened at both the ends, as in a harbour or river, that situation being comprehended in the article MOORING. RIGGING, a general name given to all the ropes employed to support the masts; and to extend or reduce the sails, or arrange them to the disposition of the wind. The former, which are used to sustain the masts, remain usually in a fixed position, and are called _standing_ rigging; such are the _shrouds_, _stays_, and _back-stays_. The latter, whose office is to manage the sails, by communicating with various blocks, or pullies, situated in different places of the _masts_, _yards_, _shrouds_, &c. are comprehended in the general term of _running_-rigging. Such are the _braces_, _sheets_, _haliards_, _clue-lines_, _brails_, &c. In rigging a mast, the first thing usually fixed upon its head, is a circular wreath of rope, called the _grommet_, or collar, which is firmly beat down upon the top of the _hounds_. The intent of this is to prevent the shrouds from being fretted or worn by the _tressel-trees_, or shoulders of the mast; after this are laid on the two _pendants_, from whose lower ends the main, or fore-tackles are suspended; and next, the _shrouds_ of the starboard and larboard side, in pairs, alternately. The whole is covered by the _stays_, which are the largest ropes of the rigging. When a yard is to be rigged, a grommet is also driven first on each of its extremities: next to this are fitted-on the _horses_, the _braces_; and, lastly, the _lifts_, or _top-sail sheet_-blocks: all of which are explained in their proper places. The principal objects to be considered in rigging a ship appear to be strength, convenience, and simplicity; or the properties of affording sufficient security to the masts, yards, and sails; of arranging the whole machinery in the most advantageous manner, to sustain the masts, and facilitate the management of the sails; and of avoiding perplexity, and rejecting whatever is superfluous or unnecessary. The perfection of this art then consists in retaining all those qualities, and in preserving a judicious medium between them.