Someone in the group suggested that I not do running rigging on cargo
> spars, but have them stowed.
>
> Boy, I wish I had listened. I figured, hey, I have rigged a number of
> sailing ship models, so why should I be afraid of the rigging.
Have you tried using Lycra thread. Its pretty stretchy so it goes taut without having to pull it really tight. Its also less prone to "drooping" with time (unlike the rest of us.lol) I have a huge spool of the stuff that I got out of a skip (umm! Dumpster) so if you want to try it drop me a line offlist and I'll mail you some.