Some Topping Lift/Outhaul Rigging Questions

[TrapperJohn]

Now that I had a little experience on my Morgan 321 this past summer, put the boat to bed for the winter, and had plenty of time to think about all the things needed to fix, replace, or upgrade, I can now start posting about it. The first topic will be the mainsail rigging and set up.

One thing that I hadn't noticed at the first looks at the boat was that I have a loose-footed sail but there is still a sail track mounted on the boom. That's one of the first corrections I need to make -- take off the sail track and put the threaded bolts back in place on the boom to fill all those holes. I know the PO didn't do the changeover since he said he didn't make any major changes since he first bought her 9 years ago.

My first issue I need to straighten out is the topping lift. The PO had a block on the end of the stainless steel line coming from the top of the mast and used a small line between the boom end tang, up to the block and back to a padeye. When I was finally putting the mast back together with my new dock neighbor, we went a little further and wound the line around some extrusions on the end of the boom; then I tied it off to the same padeye.

This worked well enough this past summer to get the mainsail on and get out on the water but now I want to have more control of it. I want to be able to adjust it when reefing and also loosen it to allow the mainsail to get a little more tension and flatten the belly a little with full sail. There are a couple cheek blocks on the end of the boom, one of which I plan to use but will talk about that in a minute.

Issue 2 is the outhaul. A lot of the lines were left wrapped around the boom when it came out of storage and I hadn't bothered looking closely at them until I got ready to install the boom and sails. For some reason, we ended up connecting the outhaul as shown in the picture and didn't bother with it during the season. The foot of the sail was tight and that's all that mattered at the time.

As can be seen from the photos above. I have two cheek blocks out near the outboard end of the boom. The starboard one (with the outhaul shown) is almost horizontal and, if not for the extra block, would have pulled the foot of the mainsail down alongside the boom. The other, which went unused in season 1, is higher up which would be more in-line to use for the outhaul. It's also a slightly larger sheave with should be able to hold more tension than currently.

So, my first thoughts are tie the topping lift to the tang on the end of the boom. Go up through the block on the wire rope, down to the cheek block on the starboard (horizontal) side and from there I would need to run the line to the front of the boom where there is a cleat in-line near the mast.

The outhaul would come from a shackle on the clew cringle on the mainsail, back to the cheek block on the port side and then forward about halfway down the mast to a cleat. Actually, on the port side there is not only a horn cleat but also a jam cleat in-line (see below) to use with the outhaul line. Don't ask for the reason both are there.

Does this seem reasonable to have the topping lift line anchor point near the mast and the outhaul halfway down the boom on the opposite (port) side?

BTW, does anyone recognize what those extrusions on the boom end cap shown in the pictures was originally used for? I'm pretty sure it wasn't to wrap some 3/16" line around for a topping lift as we had done.

I hope my descriptions are understandable. Appreciate any thoughts or better ideas! The only thing I'm hesitant about is drilling more holes in the boom to move or attach more hardware. If I keep going, it will begin to look like Swiss cheese.

 

[jssailem]

take off the sail track and put the threaded bolts back in place on the boom to fill all those holes.

You have been smart. You took the time to learn your boat before jumping in and making changes.

Regarding the track, there is no pressing reason to remove it. That you have a loose foot, Mani is a step up in trim options. The track is not doing any harm.

Putting screws into the boom's track holes will leave screw heads. One option is to have an experienced aluminum welder fill the holes. Then you can smooth the welds and have no dissimilar metal corrosion issues. You may need to paint the boom. That becomes a preference choice.

The cheek blocks on the boom end are there to handle the reefing lines. Does your main have reefing cringles? Here are a couple of examples using end-of-boom cheek blocks.

The extrusion that you wrapped your topping lift around would be used for your outhaul. This will bring the sail back over the middle of the boom. The out haul runs from the sail clew to the end of the boom, around the boom end extrusion, then back to a cleat. That would be my guess.

 

[Davidasailor26]

So, my first thoughts are tie the topping lift to the tang on the end of the boom. Go up through the block on the wire rope, down to the cheek block on the starboard (horizontal) side and from there I would need to run the line to the front of the boom where there is a cleat in-line near the mast.

That makes sense to me. Generally you want to slack the topping lift once the sail is up. It’s not really a sail shape control, except maybe to put just a little belly in the sail in very light wind.

The outhaul would come from a shackle on the clew cringle on the mainsail, back to the cheek block on the port side and then forward about halfway down the mast to a cleat.

My preference would be to tie the end of the outhaul to the padeye on the boom, bring it forward either through the cringle or a block shackled to it, back through the block on the port side of the boom, and then forward. This will give 2:1 purchase on the outhaul which will make it a bit more manageable.

@jssailem might be right about one of those blocks being intended for reefing. If you have reefing points in the sail consider how the changes will impact that.

One thing that I hadn't noticed at the first looks at the boat was that I have a loose-footed sail but there is still a sail track mounted on the boom. That's one of the first corrections I need to make -- take off the sail track and put the threaded bolts back in place on the boom to fill all those holes.

I’m with @jssailem on this too - leave it alone unless it’s really hurting something. Removing it will just be unnecessary work, especially if the existing screws have welded themselves to the aluminum.

 

[jssailem]

Regarding your outhaul. You have several options.

1. Set for the day sail. If this is your preference then having the termination (cleat or cam-cleat, whatever) on the end of the boom makes setting the outhaul easy. You do it while standing in the cockpit before you leave the dock. Set it forget it.
2. Set the outhaul and trim infrequently as you make major adjustments to your sail. I make adjustments to my sails at the mast. I trim the outhaul to match my point of sail. Downwind I ease the outhaul. On the wind I tighten the outhaul based on win conditions that are expecting to last for several hours or more. Being at the mast where I make major changes, having the outhaul on the mast at the head of the boom is logical.
3. If you’re going to campaign your boat in a racing way, then having all your trim tool conveniently arranged may mean you run your outhaul to the mast and back to the cockpit. Some suggest “I’ll just leave it of the boom end.” There will come a day when the boom is 10ft away hung out over the water and there is no way to get to the outhaul that is slowing you boat 2/10ths of a knot and your competition is going to beat you to the mark.

Those are my thoughts on how I would rig my outhaul based on my sailing activities.

 

[PaulK]

Agree with @jssailem on the sail track. If it ain't broke don't fix it. The track isn't hurting anything and taking it off may will be a major hassle if the stainless steel screws have had a chance to bond with the aluminum boom. You then have to "fix" the holes, which don't actually need to be fixed except that they might look funky because you removed the track. So leave the track alone.

The topping lift and outhaul setups you suggest make sense and would be easy to do. The outhaul cleat looks to be reachable even with the sail eased to the shrouds.

The reefing line(s) will need another block fastened at the outboard end of the boom. Are there blocks at the mast to start turning them to go back to a cockpit winch, or is there a winch on the mast or boom for getting them tight?

 

[TrapperJohn]

Thank you, gentlemen, for your thoughts. So much for my trying to keep from overloading one post; I was trying to break it down between getting the sail up and then another post regarding reefing but I guess I should've included the whole picture of what I was thinking about . . .

In addition to the two cheek blocks near the end of the boom, I have two others on the starboard side a little further forward. Both look positioned OK for the reefing lines although, because I overlooked that as I was studying the whole setup, I'm not sure of the angle to the two reefing "clews". You can barely see them in the overall picture of the boom above (with the trashed blue rope twisted up in them). I will have to check these out when I get the mainsail on again next spring.

So my thinking on reefing is that, if those cheek blocks are in a good position, I can run two lines up through the reef points from the port side (a padeye) up through the reef points on the leech, back down to the cheek blocks and then to two more cleats on the boom near the mast. There are 3 fairleads part way down the boom to keep the lines from sagging & tangling.

I was thinking it would be great to have the two reefing lines, the topping lift line, the vang, and the main halyard all together within reach on the starboard side at the mast and have the halyard winch available right there also. The outhaul, should I need to adjust it, still would be within reach unless the boom is way out, in which case I could pull the boom in a little to adjust and let it back out.

I forgot to mention that I will be single-handling often and I don't really want to run all my lines back to the cockpit. Having everything at the mast on the same side seemed to be ideal for adjusting/reefing as needed.

My last dilemma is the reefing hooks at the gooseneck. I have none.

I was planning on bolting them on the bottom hole where the mainsail attaches to the gooseneck. I tried finding a ram's horn type hook but the only ones I found were at rigrite.com for an outrageous price so I think I'm going to try out a simple hook. I have dog bones with rings at the reef points on both sides of the luff. Any suggestions on this? I think I'll need the hooks in hand before I can decide.

My worry about the track is chafing on the sail. Once I get everything set up, I'll watch that closely. If there seems to be some chafing, I'll take it off and save it for the next owner. My thinking was if a screw was stuck, I'll figure out a way to get it out, chase the threads. When I put all the screws back in, I'll use some Tef-Gel and, if the top of the screw is rough, sand it smooth and put a dollop of something like Sikaflex on it (them) to cushion the chafe.

jssailem, thanks for the drawings. It gave me something to think about even if I'm not really wanting to move more lines back to the cockpit.

I'll take all your suggestions into consideration as I try this out in the spring. I really need to get the reefing functional as that is how I found out the Admiral gets seasick with a good wind. Thanks!!

 

[jssailem]

Not sure what you were looking at for a reefing hook.
The basic reefing hook for slab reefing a mainsail looks something like this.

This one shows 2 reef hooks welded to the goose neck. I have a similar install on my boat. I'll send you a photo (next time I am at the boat). The hook is simple. I do all my work at the mast as you are suggesting. I solo sail frequently, using an AutoPilot to maintain course while I manage the sails. If I have a crew member, they are often untrained, so they are at the helm while I trim the sails.

Slab reefing is straightforward to do with minimal line management.

Your images of the boom suggest it has the hardware you need to do the reefing. It is not yet rigged, but the basics are there.

I shared the rigging line design so you could run lines to the cockpit. Not that you needed to take that action.

I don't.

 

[PaulK]

You seem to have worked out the reefing lines and where they're cleated. To tighten them properly won't you need a winch somewhere? The main halyard winch is in about the right position, but it will already be in use with the halyard. Many boats mount a winch on the boom for this. Is there enough space for that on your boat? Setting up a tackle might work, but would need to be kept snugged up somehow to keep it from hanging below the boom and snagging on things like people's heads. It would also look worse than the unused track.

 

[TrapperJohn]

This is what I was originally looking at for a reefing hook.

Then I thought I could make do with this:

Then I saw these at Defender today and thought maybe this would work. I much prefer the 2 point attachment even if I have to adjust the holes a little.

I'm not sure if I'd need another winch. If I just snug up the halyard on the cleat to hold the ring on the hook, I could use the winch for any tightening of the other lines as needed and then, once secured, use the winch with the halyard for final adjustment. I think I'm going to need to play with it at different wind speeds to see how well it works. I have no idea of the forces I'll be dealing with.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and help. Can't wait to give it a go once I'm back in the water.

 

[jssailem]

I like your third choice of reef hooks. You need solid, those would be solid.

I have not needed an additional winch to set a reef. You loosen the halyard and lower the sail. Your pointed into the wind so there is no force on the sail with the sail lowered you slip it onto the hooks. Next I tension the first reef line against the hooks. I then tension the main halyard. The reef is in. You can gather the excess sail at the foot or not. Skippers preference.

This is a smooth, quick process that you can practice at the dock, especially if you have crew.

 

[dlochner]

The Ram's horn tack is better. The plain hooks can allow the sail to slide off the hook.

Luff tension is pretty low. Winches are used on the main halyard because there is increased friction from the sail slugs or bolt rope and the sail gets heavy when it is near the full hoist. The winch is useful in overcoming the friction and weight.