h170 boom height

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Feb 26, 2010
259
Hunter 15 Fremantle, Western Australia
I wish my H15 had an open transom like your H170. Maybe I can drill a long bolt that has an eye at one end thru the two layers of my transom. If I could reach in from the rear inspection hatch and insert some spacers I think that would handle the compression of tightening the bolts.
 

dagosa

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Oct 22, 2010
4
Hunter 170, jy15 Phillips Lake, Maine
"There's been some talk in the past of experimenting with 170's boom mounting point. Few guys mentioned thinking of lowering it by a foot or so to see how the overall performance would be affected. No doubt boats' leaning tendency would be greatly reduced.

Just wondering if anyone has actually tried it and what the outcome was."

We just acquired one (Hunter 170) used and thinking about installing a sliding goose neck to aleviate the problem w/o having to do more than remove the fixed mount. Little to reattach and not a big commitment.
 

yclaes

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Jan 22, 2008
7
Hunter 170 -
Lowered boom, larger sail ?

so far, you have positive experience with the lowered boom. Have you also considered yet to replace the sail with a larger one for increased performance ? I was just wondering since the lower boom allows to put a sail that would be higher than the original.

I'm also interested on how to attach a trapeze. This subject got mixed into this conversation but would be good to know if there is a seperate subject on the forum about this.

Thanks,
 
Jul 10, 2009
32
Hunter 170 lake Manitoba
Big part of the reason for lowering of boom in the first place was to reduce the amount of sail aloft in turn making boat less susceptible to wind gusts etc.
So in short - No I was not thinking of putting up a bigger sail. However it is a valid point.I suppose if you are always sailing in conditions of diminished winds or with a larger crew (2+) you cound easily get a custom made sail to suit those conditions.
I generally sail my boat alone in , what is often, rapidly changing conditions. For my circumstances this boat had too much sail to begin with hence the boom modification. Another point to remember here is the size of the standing rigging and mast. With a larger sail the forces involved will also increase. A crew of 3 adult men on a windy day would be great for making this little Hunter go nice and flat but at some point the rigging will reach its limit too. Mast in particular seems to be prone to distortion. Having said all that I'll bet you could get a main sail that's bigger by 10-15% onto the lowered boom setup. With the right crew it would be a lot of fun to see what she can do.

I would love to spend more time during summers playing and fine tuning my set up sadly free time always seems to be in short supply. Right now I'm working on a set of hiking straps, those should go a long way in helping me get more out of this boat.

Cheers
 
Oct 8, 2009
134
Hunter 170 Lake Sammamish WA
I would agree with you that it would be the height of folly to put a bigger sail on your present rig UNLESS you ALWAYS sailed in very light wind conditions. Since that probably never happens, the standard 170 mainsail would do fine.

I would like to lower my rig similarly to your setup, but I don't have the equipment (tools) or more importantly, the know how. IMHO, the 170 can be a real handful in gusty winds while single handed. My rule is if I see the slightly hint of white foam at the top of the waves, I don't go out by myself. If I'm already in the boat, I reef the mainsail to keep the heeling motion down as much as I can.

In effect, you've already biased your sail plan slight toward a reef. I've been considering having a second reef point put in my main. With that and my furling jib, I would feel more secure in going out on more gusty days. I suspect the original owner of my boat "turtled" it at least once. He only kept the boat for a few months before returning it to the dealer for a consignment sale. Earlier in the year, I replace my mast cap because the rollers were jammed. The old cap was full of sand, indicating to me a turtle into a sandy bottom. And I saw another 170 (the only 170 I've seen in the Seattle area) do a turtle on a gusty day.

So, I don't want to try this maneuver unless I could practice it on a nice day and see if I could "right" the boat by myself. On my sea trial, the dealer and I went out on a day that we probably should have passed on. All we had flying was the jib and a couple of times, I thought we were "going over". IMHO, the 170 could use another 100 lbs or so in the swing keel.
 
Feb 26, 2010
259
Hunter 15 Fremantle, Western Australia
Helibartek,
We were talking before about hiking straps. For me it's for my H15. This is what I have turned up:
http://www.zhik.com/ProductDetails.aspx?category=1&element=62&PKID=3413&CategoryID=
These are the longest ones that they make but I noticed that they supply some double sets. I have bought the ones shown on the link. They are very substantial, something I would trust my life to when sailing solo.
I plan to attach them at the mast step using an 1/2 inch threaded rod and some mountain climbing anchor bolts ( see attached photo - Petzl Coeur SS Anchor Bolt) which I will attach a few inches away from the mast step so the straps will sit parallel to the CB well. At the other end I will be using a similar anchor (Petzl Coudee) sitting on some 1 inch disks that I cut off a Teflon (PTFE) rod on either side of the inside surface of the hollow transom ( I can reach this area via the inspection hatch near the rudder mount). I figure that the disks with spread the stress over a wider area than just a bolt directly through the fibreglass would. When it's all installed I will publish photos and a parts list.
 

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