Outhaul question

Oct 28, 2014
18
Catalina 30 San Diego
How much travel do you have in your outhaul?

If our E measurement is suppose to be 11.5ft (137 inches) how far foward and aft of the 137 can you adjust?

Also to go along with that, how much line do you have to pull to get that adjustment?

I'm working trying to come up with a better outhaul, and the travel distance for say an 8:1 external doesn't seem to be able to fit out the boom, but then again, i could be doing the math all wrong.

Thanks
 
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May 20, 2016
3,014
Catalina 36 MK1 94 Everett, WA
All things considered you should be able to get within 2” of the boom end withe either the slug or clew. In total with 8:1 you should get 15” of total travel.
 

SG

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Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
Why maybe I don't understand, but the cut of the sail would have lot to do with the answer. Assuming the the sail is fit properly, the range wouldn't be any be related to the 8:1?

The 2" from the farthest out the out haul would repesent the extreme flattening of the foot. Then you're essentially almost stretching the sail's clew out of the sail in extreme winds. I'd guess, for a modern sail, in decent shape, you'd not be easing it more than a foot (12") forward of that point.

That would mean that your line would be eased about 8'. You want more line for the outhaul if you want to pull the multipart blocks back to the end of the boom. Then you'd need to figure that depending on how the 8:1 outhaul block is setup. If you use a fixed "tail", then you'll need to figure out where the block is in the boom, and figure out hoy to get the block(s) out the aft end of the boom to service it.
 
Jul 14, 2015
840
Catalina 30 Stillhouse Hollow Marina
The goal is to shape the sail not determine how many inches you can move it
 
Nov 1, 2017
635
Catalina 25 Sea Star Base Galveston, TX
Japtenks,

Typically, an outhaul's ability to be adjusted and the ability of the crew/skipper to do so is typically dependant upon the size and shape of the sail it is trimming; on your Catalina 30, luckily, your sail is the same shape as mine, just bigger, as the 25 Tall Rig and 30 use the exact same sail plan. I re-rigged my outhaul on my boat as well, although it be external, I simply bought far more line than I knew I needed, ran the line through the system, and cut off and whipped the external length and stowed it for spare line, which proves quite useful. Is your outhaul pulley system internal or external?
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Your boom should have a tape mark around it at your E measurement. You should not pull (and under racing rules cannot) your mainsail further/tighter than that. A typical range of outhaul for your boat would be from that tape to 5 inches inboard. That should give you shape ranging from flat to very full.
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
The tape is a great idea. It would suck if you had enough leveraged pull to tear the sail.
 
Oct 28, 2014
18
Catalina 30 San Diego
Thanks for the replies, I was asking about the adjustment range as I'm trying to figure out how much line I'd need and where to place the attachment points on the boom which is why I was asking about the distance of travel.

Thanks
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
The tape is a great idea. It would suck if you had enough leveraged pull to tear the sail.
Almost all boats come from the factory this way; with tape marking the limits of the sails. I'd bet yours did but it flaked off years ago!
tape1.jpg
tape2.jpg
tape3.jpg
 

SFS

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Aug 18, 2015
2,066
Currently Boatless Okinawa
@Jackdaw - Regarding the picture of the aft end of that boom - the tape right now is about even with the aft end of the outhaul car. The clew of the sail could actually move aft an inch or two. Is that the standard range of trim adjustment?

Or asked another way - under racing rules, can the clew of the sail be moved back to the tape and still be in compliance?
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
@Jackdaw - Regarding the picture of the aft end of that boom - the tape right now is about even with the aft end of the outhaul car. The clew of the sail could actually move aft an inch or two. Is that the standard range of trim adjustment?

Or asked another way - under racing rules, can the clew of the sail be moved back to the tape and still be in compliance?
@SFS , correct, the sail just needs to be inside all the taped marks. The tape is there as much for competitors as the crew. Normally an outhaul has about a 6 inch range. The 0-3 range is for upwind, the 3-6 for downwind. Pulled to its tapes, a correctly sized sail will be very flat.