1989 Catalina 30 Control line size and length

Jun 27, 2005
22
Catalina 30 Cape Coral Fl
Hi All, Looking for the correct size and length for the control lines for the main sheet and boom. Thanks
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
They should also be in the manual.

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This comes from this sbo thread by weekendrken:



1992 Catalina 30



Also: www.catalina30.com
 
Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
Attach a tag line with a hook or sew the ends together and pull it through, separate from the tag line and measure. What is a control line for the boom..........vang?
 

Joe

.
Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
I have never relied on a manual or chart to determine final estimate of length and size for my running rigging. You never know if there have been changes made by previous owners. For instance, changing from a 4:1 mainsheet tackle to 6:1... If this has been done, there's a good chance that besides being longer, the line size has been reduced to handle the increased friction from the additional blocks in the system. That doesn't show up in a factory chart. I made that conversion and reduced the mainsheet to 5/16 but upgraded line quality from basic sta-set.... just so it ran more smoothly. You need to know the various distances on your boat, You can measure the old stuff, or use a tape measure, or look at other boat dimensions.... like the P, I, J, etc. Also, for sheets, the headsail size can make a difference.... a large 160% genoa needs longer sheets because the lazy one has further to go to wrap around the foredeck and back to the other side clew.
 

Dave Groshong

SBO Staff
Staff member
Jan 25, 2007
1,864
Catalina 22 Seattle
For a C30 I like 11mm (7/16) for a mainsheet, 10mm (3/8) for the vang line, and 8mm (5/16) for traveler control lines. Length depends on the set-up, as Joe mentioned, 3:1, 4:1, 6:1 are common, all usually have an eye splice and whip. Here's a link our Rigging Builder page, XLS3 is the default and recommended for these lines:
 
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Joe

.
Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
Don't forget "lines led aft". Many boats, especially the older ones, did not come rigged with all control lines led aft to the cockpit.
 

Ward H

.
Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
An 89 would be a MKII and lines should be lead aft to cabin top line clutches and that awful clam cleat for the main sheet.
All MKIIs I've seen have a 6-1 mainsheet system, which is what I have.
My manual shows the mainsheet spec is 72' of 7/16" line. I went with 75' of 3/8" NER (New England Ropes) VPC for my mainsheet.
NER Sta Set or Samson XLS3 would work just as well.
I went with 3/8" as it is plenty strong enough, grip is good and a smaller line will always go through a block easier.

I've seen MKIIs with the mainsheet lead aft from the most forward bale on the boom to the mast, then down the mast to the mast base, then to the turning blocks to go aft.
On mine I ran the line from the most forward bale on an angle down to the mast base, skipping the block where the boom meets the mast. You can see the mainsheet angled down just behind the soft boom vang in the attached photo.
That saved me the friction of going through one block and gave me room for the boom vang.

I've switched from putting eye splices on my lines to using a Halyard Hitch Knott. Easy to tie and compact.

IMG_5763.jpeg
IMG_5763.jpeg
 
Aug 2, 2009
637
Catalina 315 Muskegon
I sure as hell wouldn't rely on the manual for line lengths. Not after replacing all the running rigging on my new to me 2014 Catalina 315, and discovering MOST of the lengths given in the manual were substantially too short. Gee, thanks Catalina.

I contacted Catalina and told them about all the short lines I had just bought. They emailed me the correct lengths. But wait...there's more. Those lengths were wrong too! Glad I didn't trust them the second time.

From now on, I remove the existing line and measure it. If there's no existing line, I'll figure it out with a messenger line. Adjust as needed for personal preference.
 
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