A few questions about my 73 Venture 2-22

[PCAviator]

Hello everyone. I now the owner of a 1973 Venture 2-22. I'm moving up from an Oday 17 daysailer, which I still have.

This evening after I got home I backed the trailer away from trees and power lines and tried to set up the mast and check my standing rigging.

There was one pleasant surprise. After reading through this and other forums and articles about the Venture 22 before buying, I had visions of building a contraption to raise the mast, but I found that I can easily stand it up myself without any extra rigging involved.

Anyway, I have a feeling that the owners manual that came with the boat is either for a different year, or there have been quite a few modifications to my boat, or probably both.

The first issue I ran into is that when I have the backstay turnbuckle let out as far as it will go, the mast still seems to have a pronounced lean to the rear. My Oday didn't have a backstay so maybe I'm worrying over nothing, but when I look through the boat from the side, the plane of the mast slopes dramatically rearward compared to the profile of the supporting post in the cabin. I attempted to take some pictures, which came out rather washed up but here is one anyway. Does the mast look normal to you folks who have these boats?

My next issue is the boom. I don't know if it's been modified or if this is a completely different boom. The fittings on each end look nothing like the drawings in my manual. The fitting on this end is actually a springloaded square piece of metal which pulls away from the boom and then swivels. I'm guessing this is for furling the sail, (something else I couldn't do on my Oday) but that isn't how the manual describes furling.

The other end has a freely swiveling piece with a hole in each end. It's hard to see in the photo but one hole has a shackle and block attached to it.

Also, the attachments for the main sheet, which I believe were on each rear corner according to my research, are gone. There is a traveler installed across the cockpit against the cabin wall. It's semi hidden by the ratchet strap across the boat but it's easy to see where it is.

I do not see how the main sheet attaches to the boom. It has the car for the traveler but the boom has nothing which makes sense to me as an attachment point. There is a light duty traveler on the bottom of the boom here, which looks just like the jib sheet travelers in my Oday, but the pin is too close to the boom to allow the mainsheet to attach.

The interior is in decent shape, but eventually I intend to gut it and build it in for overnight trips for my wife and I. I haven't even tried to check the running rigging yet, but there are blocks at the base of the mast which seem to be set up for running the halyards back to the cockpit. Curiously there are three blocks on the deck, but only the two for the main and jib on the mast I don't know what the third is for. There is also a cable attached next to the backstay on the mast head with a block on the lower end. I'm guessing this is an added toppping lift which uses the block at the end of the boom.

This should be an interesting project, but I hope to just do enough to sail it this summer, and then to the more extensive work in the winter. After all I also have a project house which I'm completely rebuilding at the same time. But I'm looking forward to building a fancy interior in this boat.

I hope everything here makes sense, I typed most of this with one finger while holding a baby lol. I guess the two real questions I have are, is my mast rigging ok or do I have to modify cable lengths? And, any idea how my mainsheet works with this boom? I'm very confused by that one. And then just any other ideas or thoughts you might have after looking at the photos. This is a more complicated boat than I've ever dealt with and I am open to any thoughts or advice.

Thanks

 

[Faris]

Hi,

Congratulations. You'll love your new boat.

Mast sweep: I think this is just an optical illusion. The boat sits tipped back slightly in the trailer. In any case, I drew a line along your water line, and another line perpendicular to that. At most there is maybe 2-3 inches of sweep or lean, but I think even this is just an illusion. Just one degree of lean would accomplish this effect.

The boom: Looks about like mine, though I don't have it here in front of me and can't recall exactly. But, it looks about right. I see you have an eye near the forward end for the boom vang, and that pin you are looking at mid-boom is doubtless where your mainsheet attaches. There will be a block which attaches there, through which your mainsheet runs. Of course, you'll have another block that attaches to the traveler.

 

[PCAviator]

Thanks for the response Faris.

Do you have a digital copy of your owners manual by any chance? Because mine shows a very different boom so it must be for a different year.

Also, there is no attachment for a boom vang at the mast base, and the boat did not come with one but I intend to make one up. Any suggestions on the best way to attach it?

As for the mainsheet attachment, the block on the boom end of the main sheet has the shackle with a pin and clevis ring. (I think it would be a shackle, I'm no expert on nautical terms) It's the U shaped piece with a pin through it. The boom traveler has a pin through it as well, and I do not see any sensible way to attach them together. They don't look compatible at all. I'll try and take a picture when I get home tonight. Right now I need to hit the road.

ETA: MY mainsail has slugs along the luff. Is this typical of 222 mains or do I have a modified sail? What are the advantages of slugs over the "feed the wire into the groove" style sail?

 

[Faris]

Do you have a digital copy of your owners manual by any chance? Because mine shows a very different boom so it must be for a different year.

As I get looking at it, I think yours is a bit different. It looked familiar to me because the boats I teach on have a similar setup. The only picture I have is probably the one you have: http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/images/kb/pdf/1361.pdf

Also, there is no attachment for a boom vang at the mast base, and the boat did not come with one but I intend to make one up. Any suggestions on the best way to attach it?

Well, if there is no attachment (on the mast, on the mast step, or on the deck near the base of the mast), then this may solve some of the mystery. That suggests that this was a replacement boom, and there is no guarantee that anything will make sense.

I've attached mine with a 3" boom bail bolted to the mast step. This puts the attachment point just a little bit aft of the mast, which creates a slight tendency to pull the boom to center if the boom vang is tight, but this would only a problem if I had it cranked down in very light winds.

As for the mainsheet attachment, the block on the boom end of the main sheet has the shackle with a pin and clevis ring. (I think it would be a shackle, I'm no expert on nautical terms) It's the U shaped piece with a pin through it. The boom traveler has a pin through it as well, and I do not see any sensible way to attach them together. They don't look compatible at all.

You definitely would not connect the end of the boom to the traveler. As I mentioned, I believe that you would attach a block to that attachment point mid-boom. Another block would attach to the traveler. The mainsheet would probably go from a becket on the block on the traveler, up through the block on the boom, back down through the block on the traveler, and through a cam cleat attached to that block. That would be the simplest setup. You could also use fiddle block(s) to get more purchase.

Attaching a block at the end of the boom would be for using a different rigging - one located at/near the transom. The standard rigging is a Crosby rig (upside-down "V") running from each side of the transom to the end of the boom (three blocks total). This is what I have and what most people seem to use who have not converted to a traveler setup.

I cant really tell what's going on with the aft end of your boom from the pictures. There might be a small block there that is used as an outhaul. If it attaches to the top of the boom, that is the only thing I can think of. However, if it is a larger block, maybe it is just attached there so it won't get lost, and it is really intended to attach mid-boom?

If you can post some good close-up pictures of the boom and mast hardware, we can probably solve the mystery.

MY mainsail has slugs along the luff. Is this typical of 222 mains or do I have a modified sail? What are the advantages of slugs over the "feed the wire into the groove" style sail?

Mine has slugs. I have the original sail in a bag, but have never used it and don't know if the bolt rope design (feed the wire into the groove) was ever the norm.

The only real advantage is that the sail raises and lowers more easily with slugs. When I get ready to go out, I feed the slugs up into the upper track and hold them up there with a slug stop (leaving the rest of the sail strapped to the boom). When I'm ready to hoist, I just release the straps and hoist - very easy. If your boat has blocks and cleats that allow you to do this from the cockpit, slugs are the only way to go since, if you're single-handing, you don't have to leave the cockpit to hoist. Lowering the main, slugs can make life easier when flaking.

As long as the halyard is tight, I don't know of any significant disadvantages for the casual sailor.

 

[Freedom77]

Congrats on your 22. 1. mast angle. The shrouds may have to be adjusted and let out. this will allow the mast to rake forward and then adjust the forestay. mast rake is a matter of tuning and preference. Boom should be approx level with cockpit when main is raised and set. 2. Boom looks okay. Fore end is a roller furling gooseneck. Aft end is for standard rigging, which you no longer have, and topping lift. 3. traveler is a good thing. put one on our 22 and it made a big difference in speed and handling. looks like there is an attachment on the boom for a block and tackle. about 4 to 1 with a cam cleat. Do you see anything that looks like in your stuff. Not sure if boom plugs and stock, however they look like good stuff. 4. mainsail slugs are good. easier to raise and lower. If you don't have a sailstop get one. keeps slugs in main track. When time and $$$ permit you might want to think about putting track with adjustable cars on deck to fine tune jib/genoa. Hope this helps a little. I've been sailing Venture for 40 years. Fair Winds and Full Sails...

 

[PCAviator]

Thanks for the replies,

Faris, yes, that is the same paper which I got with my boat. Thanks anyway.

Regarding the mainsheet issue, I guess I didn't phrase that very well. I was talking about the block at the end of the mainsheet that attaches to the boom when i said the "boom end". Here is a picture of the block at the end of the sheet that does NOT attach to the boat mounted traveler. The pin that goes in the end of this block is too short to work in the holes in the boom mounted traveler. The pin in the traveler is too large in diameter to work with the U shaped piece on the block on the mainsheet. Also, there is not enough clearance for the U shaped piece to line up it's holes with the holes in the traveler, so even if I got a smaller diameter long pin, I still couldn't use it. Does this make more sense?

I'm pretty sure the small block at the end of the boom is for attaching a topping lift. There is a cable which hangs from the mast next to the backstay with the same size block on the end of it. I'm not sure how it was intended to be rigged but I'm guessing I run a line between those two blocks to loosen or tighten the lift.

I do not have the boat mounted hardware to use a Crosby rig mainsheet anymore. IT was removed by a previous owner apparently.

The slugs sound like a great idea now. I thought they would make the leading edge less efficient but I always had a bit of a time raising and lowering the main on my O'day when single handing, that should be really helpful.

To Freedom77, I started with the backstay turnbuckle loosened as far as it could safely go. The side shrouds were all slack at the time. There is no way to move the top of the mast any farther forward without lengthening the backstay cable somehow. I was asking if that would be necessary or if my mast is set normally for a 222 as it is.

 

[timebandit]

looks like one part of your goos neck is still mounted to the mast and maybe has a pin still in it??

 

[Timo42]

A suggestion, forget about the track on the boom, looks too weak for the mainsheet, add a bail in the right place, like this. Add a snap shackle to the mainsheet block for easy setup.

 

[Faris]

A suggestion, forget about the track on the boom, looks too weak for the mainsheet, add a bail in the right place, like this. Add a snap shackle to the mainsheet block for easy setup.

I'd have to agree. The forces on the mainsheet at that position can get pretty significant in high winds. It would hold until you needed it most. It's a quick and relatively cheap job.

 

[timebandit]

There should be a flat metal strap that will slip through the mast pin and conect to the block pin.

 

[Freedom77]

In response to the backstay. On a day when the wind isn't blowing set up your mast & boom and raise the main. This will give you an idea of mast rake. Faris has the right idea. Optikal Malusion. Also they don't sail very well on the trailer Ya might have to add a little to the backstay. I split the backstay on my V-222 and added an aduster. Two things. The stay won't eat up your tiller and you can tighten it on the wind and let out down wind. Ditto on the boom bale. I have a six legged one on my V-25. There's a lot of stress there. Also think about a preventer in case of a hard jibe to prevent bending boom. As I mentioned in an earlier post, roller furling the main is a PIA. If you don't have double reef point in the main, get 'em. She looks to be in pretty good shape. Just a little elbow grease and TLC. Does she have a name. Welcome to the legion of the damned. get out your checkbook.:cussing:Read my post "Ten buck Trophy" Hope this helps a little. Fair winds and full sails...