Actually going to sail this thing!

[SamNelson]

I've been working on a "fixer upper" 1981 Hunter 27. Little did I know how prophetic the "fixer upper" term is.
After replacing bad wood, fixing the little single cylinder diesel, ordering a new mainsail, etc., it looks like this fall I will be able to get some sailing in.

Looking at the rig, I'm a little leery of not having a traveler, and the main sheet arrangement bugs me. Perhaps time on the water will assuage my nervousness?
I may be incorrect, but I'm calling the mainsheet thing mounted on top the cabin just forward of the hatch, that makes 3 bends around sheaves and attaches to the boom on more sheaves about 1/3 of the boom length aft of the mast.

One other thing. I have the boom at home to clean it up, replace internal lines, etc. There are a couple of white plastic pulleys mounted on it that are cracked and broken. Any idea as to a source for replacements?
Also.. understand that I have never seen this boat wearing sails, so have no real picture how everything is supposed to be (in a perfect world). There are two cables internal in the boom. One is a line that exits the boom at the mast on the starboard side, and also at the rearmost end of the boom on the starboard side. Is this to help pull the sail down the boom when rigging? Or, is it there for reefing?
Another line exits the boom at the mast and also in the middle of the boom at the aft end. By some miracle it converts from line to a flexible steel cable somewhere in the boom. I "think" this is an outhaul to the clew?
There is a third space for a line to run from the mast end of the boom and exit on the port side. No line is present, nor does it look there ever was one.

Sam

 

[Benny17441]

The mainsheet arrangement is not that bad, it's purpose is not to intrude in the access to the companionway. Rather than trying to fit a traveller consider adding a boom vang if the boat does not already have one.

 

[claskey]

The Port and Stb. Lines are the reefing lines as you stated, you may only have one reef point on your main, therefore only one line in the boom. I have a travler on my 84 and love the way I can trim the main. It is mounted about 4 inches rear of the fixed hatch cover.

 

[SamNelson]

I'm not sure I understand where your traveler is mounted. On my boat, 4 inches rear of the fixed hatch (companionway?) cover would be just a few inches rear of the mainsheet, and hanging in mid-air in the companionway.

The Port and Stb. Lines are the reefing lines as you stated, you may only have one reef point on your main, therefore only one line in the boom. I have a travler on my 84 and love the way I can trim the main. It is mounted about 4 inches rear of the fixed hatch cover.

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

H27 mainsheet vs traveler

Some people put the traveler on a bridge over the hatch and hatch shroud. Some people try to put it across the back edge of the cockpit. On the gen-1 H25 the boom was made extra-long in order to reach the back end of the cockpit. This is awkward; but it works.

On my H25 I made a bridge deck across the forward end of the cockpit pan, shortening the depth of the hatchway and making an all-new threshold and doing plenty of other work into the bargain. But now the traveler is in the right place, about 12" from the aft end of the boom. This is as good as it could get.

If your H27 mainsheet is on top of the hatchway, the vang will be of dubious value and certainly will not be of any use at anything off the wind. It will just be too close to the gooseneck. Remember there are three points at which the mainsheet should be held down. (In theory there are infinite points; but this is why you have a track along the top of the boom and not a loose-footed sail tacked only to one point. With a loose-footed main-- which I see no reason for-- everything changes, and not all for the best.) The three points are:

1. The downhaul, forward end of the boom. If you have a fixed gooseneck (I do not), this is pretty much taken care of. If you have a sliding gooseneck you will find that, rather than hauling more tightly on halyards, you can trim sail shape easily and quickly (and with less mechanical advantage, since gravity is on your side) from here. It's what dinghies have.

2. The vang, center of the boom. Mind that this does not lead too far forward on the boom-- the closer to a fixed gooseneck it is, the less effect it will have. It should always be about 40% of the overall boom length from the forward end. The vang is meant to stiffen the middle of the boom and thus hold a flat mainsail shape. When led to the rail, to avoid excess motion (such as in a broach), it is termed a preventer. Most boom breaks happen at this point, usually because the vang is set as a preventer, so be careful.

3. The sheet, aft end of the boom, providing the most amount of leverage and control for adjusting the sail's angle to the wind. The farther aft this is, the more mechanical advantage it has, the easier to adjust it is and the more effect it has on performance. The farther forward it is, the more strain on all parts including the boom, the sail, the cordage, the blocks, the attachment points, the boom bail, etc., and especially on the person or winch trying to adjust it, and the less effect it will have in doing what it's really supposed to do.

I have seen way too many boats, in my 40 years in this business (most of them more recently), with midboom sheeting as well as a vang mounted forward of it. On some new Beneteaus, for example (I see lots of them as my yard is next door to a dealer), the mainsheet is mounted about where I just said the vang should be-- less than 50% of the length between the boom ends-- and then they put a vang even forward of that. What use is a vang there when it is only duplicating the job of the mainsheet just about right next to it? And what constrains the after end of the boom and sail from bending off to leeward? Do these people believe aluminum doesn't bend? Selden came out with a boom extrusion-- undoubtedly for use on such boats-- with a horizontal blade the full length, inside the boom, to keep it from bending sideways. This is heavy, phenomenally expensive and essentially needless-- it is all to serve the midboom-sheeting design which in turn is to serve the Bimini top and a 'clear cockpit' for plenty of nonsailing passengers with ropeaphobia. Is this the kind of sailing we're supposed to do?

From a mechanical, design and performance point of view, the best place for the traveler is as far aft as you can get it, most preferably directly under the after end of the boom. Anywhere farther forward (including the 12" on my boat) is a compromise in strength, performance and leverage. That's a plain fact of engineering.

The poor little H27 suffers because its cockpit is proportionately too short and its cabin too long, and it has something a high-aspect rig (short-boom-tall-mast), so that the mainsheet has to be directly aft of the hatchway or else farther forward on top of the cabintop. Blame Hunter marketing and not my dad for this one; they wanted the 'chart desk' (under which main put a 'fridge) as a marketing improvement over the H25, which is otherwise much the same. Should you have the motivation to build a bridge deck at the front end of your cockpit, this will improve the seaworthiness and performance of the boat immeasurably over a stock one. It's a lot of work; but do keep in mind that, technically, anything else is a compromise.