Catalina 27 sail question

[hdelorenzi]

Question 1 of 300... ;-)

My wife and I took ownership of a ‘73 Catalina 27 only about a week before the marina’s deadline for pulling it out for the winter. So, we really didn’t get a very close look top to bottom until 2 weeks later when we visited it to winterize.

Laying the mainsail out on the grass to flake and roll it properly, I went over it to check for any weak areas, bad stitching etc. I also noted the reefing point. here’s my question: besides the 1 obvious reef point, which is about 2 feet above the foot, there’s another eyelet on the luff only about 7 inches or so above the tack. This eyelet doesn’t have corresponding partner on the leech or the ties in the middle for bundling up the loose sail. On the leech there‘s a drawstring which seems to be mounted inside a sewn channel which runs up the leech to the actual reef point on the leech.

what is this point barely above the foot of the sail used for?

thanks!
horst

 

[shemandr]

I think it’s for a Cunningham. A Cunningham is rigged with a hook that fits in that cringle and leads toward the deck and in some manner leads to an adjustable attachment. It is to tension the luff. It is easier to yank a little tension on from the tack than to crank the needed tension on with a halyard due to friction. Tensioning the luff also moves the deepest part of draft of the sail forward - mostly a good thing.
On the leech I think that is an adjustable line to provide tension on the leech to stop leech flapping. Or to cause you to risk your life climbing up in the cockpit to make a minor adjustment. If you look at a hooked leech long enough and think about drag stall you’ll make that climb.

 

[David in Sandusky]

Shemandr got it right, it's a Cunningham hole. Check out Sail Trim with Don Guillette on the site, and the tuning guide there to learn how and when to use it to flatten your sail.

 

[hdelorenzi]

Shemandr got it right, it's a Cunningham hole. Check out Sail Trim with Don Guillette on the site, and the tuning guide there to learn how and when to use it to flatten your sail.

thanks!

 

[Joe]

It's for the cunningham. Look for some some extra rigging with a hook on the end ... if you can't find anything, it's very easy to set up. On my C 27 I use basic club level 5/16 double braid run through a simple 3:1 purchase system then routed back to a cleat near the cockpit. You'll need a steel cunningham hook that slips through the grommet. ''
But wait!!! Cat 27's of that era were built with a "boom downhaul" rather than a cunningham. It could have been a factory option, but it's more likely to have been an upgrade when a p.o. ordered a new mainsail.. and he just reworked the boom downhaul gear to fit the cunninham. That's what I did when I acquired my Cat 27 20 years ago. The only thing I did was swap out the straight boom hook, for the angled cunningham hook.... and... most importantly.. I stabilized the sliding boom gooseneck with a couple of machine screws tapped into the sail track above and below it.
The cunningham is the highly preferred method of controlling mainsail luff tension rather than the old fashioned boom downhaul. I highly advise you to employ it... Good Luck.