Cunningham Rigging

Feb 21, 2019
42
Catalina 30 TR 3571 Cocoa, FL
I plan to add a cunningham to my Cat 30 TM with the control line lead back to the cockpit. There is a ganged turning block assembly for mainsheet, and boom vang with unused sheaves for bringing it back on the port side to a new cam cleat to be mounted on coach roof. I plan to use a spiral hook for connection through an eye above the tack. Rather than reinvent the wheel I thought I'd ask the community what setup works well in terms of line size, and purchase or number of tackle blocks used?
 

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
Anchor a "cascade" line at mast... run up through cunningham cringle, connected on other side to 3:1 tackle, 5/16 line is plenty. This way the force will be straight down, rather than pulling to one side if you just hook the line to the cringle. You'll end up with 6:1... plenty of power, you'll never need winch. In fact, you could even reduce to 2x2 for 4:1 total.
 
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May 7, 2011
281
C - 30 # 3573 Lake NormanNC formerly Bflo NY
If you have it planned so the line led back has access to a winch you don’t need to add any purchase.
A J boat I crewed on had an interesting setup - a single Cunningham line that ran from
the port side,
to a double block at the base of the mast,
up to a single block on the hook,
back to the double block at the base of the mast and
Back to the stbd side cockpit.

That way it was a continuous line that could be adjusted from either side, depending which was high or which side had. winch open.
 
Jul 6, 2013
221
Catalina 30TR, Atomic 4 2480 Milwaukee
I have just a single block at the base of the mast. From there to a deck organizer, back to a cam cleat near the portside winch. I usually don’t use the winch. I haven’t felt the need for anymore purchase.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Most Cunningham's I've used are pretty simple. I'm not sure the extra purchase justifies the increase in friction. A good yank is about all it should need unless you didn't get the halyard up enough.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
I have just a single block at the base of the mast. From there to a deck organizer, back to a cam cleat near the portside winch. I usually don’t use the winch. I haven’t felt the need for anymore purchase.
Most Cunningham's I've used are pretty simple. I'm not sure the extra purchase justifies the increase in friction.
Same here on our Catalina 34. For your C30 you simply do not need anymore purchase. Think about it: you're pulling down less than a foot of sail which shouldn't be under much pressure anyway or else you wouldn't need the cunningham. Good luck.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Curtis, consider all of the lines that you have running back to the cockpit.

Are you racing?
If not, you are not likely to be doing a "constant adjustment" to your Cunningham. Most set it when they hoist the sails then only adjust it if they need to reef or winds change significantly to require a major trim change. With such activity, you may consider the additional line in the cockpit one line too many.

Set the Cunningham up at the mast. One small cleat to tie it off and you're golden. Besides it gets you out of the cockpit so you can check on the front half of the boat. Who knows such a check might expose an issue like a missing cotter pin or a chafed line that needs your attention.

I have heard one of the worst experiences on a boat under sail is to find a cotter pin on the deck.
 
Feb 21, 2019
42
Catalina 30 TR 3571 Cocoa, FL
I appreciate responses from all. I do club race so, so yes I want the control line lead back to the cockpit plus there's already room in the existing deck organizer. My sense was the force required shouldn't be that great but wasn't sure what to expect close hauled in heavy air. It sounds like 5/16" diameter line using 2:1 purchase is a good compromise on handling vs. loads (less is best in terms of line in the cockpit). Double handing or solo racing these days is not conducive to adding winch ops. so a simple cabin roof mounted cam cleat with additional blocks if needed would be better in my case.
Thanks, all!
 
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