Cunningham

[Jerry10776]

Just put my "new" '86 H23 in the water this spring. Since then I've added a vang and boom kicker. Now it's time to add a Cunningham. I'd like the control line to lead aft along with the vang. Currently I have a deck organizer and clutch on the port side which I'm using for the vang. I plan to set up the Cunningham the same way as my last boat - cringle hook to 2:1 blocks to standing block to organizer to clutch. The question is whether there is a better way to install a Cunningham in that crowded area right by the mast base. How do you have yours set up?Also, how thick is the cabin top by the mast base so I know the length of bolts to buy?Thanks for the help.Jerrys/v Shapieron

 

[s sauer]

Cunningham & Vang

Our set up would be a litle different in that we've got an older 28.5.For what it's worth, I set up a four part vang looped thru a block on the underside of the boom and snap shackled back to the same attachment point at the foot of the mast to give an 8:1 purchase, but best of all the adjustment is from the cam cleat on the lower becket so you can 'pop' it on or off from either side of the boat or from the cockpit.I've never run the outhaul or cunningham back to the cockpit because I prefer to adjust both together from the cabintop. The cunningham is a 3:1 to a short piece of cable with a reefing hook at the top end hooked thru the Cunningham cringle; the line is long enough to leave loose on the deck and adjust similar to the vang, but putting it a line organizer and running it to a winch would be overkill. I do run the two Genoa halyards, the main halyard and two reefing lines back to cabintop winches,as these need more power in the adjustment.The draw back of running a line thru a deck organizer and turning blocks presumably to a winch is that you have more friction and only one place in the boat to make that adjustment.

 

[Brad]

Cunningham - Do you need it?

I've also thought of adding a cunningham to my 23.5, but then I thought - what good would it do? I sail scows and Lasers as well, and in both cases the halyard is very rigid. In the case of the Laser, the sail slips over the mast, so in effect, it has a very rigid halyard. In the case of the scows, they use a wire halyard that is only about 12 -18" long, also very rigid. In these scenarios, the cunningham is very effective at tightening the luff of the sail and since the sail is rigidly attached at the head, it's the only way to control the luff tension.In the case of my 23.5, I have a full length halyard that is the entire length of my mast plus an extra 6 feet or so to lead back to the cleat. That means there is a lot of length to stretch. If you add a cunningham, aren't you just stretching your halyard more? Why not just wrap your current halyard around the winch and tighten or loosen it to control your luff? In effect, it is the opposite of the sails on the boats I mentioned above since the tack is fixed and you adjust the luff with the halyard.That being said, one of the things I dislike about the Hunter is that the tack is your fixed point for luff and foot adjusment, via the main halyard and the outhaul, respectively. Therefore, tightening your halyard will also tighten your outhaul, or loosening your outhaul may also loosen your luff...A cunningham may help isolate those controls ... or are we just trying to make race boats out of cruisers?BradS/V WikiWikiTiki

 

[Jerry10776]

Brad, I remember

great times on Lake Kegonsa back in the early 80's. Anyway, my experience with changing sail draft position by adjusting halyard tension is that it is really most effective in changing the top of the sail while the Cunningham is effective in the bottom. As to whether we should have all the bells and whistles on a cruiser as can be found on a racer -- I guess there are those of us that like to obtain the maximum performance be it a boat, car etc.