deck setup for line organizer and mast base blocks

[steve]

I am replacing mast base blocks, deck line organizer and winch so as to direct my halyard and other lines from the mast to the cockpit. There used to be an organizer and blocks in place but they have been removed as has the winch. As a result I have a pretty good idea where they should be placed. However I have seen swival mast blocks that stand upright on a spring on a circular base, and fixed ones on a stainless base as well. I am not which is appropriate for redirecting the lines from the mast to the organizer. Any thoughts or pictures of deck tops showing lines from the mast to the cockpit would be very helpful.Steve

 

[chris]

swivel

Steve our 27 is an 82 and has internal mast halyards that exit sheaves at the bottom. However our previous boat was a catalina with external halyards and I did the install you describe. I used the fixed mast base blocks you speak of but if I ever did it again I would use the swivel mast blocks. why? even though I spent hours perfectly aligning the mast base blocks and the deck organizers, wind, waves and motion all come into play out on the water. The upshot- the halyards often chaffed on the fixed base blocks. Using swivel blocks with a spring base would have held tesion on the block at the same time allowing for the block to adjust with the flexing of the boat/mast under sailing conditions.my two centsfair windsChris Drifter IISF Bay