H 25 deck organization

DianaOfBurlington · Aug 16, 2012

Halyard sorting on H25

Db, I'm doing this now. I have the same sort of maststep deck organizer (the Garhauer one). My mast is not stepped on the hatch shroud but on the actual deck, atop a new G-10/epoxy mast base and a custom-fabricated aluminum mast step; and the hatch shroud is getting cut off shorter than that (I am doing that this weekend).

I bored holes in the coaming and installed 3/4" CPVC tubes (which I called 'pan flutes', since that's what they resemble), with epoxy. I have not painted the area yet (remember to spray the inside of the PVC with Krylon or the UV will eat it). It was a pain in the neck drilling through all the deck putty the factory used to fill that coaming! (it killed TWO 7/8" spade bitts!). I have two lines each side-- jib hal'd #2 (green) and the mainsail reef line to port, and main hal'd #1 (green) and main hal'd #2 (red) to starboard. The center of each inboard hole is 3" from the outside face of the hatch slider (which on my boat is a new wooden coaming) and they run parallel, inboard of the handrails, from the cheek blocks forward by the mast. They line up with the old-school Schaefer halyard stoppers and one Lewmar 6 to each side (actually I still need the winches-- anyone? :dance

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I removed the old teak edge rails and made new looped grab rails (based on the Cherubini 44 ones), and there is plenty of room between the hatch shroud and the handrails for two halyards each side-- if you don't mind grabbing a fingerful of rope now and then. I have long since filled in the old holes but I suspect my handrails are located farther outboard than the originals-- though it can't be by much due to the cabintop shape.

Early on I debated whether or not to locate the winches symmetrically and to lead the port-side halyards along the cabin top further inboard than the starboard ones; but I am too OCD to allow that. Winches to port and starboard are not symmetrical! --they are always clockwise. So, as I have it, one winch appears farther over to the side than the other; and the stoppers, the pan flutes, the fairleads on the deck and the cheek blocks are all located symmetrically, which I think looks way better.

The boat originally had a stainless-steel rub-rail strip on top of the starboard side of the coaming and the lines (the PO had only 1 jib and 1 main halyard, plus the vang) bent over that and downwards to the halyard stopper. This was a bad idea in so many ways. If you did not want to bore out the fiberglass coaming (and, believe me, it is not a pretty job to do so), better would be to mount the stoppers and winches on the cabintop just forward of the coaming, where, without a wide dodger, you could reach them from the hatch. This wouldn't be a bad plan.

Another, easier alternative is just to mount them on the deck beside the mast. There is nothing wrong with this-- it's been done hundreds of times on other boats. You might make some nice winch bases to accommodate the angled surface and to raise the winches a little (maybe an inch, not much more).

That said, there is nothing wrong with leaving them on the spar too. Unless you have in-mast furling (and who does, on an H25?) a singlehander always has to go forward to change headsails and to gather in the reefed main anyway. Better to be able to control the halyard from where you have to be than to have to make many trips between sail and winch under reefing conditions, alone.

I was about to determine how to have both jib halyards and the reef line led aft through three holes on the port side when I had a brainstorm and decided to leave the jib hal'd #1 (red) on the mast, with the spinnaker halyard. If I am racing, with crew, the green halyard (starboard sheave) can be used, handled from the cockpit by the helmsman or mainsheet trimmer during headsail changes. If I am alone, I can use the red one (port sheave) at the mast, where I will have to be to wrangle the sail itself anyway (I do not have, or, at this stage, want, a headsail furler).

As is considered proper the headsails are belayed on the port side of the mast & deck and the mains (and, in my case, the pole lift as well) belayed to starboard. This is an age-old practice and simplifies things greatly, from a logical standpoint, when you have guests or new crew aboard. I have never felt comfortable when this guideline is flouted (such as on some Cherubini 44s that have come in for work. --6 halyards, plus often double pole controls, all on three winches; talk about confusion! As I said I am OCD from a design perspective

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Db, if you need any more clarification with this, I (as chief rigger at Cherubini Yachts) am happy to help. Just e-mail.

KennyH · Aug 23, 2012

I think you are right.

I have the 81 year model and I am thinking the hatch is so large there is no way to run the lines properly. I am old school and enjoy the trips forwared to lower and raise the sails etc.

suds · Aug 26, 2012

Hi Db421

I have a 1974 Hunter 25 and this is my setup

DianaOfBurlington · Sep 2, 2012

suds said:
Hi Db421

I have a 1974 Hunter 25 and this is my setup

That is exactly what I have, Suds. Except I have it on both sides. I am fairing it over this weekend and can post pics of it in primer shortly.

Suds-- what did you use for the tubes, how did you bond/fair them, and what did you use to paint the insides of them?

suds · Sep 7, 2012

It was installed by the PO, however I did have to do repairs prior
to painting the deck. To me it looks like they fiberglassed a PVC of some type on the cabin side. When I did the repair I used West Marines Structural Filler (we use to call this stuff tiger hair) and then Evercoat filler to create the smooth surface.

I painted the deck with Interlux Brightside, since I was unsure of the previous paint type.

H 25 deck organization

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