If you search the archives here at HOW you should find several mast raising systems for the H23 posted over the years including one by Mark Major and one by myself. These systems enable you to raise and rig the H23 mast by yourself in less than an hour and MUCH faster if you have one other person to help.
The wing-keel H23 is essentially a big dinghy with a small cabin. It is light and responsive and rewards attention to sail trim with stellar performance. It is an excellent platform for learning to sail well, but the stock sail controls do not allow for the quick adjustments that are needed to sail the boat properly and comfortably.
Much of this is due to the large powerful mainsail. The H23 mast is six feet taller than a Catalina 22 and the boom is a foot longer. The mainsheet tackle is also very powerful, but it is the only adjustable mainsail control that came from the factory. Whens sailing closehauled, the mainsheet pulls the boom in and DOWN quite hard, which closes the leech of the mainsail, increasing its power substantially and making the boat very sensitive and easy to overpower in gusts. The H23 should be sailed with as little heel as possible (15 deg. max). Sailing with the rail in the water may look cool but it is slow, and uncomfortable for guests.
The very first modification I'd recommend is to tie telltales to the end of each batten. I use surveyors tape. The mainsail should be trimmed so the luff of the sail just stops shaking and all four telltales stream straight off the sail. In very windy conditions, the lower telltales should be stream straight and the upper ones should stream off to leeward. Most people overtrim the sail without knowing it, but once you see the telltales hook to windward you'll know you're overtrimmed.
The second modification is move the traveler stops all the way outboard and rig lines and cleats so the traveler car can be adjusted from the helm while under way. When sailing closehauled, set leech tension with the mainsheet for the prevailing wind conditions, then leave it. Control the angle of attack of the boom with the TRAVELER. Easing in gusts makes the boat accelerate instead of heeling more and as the boat accelerates, pulling the traveler back up maintains proper trim as the apparent wind moves forward.
The third modification is to make the backstay tension adjustable from the helm. The Harken catalog shows several simple ways to do this. I had a car that rode on the split backstay that could be pulled down. Increasing backstay tension pulls the masthead back, but since the forestay keeps the spreaders from moving back, the middle of the mast (between the spreaders and the foot) bends forward like a bow. This flattens the lower portion of the mainsail and reduces its power, which reduces heel and all the other things I mentioned before. When sailing off the wind, easing the backstay straightens the mast and allows the mainsail to "cup" and develop more power to compensate for the reduced apparent wind. By the way, mast bend can be preset at the dock for the prevailing wind conditions on any given day using the upper and lower shrouds.
The fourth modification is to add a cunningham and run it back to the cockpit so it can be adjusted under way. The fifth is to run the control line for the boom vang back to the cockpit. I had both lines cleated on the stbd side of the cabin top. I kept my halyards at the mast because the reefing line, outhaul and topping lift were there and all four lines need to be close at hand when reefing. I was quite secure standing at the mast by leaning back into the lower shroud.
Those five simple mods for the mainsail controls will improve boathandling immensely. I also made some mods for the headsail but we can discuss those another time. Keep sailing those H23's!
Peter Suah
H23 "Raven"
