H260 rigging question

[rcaw]

Well the wife and I bought our h260 late last summer and are looking forward to our first full summer on the water. There are some rigging upgrades/improvements that I want to do on the boat.

Having experienced the "tenderness" of the boat and understanding the need for early and easy reefing I have ordered a single line reefing system, should be here Friday.

But I started to think about this as it relates to the topping lift, the outhaul, and the vang control lines. Right now the way this boat was rigged none of these lines come to the cockpit. There actually are horn cleats at the front of the boom for the topping lift and out haul and a cam at the block for the vang.

So if I don't want to climb up on the deck to make adjustments to any of these I am thinking I should run them all back to the cockpit. I understand this is somewhat of a preference item and not everybody wants to do this but if I am looking to get close to single handed sailing this would all be a step in the right direction.

I am pretty sure I understand all the rigging/work/expense involved with doing this but was wondering if anybody has this set up this way and is it worth it?

Or did i buy the only h260 that doesn't have this set up already?

I appreciate your thoughts.
Rick C.

 

[jcrumpley]

Rick,

I think that is the way all 260's are set up from the factory. My new H25 is the same. While I wasn't concerned with having all controls in the cockpit, I did use a fiddle block with a cam to provide control for the topping lift. I simply installed it between the topping lift wire cable and the line that runs thorugh the boom. I can easily reach it from the wheel.

 

[Bob 04 H260]

I think the way the lines are brought to the cockpit will depend on how often you trailer the boat. It does require more time to rig if they are brought down to the base of the mast and across the roof.

I installed Harken single line reefing on my last boat and did not like it. For my H260 I installed double line reefing, I find it easier to use, less strain on the sail and can get better sail shape when reefed. I used two small light, plastic blocks on the sail reef cringles to reduce strain on the sail and they make shaking a reef out much easier once the winds dies down.

I added a small block to the mainsail outhaul to make it easier to flatten the main in stronger winds.

I ran all 4 lines (topping lift, outhaul, luff & leach reefing lines) to jam cleats mounted on the bottom of the boom above the companionway. When rigging the boat the mainsail and all lines stay on the boom under the mainsail cover saving a lot of time.

I turned the vang around so the cam cleat is at the boom, it is much easier to release from the cockpit than it is if at the base of the mast.

I have a number of pictures of this setup in the album under my profile here if you want to see more pictures with some details, good luck, Bob

 

[MABell]

One thing for sure, you can do away with dealing with the topping lift by installing a solid vang. Certain if you search this site for that topic, others would agree it's a worthwhile project.

 

[rcaw]

Bob, Thanks for the info. This is exactly what I was looking for. I really didn't think about the set up and take down issues when trailering but that is very important in reducing the time to do that. We are set with a slip for the summer and that is where the boat will be most of the time but we are planning at least 1 trailer adventure now and more in the future. Your Florida trip looed very appealing.

But, either way, i like how you ran your lines a lot better than what I was thinking of. It will be much cheaper and easier to rig. I had already ordered the single line reefing system so I think I will go ahead and install that with a few minor adjustments. If I don't like it I am sure I can modify it to your two line system.

I do have a question about your hardware. It looks like you had to do a little fabrication for the cleat mount and the sheeves but it looks pretty strait forward. Any more detail or recommendations??

Also for the blocks you attached on the sail cringles, did just use the line that came with the blocks to attach or is there something else in between. It s hard to tell from the pictures.

I may send you an email if i have further questions if that is ok with you.

Thanks again.

 

[Bob 04 H260]

Hi Rick, yes a bit of fabrication but no welding or milling machine needed .

I used some s/s 1/2" x 1/8" bar stock I had in the garage. I pushed out the shaft in the boom that held the original cleats in place. The shaft was replaced with a 1/4" s/s bolt.

I bought the new sheaves at a local chandlery, they were sold as replacements for a deck organizer, they sit on the shoulder of another 1/4" s/s bolt.

The new jam cleats are alumium with a plastic keeper allowing them to be used upside down. The new cleats are mounted (drilled and tapped) on a 1/8" aluminum plate that was pop riveted (s/s) to the bottom of the boom.

I used a light line to attach the Harken blocks to the sail, the blocks come with instructions and the line to do this.

I am sure you will be happy with the single line reefing. I used mine for a couple of years and it did have some advantages over the double line reefing I have now.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, good luck in your project, Bob