H340 mainsail cover and pedestal grab bar questions

[steph_sails]

can anyone share photos of their mainsail cover and/or describe installation to be sure we are optimizing it? Ours is a replacement of the original 1999 version, which was used as the model/pattern. It looks like it should work like a Stack Pack and better contain the sail upon dousing, but it kind of sags below the boom once unzipped and does not contain the reefing lines at all which present a safety risk to anyone not protected by the Bimini.

On the pedestal grab bar, which supports a large navpod housing the chartplotter- it's starting to really wobble and we'd like any photos/ideas of what people have done in this area. I've seen some of the 340's for sail that have a very low grab bar- our is probably 20-24 in high!

Thanks-

Stephany

 

[ggrizzard]

Check the grab bar mounting under the deck and install a bigger backing plate and tighten the bolts. Otherwise, check the stae of the cockpit sole for water intrusion softening.

 

[Bill19233]

On the mainsail cover on our 340 I had some straps sewn on the inside and d-rings on the outside. We cinch the cover in the straps around to the d-rings, 3 on each side, should have done 4. You can see the straps in this photo, I'll try and get a closer shot of them tomorrow. Velcro wouldn't hold for us.
The lazy jacks have always held the reef on the boom good enough for us, put good folds in the reefed portion of the sail and keep the out haul tight and that will keep the folds tight.
Our helm grab bar is not original, the PO installed it and we have our chartplotter on it and it sticks up more than a foot out of the helm. It has a third tube from the top down to the front for extra support. I've got a couple big crew that use it to help stand up and it's solid. There's photos on my profile.

 

[Ed Caldwell]

Stephany, our 1999 H340 has Dutchman lines instead of lazy Jacks but this may give you some ideas. I had a canvas maker do this cover a few years ago with some special features:

• cutout and closure around the Dutchman lines to minimze rain washing dirt inside and onto the sail
• cutout and closures around the top of the mast struts.

We have summer problems with mud daubers so I was interested in a tightly closed cover. The front of the mast has two zippers above and below the strut attachments. The closures under the boom are the quarter turn type clips.

On the pedestal, ours is still solid so I haven't had to tighten the mounts. I would check the access panes that are in the ceiling of the aft berth as they appear to be right under the pedestal, I'm not sure, but they may give access to the bottom of the mounting bolts. Then you will probably need to remove storage well in the console to access the top.

 

[John T1594]

The factory sail cover on my 2000 H340 incorporates holes for the lazy jack lines so that the cover does not fall when the cover is open and the sail raised. The lazy jack lines go through grommets on the top of the cover cover, then through some SS rings inside the cover and back out of the bottom of the cover where they are secured to the mast (see photo). The cover also has long PVC tubes inside of sewn compartments (also held in place by the lazy jack lines) that run the length of the boom - they also keeping the cover from hanging down. The long reef lines stay inside of the cover and mostly out of the way. My Velcro straps are shot so the forward end of my sail cover is mostly open.