Hey Team,
I finally got my new to me Catalina 275 from the boatyard.
Overall I love the boat, but have only been on it once so far.
But I have a few questions:
1. When you are sailing, where do you all keep your spinnaker halyard? When the yard rigged by boat the attached it to the port life line, but it seems sort of odd to have it there.
2. I am disappointed that the boat uses the main halyard as a toping lift. It uses the hard vang when the sail is lowered and the halyard is on the head of the sail. Has anyone created a true topping lift?
3. The main halyard seems to have a really thin line and really doesn't get great traction in the starboard winch. has anyone upgraded this (I spoke to someone else who has sailed another 275 and apparently its the same.
4. I was disappointed that my boat doesn't have two speed winches. is this worth upgrading?
Thanks,
Mike
#1 Mike, you can secure the halyard anywhere you want it. The reason it was fixed to the life line by the yard crew is to keep it from noisily slapping on the mast if the wind kicks up in the marina, which is a courtesy to your neighbors. I used to tie the halyard to the spreaders with some small stuff to pull it away from the mast, but a while back I started just flipping the halyard around the spreader then clip it to the spin pole ring on the mast. When I sail, I will un loop if from behind the spreaders and either leave it clipped to the ring, or clip it to the life line on the launch side so it's handy when getting the sail ready to hoist. You might find a better way, there's no "right" way... as long as you show your neighbors the courtesy of trying to keep halyard slap to a minimum.
#2 The use of a topping lift has generally been considered obsolete when there is a rigid vang installed to support the weight of the boom. I wrapped my top lift around the backstay when I installed my rigid vang some 20 years ago. Thinking it would be handy should I need it for something.... which I never have... ever. I also clipped off the little pigtail that was crimped on to the backstay for the purpose of holding up the boom when the boat was inactive. What I do now to stabilize the boom while it's moored, is simply clip the main halyard to the end of the boom.... the use the mainsheet tackle to pull down with opposing tension to stabilize the boom to the side of the cockpit, freeing up space. With a rigid vang you'll have absolutely no use for the topping lift, sailing or resting. You should be ecstatic that you have the rigid boom and no longer have to fiddle with the topping lift everytime you tack the mainsail over.
#3 If the line feels uncomfortably thin, you can cover it where it is handled and cleated. I have built a number of halyards that have that feature. The core is high tech single braid such as dyneema (this is the skinny part). In the past it was common to used wire with a rope tail spliced to it for handling and cleating. Now it's more common to use the dyneema as the core (it's actually stronger than wire and is lighter). One reason to use the smaller diameter line is because of the limited width of the sheaves at the masthead. That's why wire was used... because of the space needed for multiple halyards in the masthead. Instead of 1/8" wire spliced to 3/8" rope, I built a "tapered" halyard that used a 3/16" Amsteel (dyneema) core, and then I covered the back half, approximately half the total length) with an inexpensive 5/16" outer layer. This gives me good feel and works well in the cleats and winch. You can by "cover only" line that is sold expressly for this purpose, or simply purchase a less expensive double braid dacron line and use the core of that line to fish the new dyneema core into position as replacement. There is a simple splice called a "bury or tuck" splice which creates the transition from covered to uncovered part of the halyard (the taper) You can find directions for the splice and explanation of how it works at the Samson Ropes website, or practically any rigging guide you can get your hands on. I have written fairly explicit instructions myself, which you may find in the archives from years past. Again... the splice is very simple... and if you want an eye spliced into the single braid (core) end for attaching a shackle it's also very simple... unlike a double braid splice.
#4 Two speed winches. Look mike, you purchased a used boat. There's no telling what the first owner chose when he ordered the boat. But I will tell you that you don't need 2 speed halyard winches for a 27 footer. If you need more power, use a 10" winch handle. Now......Primary winches are different. I love them...but unless you sail with a large headsail you can probably get along with an adequately sized single. I upgraded to self tailing a few years back. Took advantage of the 2 for 1 Lemar promotion that West Marine has every year. Give it some time and get used to your boat... prioritize your upgrades and when the sale comes around you'll know when to pull the trigger....and save yourself $1,000. If you want 2 speeds, I still have the both pair of two speed standards (not self tailing) Barlows I replaced. The 2 speed halyard winches were excellent, but I like self tailing for halyard winches and but you can't find 2 speeds under size 30. I'm happy with the single speed self tailing #16's though.
Good Luck, Have Fun
