Hope this is helpful!
I've had my H240 for a couple of years, sailing her on a small inland lake in Alberta. After doing a couple of RYA courses and a couple charters, I found the sail controls on the 240 a little-lacking so I've made a few modifications. Still testing and sorting things out, but the improvement in handling is night-and-day. I took my wife and kids out in 20kts gusting into the high-20s and the boat was actually controllable and comfortable on a well-shaped second reef (no headsail - too much heel in the gusts). There's minimal fetch on the lake (only a mile or two in the area I was sailing) so I wouldn't assume that wind range is transferrable to the ocean, where that kind of wind will kick up impressive waves, but I was impressed given the out-of-the-box setup stops being fun at around 15kts.
Key changes:
1) A real vang - On my boat (FM35 mast section), the vang was tied to an eye in the aluminium mast foot casting (FM0-2A) which experienced some highly questionable side-loading at higher sheeting angles. The top of the two eyes on this casting had already been busted before I bought the boat, validating my concern about this fitting. I added a second NG-11 (same bracket as the gooseneck) and NG1-18-14D toggle to the base of the mast (4x1/4" SS rivets in marine antiseize, bedded in 4200) so the vang tension is now totally stable with sheeting angle (same axis of rotation for the boom and vang) and is more secure enough that I can crank down and hold the sail shape when sheeted-out. I also added a 3:1 cascade for a total of 12:1 purchase. I still need to swap the last block for one with a new cam that will hold 6mm covered dyneema a little better at high tension. In addition to the vang I added a boomkicker (fiberglass spring) just above the vang bracket. Between the two I have much better control of the sail shape. The kicker is game-changing in the light wind we get here much-of-the-time.
2) Luff upgrades: Tides Marine track and a cunningham - Vastly easier raising/dropping and real luff-tension control with a 2:1 cunningham. I have the cunningham set up with a strop/snap-shackle so I can move it to the reefing tack and maintain control while reefed
3) Getting rid of single line reefing - back to basic clew-only reefs that are looped around the boom in the "classic" configuration that provides 2:1 of downhaul.
4) Upgraded outhaul - similar to the cunningham, uses a dyneema strop/snap shackles so it can quickly be moved to provide outhaul trim on the reefed sail. Currently 2:1 but going to reconfigure to 6:1 between the boom exit and deck attachment which will be simpler on the clew side and make the control a little stronger so I can easily adjust under load.
5) DIY Lazy jacks - nothing special here. Pad eyes about 6" out on each spreader, amsteel lines, some shock-cord to prevent spreader damage with sudden/large boom deflection.
Not super-photogenic yet until I finish all the splices. There are a lot of long tails on the knots while I test everything and make sure it's where I want it. Was missing a reef tie so ignore the loose bit of sail in the reefed photo. I also need to find (or 3d-print) inserts for the boom exit. I'm using some shackles as fairleads to avoid chafing on the mast-side boom casting but the cleaner solution would be a drop-in piece of nylon or something. Lastly, there are a few unused bits from the prior rigging which I need to clean-up. I had bought upgraded clutches (XAS 0612) but the ones I have seem to be holding the new 6mm lines pretty-well. I was considering adding self-tailing winches, but with the new purchase systems and the mainsail track in-place I haven't touched a winch on my last few sails.
I've had my H240 for a couple of years, sailing her on a small inland lake in Alberta. After doing a couple of RYA courses and a couple charters, I found the sail controls on the 240 a little-lacking so I've made a few modifications. Still testing and sorting things out, but the improvement in handling is night-and-day. I took my wife and kids out in 20kts gusting into the high-20s and the boat was actually controllable and comfortable on a well-shaped second reef (no headsail - too much heel in the gusts). There's minimal fetch on the lake (only a mile or two in the area I was sailing) so I wouldn't assume that wind range is transferrable to the ocean, where that kind of wind will kick up impressive waves, but I was impressed given the out-of-the-box setup stops being fun at around 15kts.
Key changes:
1) A real vang - On my boat (FM35 mast section), the vang was tied to an eye in the aluminium mast foot casting (FM0-2A) which experienced some highly questionable side-loading at higher sheeting angles. The top of the two eyes on this casting had already been busted before I bought the boat, validating my concern about this fitting. I added a second NG-11 (same bracket as the gooseneck) and NG1-18-14D toggle to the base of the mast (4x1/4" SS rivets in marine antiseize, bedded in 4200) so the vang tension is now totally stable with sheeting angle (same axis of rotation for the boom and vang) and is more secure enough that I can crank down and hold the sail shape when sheeted-out. I also added a 3:1 cascade for a total of 12:1 purchase. I still need to swap the last block for one with a new cam that will hold 6mm covered dyneema a little better at high tension. In addition to the vang I added a boomkicker (fiberglass spring) just above the vang bracket. Between the two I have much better control of the sail shape. The kicker is game-changing in the light wind we get here much-of-the-time.
2) Luff upgrades: Tides Marine track and a cunningham - Vastly easier raising/dropping and real luff-tension control with a 2:1 cunningham. I have the cunningham set up with a strop/snap-shackle so I can move it to the reefing tack and maintain control while reefed
3) Getting rid of single line reefing - back to basic clew-only reefs that are looped around the boom in the "classic" configuration that provides 2:1 of downhaul.
4) Upgraded outhaul - similar to the cunningham, uses a dyneema strop/snap shackles so it can quickly be moved to provide outhaul trim on the reefed sail. Currently 2:1 but going to reconfigure to 6:1 between the boom exit and deck attachment which will be simpler on the clew side and make the control a little stronger so I can easily adjust under load.
5) DIY Lazy jacks - nothing special here. Pad eyes about 6" out on each spreader, amsteel lines, some shock-cord to prevent spreader damage with sudden/large boom deflection.
Not super-photogenic yet until I finish all the splices. There are a lot of long tails on the knots while I test everything and make sure it's where I want it. Was missing a reef tie so ignore the loose bit of sail in the reefed photo. I also need to find (or 3d-print) inserts for the boom exit. I'm using some shackles as fairleads to avoid chafing on the mast-side boom casting but the cleaner solution would be a drop-in piece of nylon or something. Lastly, there are a few unused bits from the prior rigging which I need to clean-up. I had bought upgraded clutches (XAS 0612) but the ones I have seem to be holding the new 6mm lines pretty-well. I was considering adding self-tailing winches, but with the new purchase systems and the mainsail track in-place I haven't touched a winch on my last few sails.
