Hunter 260 - Boom line management?

[Curwen]

Hello all,

My H260 is my first boat with the multiple control lines within the boom, so I have a couple of questions about line management.

1. How often to you adjust the boom vang? I know that isn't through the boom, but the line doesn't seem to reach to the cockpit.
   1. How long should this line be?
   2. Do you use it often?
2. It seems really awkward to crawl forward to fiddle/adjust that, especially when sailing solo.
3. I have never adjusted the foot of the sail. I understand that in lighter winds, I should deepen the sail for performance. Do you adjust on the fly?
4. How long should the backstay be? The line is adjusted at the beginning and ending of my sail, but it does not reach to the edge of the cockpit, makes it awkward to tighten and loosen.
5. Any special advice for the reefing clew sheet?
   1. How do you attach to the reefing point?
   2. And how do you secure it to the boom and maintain tension on the foot of the sail?

Thank you!!

Curwen

 

[shemandr]

You do have a couple of questions! These questions should be primarily answered by Mac 26D owners. I've checked and there is a Mac forum. You may want to request the moderator to move your post to it. If you want the widest input "Ask All Sailers" will generate the most responses. But they will be less specific.
I can answer some as someone who has never set foot on a MacGregor of any sort:
4. The forestay sets the rake of the mast. The backstay follows that. So a better question is how long should the forestay be? Note that the 26D appears to have a fractional rig (Sailboatdata.com) with swept back spreaders. So the backstay can bend the mast and depower the main sail. It is highly desirable with this rig to have an adjustable backstay. No set length.
3. Any sailboat will have more power in light wind with more depth in the foot of the sail which is controlled by the outhaul. I think it should be easily adjusted. You set up the sail controls so this is possible.
1. Similar answer for the outhaul. The vang is an important sail control that should be easy to adjust. Modify the setup to accomplish that.
We'll see what Mac owners have to say ...

 

[Joe]

First of all, you need to refer to your sail trim guide. You have one, right? If not, get one(we all have and use them) and review the sections on the vang, outhaul, backstay and take a look at mainsail reefing in any general sailing manual. Actually, if you google "mainsail slab reefing" you'll get all the illustrations and instruction you could want. Somewhere in the various choices you'll find a picture of what you want...... or perhaps you have a Hunter 260 owner's manual..... a perfect place to find the info you seek.

Vang control line-
If the vang line is too short, make it longer... either tie on an extension or replace it... so it will reach to where you want. If you can't snap the vang's control line in and out of the cleat at the mast base, remove the cleat and relocate it to the cabin top nearer the cockpit. The vang is part of the basic sail trim activity you regularly use during your sailing sessions. Refer to your sail trim guide for further instruction.
Outhaul
You asked iif the backstay is adjusted on the fly. The answer is yes. In fact that is the only way it can be adjusted for trim purposes... because the boat must be actually sailing for it to be correctly set. Sail trim is dynamic... it is ongoing, everchanging. It is
SAILING. If you have trouble with the control line and the clew attachment being hard to move... spray a little dry lubricant on the moving parts and sail slug. When do you use it.... again, refer to your sail trim guide.

Backstay
Well, sir, I'm confused. The backstay is a wire, part of the standing rigging that supports the mast. Are you talking about a block and tackle system at the transom that would be used to quickly adjust tension on the backstay? Or, are you talking about the boom topping lift which can be wire and rope, or rope only, and holds the boom up when the boat isn't sailing. If it is actually a backstay adjuster you're talking about....and the control line is too short, then.. ta da! make it longer. If the line is part of a boom topping lift adjuster, that is located above the boom end and hard to reach.. then we can tell you how to fix that problem. Why don't you post a picture (no more than two) or at the very least, describe it in a little more detail.

Reefing lines
Okay, my brother, I'm not gonna go through a long explanation here. I will simply ask you to google search ("mainsail slab reefing"). Find the one closest to your set up and post a link to the illustration. Now we can help.

Okay, sir, you have some homework. Get that sail trim guide open and start boning up on how vangs, backstays, cunninghams, halyards, downhauls, outhauls, tweakers, travelers all work, oops, don't forget barber haulers and take a few minutes to look at some mainsail slab reefing examples. Good luck...Have fun.

 

[BobSail]

#4: I’m guessing you mean the Topping Lift?

Our approach while daysailing our 260 for 20 years (No racing):
Once the topping lift was set so it wouldn’t interfere with sail shape or the boom vang setting, it wasn’t touched for the season. On the 260 it’s really for holding up the boom when the sail is down.

The only boom control line I really ever adjusted was the reefing line when we reefed. I would drop the sail lower than the reefing crinkle and have someone in the cockpit lift the end of the boom while I tightened the reefing line at the mast, then hook the cringle in and tighten up the halyard. That kept the reefing line close to the boom.

The boom vang was set so the boom wouldn’t lift too much on reaches and then left there for the duration. The boom's end sheeting took care of shape during close haul. The Outhaul tension was medium range. The boat is so tender that reefing was used over outhaul sail flattening anyway, which is minimal with a bolt rope boom-attached foot.

We reefed a lot. Sometimes I would set the reef in the slip before we went out or put the sail up. When short handed, it is much easier to raise the sail with the reef already in, and to shake the reef out, then to put it in while already under sail when it’s needed. Manual drawings in the archives show the reef line configuration.