In reply to Ilanortho, I re-purposed my soft vang as a cunningham with the addition of a hook. (I use it for maintaining tension on the luff if the halyard slips. I also transfer it to the 1st and second reef cringles and tension the luff without having to put the sail on the reef horns at the gooseneck.) You can see the vang/cunningham fiddle block laying on the deck at the base of the mast. Then I installed the Dutchman boom brake. , I swapped the clevis pins on the aftermost shrouds for a shackle. The line through the boom brake from one side to the other is a fixed length (eye splices on both ends). I added a block to the bale where the vang used to be attached, a second one near the gooseneck and a third one at the base of the mast. The boom brake control line then goes from a sheet stopper on the starboard side to the mast base, then up to the underside of the boom, back to the last bale then is tied to the Dutchman Boom Brake. I can use the main halyard winch to raise the boom brake tight anywhere it travels on that fixed line depending on where the boom is on a downwind course. Better yet, the boom brake works just like my vang did. Even when close hauled and a rough chop bounces the boom around messing up the sail shape, tensioning the brake helps that. I still have my topping lift. I can't reef easily without it. I elevate the boom (after loosening the brake and sheet) and pull the leech of the sail down to a reef point without a winch. Then drop the topping lift again.
In the first picture you can see my mainsheet. I used a triple block and becket. It has a built in cam cleat. I added an extra block to the becket giving me a 7 to 1 advantage. It is very easy to sheet the main in even under load. I don't need a winch. This seems to only work without a dodger.
In the first picture you can see my mainsheet. I used a triple block and becket. It has a built in cam cleat. I added an extra block to the becket giving me a 7 to 1 advantage. It is very easy to sheet the main in even under load. I don't need a winch. This seems to only work without a dodger.
