Improving the Hunter 216
- Thread starter John Welch
- Start date
Next upgrade will be the boomkicker.
But first we need to control the “sloppy boom” with a Seoladair roll stop fitting.
The roll stop greatly improves the boom response.
The kit uses an eye slug or mast fitting slide that drops down from the mast opening for the sail cars.
A hole is drilled an inch and one quarter from the end of the boom
But first we need to control the “sloppy boom” with a Seoladair roll stop fitting.
The roll stop greatly improves the boom response.
The kit uses an eye slug or mast fitting slide that drops down from the mast opening for the sail cars.
A hole is drilled an inch and one quarter from the end of the boom
The roll stop U bracket is screwed into the eye slug with two screws.
The two stabilization arms move upward and are secured by two screws in the hole drilled and tapped into the boom.
The two stabilization arms move upward and are secured by two screws in the hole drilled and tapped into the boom.
Use a C clamp after the screws are started to slowly modify the roll stop arm to conform with the girth of the Hunter 216 boom
Mounting the Hunter 216 Boomkicker 750 was very straight forward.
Measure down four inches from the original mast bail on both sides and drill a hole for the 1/4 inch bolts.
Measure down four inches from the original mast bail on both sides and drill a hole for the 1/4 inch bolts.
Tape a small wrench into the mast slot at about the mast rubber bumper to stop the eye slug. Drop the eye slug down the mast sail track opening. Stew the U flange into the slug. Add the bottom mount for the Boomkicker
Then move to the boom. Remove the boom bail and drill two 1/4 inch holes farther away from the gooseneck
Mount the upper Boomkicker attachment onto the boom. Mark three drill holes after you tape the track to the boom. Drill and tape with the tools that are provided
Notice the original boom bail holes were 37 1/2 inches from the Gooseneck Pin. Newer boom bail holes are 42 1/2 inches from pin. Srew in the upper track into the boom.
Set the location on the middle hole
Set the location on the middle hole
Attach the main halyard to the end of the boom and raise the boom. Slide and pine the two ends of the Boomkicker to the mast attachment and the boom attachment. Mount the lower purchase triangle plate to the mast bail and the upper Vang to the boom bail
I took the Hunter out of a sail afterwards and it transformed the boat. My hunter went from a mud-duck, vague handling barge to a Olympic 470 on steroids! In 25 years of racing and sailing I have never spent so little time and money to gain so much performance with control!
The stock Hunter sail-plan was transformed. We can head-up 9-12% better upwind, and the main control is phenomenal. Feathering into heavy puffs to gain speed and falling off is now a real pleasure.
We removed the ghastly Topping lift and eliminated the chafing to the Leech and hang-ups on fast tacks. The mainsails will now last longer!
What a fun, responsive, and now hopefully fast boat it is becoming. Now we work on rig tension and better mainsheet control.\!
Sail fast with a smile,
John
The stock Hunter sail-plan was transformed. We can head-up 9-12% better upwind, and the main control is phenomenal. Feathering into heavy puffs to gain speed and falling off is now a real pleasure.
We removed the ghastly Topping lift and eliminated the chafing to the Leech and hang-ups on fast tacks. The mainsails will now last longer!
What a fun, responsive, and now hopefully fast boat it is becoming. Now we work on rig tension and better mainsheet control.\!
Sail fast with a smile,
John
I found this photo that helped me visualize this component. I’m not sure I could install the boomkicker now as I siliconed the track to try to keep rainwater out. I will have to check with your mounting dimensions to see if I will have a problem.
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Well that sounds promising!
A few questions:
1) Boomkicker’s website indicates the model to use is the 750, is this what you used?
2) What “model” of the seoladair fitting did you use?
3) Having done the installation would you do it any differently?
4) Can you provide pricing of this upgrade?
I do have an issue with the siliconed track (photo below) but maybe there is a solution that might also solve for another potential problem.
Assuming I leave things the way they are at the mast (removing the silicone would be tedious) and simply mount the mast connection point of the boomkicker higher than you did I would preserve the current waterproofing of the silicone and canvas mast hole cover (the other potential problem).
The angle of the boomkicker would be different than yours by a few degrees and I might have to shorten the rods to get it to fit to the boom properly but I’m not sure it would work correctly with a full range of motion.
Is there a specific angle that must be attained?
Note my light cord equivalent to your pin drilling.
Assuming I leave things the way they are at the mast (removing the silicone would be tedious) and simply mount the mast connection point of the boomkicker higher than you did I would preserve the current waterproofing of the silicone and canvas mast hole cover (the other potential problem).
The angle of the boomkicker would be different than yours by a few degrees and I might have to shorten the rods to get it to fit to the boom properly but I’m not sure it would work correctly with a full range of motion.
Is there a specific angle that must be attained?
Note my light cord equivalent to your pin drilling.
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A few questions:
1) Boomkicker’s website indicates the model to use is the 750, is this what you used? YES
2) What “model” of the seoladair fitting did you use? Standard Roll Stop Fitting
3) Having done the installation would you do it any differently? Nothing! I love every upgrade
4) Can you provide pricing of this upgrade? About $200?
Best to call the owner Ted Corlett at 708-482-8801. Tell him you are a Hunter 216 owner and he will help answer any engineering questions.
Sail Fast,
John
1) Boomkicker’s website indicates the model to use is the 750, is this what you used? YES
2) What “model” of the seoladair fitting did you use? Standard Roll Stop Fitting
3) Having done the installation would you do it any differently? Nothing! I love every upgrade
4) Can you provide pricing of this upgrade? About $200?
Best to call the owner Ted Corlett at 708-482-8801. Tell him you are a Hunter 216 owner and he will help answer any engineering questions.
Sail Fast,
John
@John Welch
Thanks for the owners contact and for the thorough install instructions with the photos.
After all
I’ve read through it now several times and wonder why you installed the roll stop mast slug before inserting the slug for the mast end of the boomkicker. How did you get the bottom slug past the top one?
My other question is about the upgraded rope vang.
Is it necessary to go to a higher MA vang to counter the lifting force of the boomkicker or some other reason?
Thanks for the owners contact and for the thorough install instructions with the photos.
After all
I’ve read through it now several times and wonder why you installed the roll stop mast slug before inserting the slug for the mast end of the boomkicker. How did you get the bottom slug past the top one?
My other question is about the upgraded rope vang.
Is it necessary to go to a higher MA vang to counter the lifting force of the boomkicker or some other reason?
Then I reinstalled the rollstop eye slug and finished assembling the boom rollstop
This is a thread about what the designer said about shroud tension
Hunter 216 rig tension and masthole update
The following is a 2008 conversation about this topic and I thought I would provide an update due to the “new” Loos gauge now being a PT-1 model that has a different scale. This model of gauge comes with a conversion chart that converts the Model A numbers to the new PT-1 scale. If you are using...
forums.sailboatowners.com
Installed some lazy jacks as I was tired of fighting with the main. It’s made a world of difference for me as I moor the boat and I often drop the main before I pick up the mooring. Before the LJ I struggled to get bungee cords around the sail to keep windage down and also see where I was going, now I just release the halyard and with a few tugs on the main it is neatly stored above the boom.
Even though I tied the top open the battens tend to snag on the way up so I might just use it to drop the sail.
Even though I tied the top open the battens tend to snag on the way up so I might just use it to drop the sail.
Hunter216,
You must be reading my mind.
Sailed twice last weekend with no wind! So no updates on tuning.
However Dropping the main is a pain with the size and girth of sail and fighting it for control and strapping bungee cords with ball ends around it is no fun.
I ordered a mast track slug to stop the main as the first step and was thinking about a Lazy Jack system
Did you design your own?
Sail fast,
John
You must be reading my mind.
Sailed twice last weekend with no wind! So no updates on tuning.
However Dropping the main is a pain with the size and girth of sail and fighting it for control and strapping bungee cords with ball ends around it is no fun.
I ordered a mast track slug to stop the main as the first step and was thinking about a Lazy Jack system
Did you design your own?
Sail fast,
John