So, when I got this boat last spring, I knew I was going to rework some running rigging. It was "good enough" to be safe, but not how I want it, long term. Today, I finally went out and started putting together a plan.
Let me break this down into three seperate projects, but with some overlap:
Outhaul
The outhaul is shown here:
Just to the right of this photo, the wire rope attaches to a short section of braided nylon that goes straight to a horn cleat on the boom. It is pretty much impossible to get much tension. The horn cleat is about 2 feet from the aft end of the boom. (That bracket on the far right of the photo is a cheek block for the reefing line.)
I'm not entire sure of the history here. That half-moon shaped protrusion on the end cap is (my best guess) the original route of the outhaul. It has a groove that runs around the outside of that half-circle. (I'm sure this has a name, but I don't know it). But, the track on the top of the boom doesn't look like it would have allowed that. That is, anything coming around that half-moon would have rubbed against the aft-most tip of that track. The track sure looks original, though, so I don't know.
In any case, it looks like that block was bolted onto the end cap, some time later. I do consider that an upgrade, and I'm OK with that end of the setup. The other end (the cleat end) is what I don't like. At minimum, I am just going to run a longer outhaul line to a cleat farther forward. This, at least, allows me to tension from a better position.
Except on very small boats, I have only ever seen something barely functional like this, or an outhaul rigged all the way back to the cockpit. I will say, I am not going to bring it back to the cockpit. I am just not the kind of sailor that ever adjust this when under sail. It just isn't that important, to me to finetune the outhaul tension. That said, I do like to be able to adjust according to the prevailing conditions.
Reefing Line
Some day, I will bring the reefing line back to the cockpit, but not this year. But, the way it is set up, it is pretty sketchy and I do not look forward to doing it under hectic conditions.
So, you can see the cheek block near the center of the photo. That's fine. (The reefing line is just kind of hanging there, at the moment.) From there, the line goes up through the cringle, then down to this little eye-strap kind of thing (don't know what these are called).
First, this appears to be something added on later. I suppose it is possible the original boom had no reefing mechanism, whatsoever. I see no evidence of anything prior.
In any case, I do not like this eye-strappy anchor point. It doesn't exactly have sharp edges on it, but it looks inadequate and I am concerned about chafing when used in real conditions for more than a few hours. Maybe this is more common than I realize, but I don't think I have ever seen this setup. But, then again, I can't think off the top of my head what I have seen except on my own boats.
So, notwithstanding my concerns with the port side anchor strap thing, my beef is with the other end of the reefing line. It goes through that cheek block and forward to a point a few feet forwardo of the mast, where it terminates at a horn cleat on the boom.
I think that what I might consider is just taking it all the way to the mast. I don't have a free/unused winch at the mast, but if I installed one, I could use it for either the reefing line or the outhaul. But, I also start to think that, by that time, maybe I should add just a few more blocks and some clutches, and take my lines back to the cockpit. Still undecided what I care most about, here.
Topping Lift
I'm actually confused about my topping lift. This is the best (not great) picture I have:
This has a fairly typical setup of kind of an upside-down "V" shaped bridle with a little block holding up the point of the "V". (Not describing this well, but it is pretty typical.) In the photo, you can see the line attached to a shackle clipped to a strap bolted to the end cap. That line goes up couple of feet, through the block, and back down to that cheek block, then forward a few feet to a horn cleat on the port side of the boom.
That much makes sense. But, the line that runs from the top of the mast to that block at the top of the "V" bridle - that has me confused.
I would expect that line to go up through a masthead sheave, and back down the mast, thus allowing you to raise/lower the topping lift from the mast. But, the topping lift doesn't exit anywhere. I have internal halyards and there are only exit points for the two halyards. (The spinaker halyard is external.) That topping lift appears to just to tied on at the top of the mast or secured in some secret place. It is hard to see from below, but it "appears" to go through a sheave, but the other end does not emerge anywhere.
Is this actual a common thing? I don't think I've ever seen it, but again, it isn't the sort of thing I pay much attention to on other people's boats.
The end result of this is that the only way to use the topping lift is to adjust it right there a few feet from the aft end of the boom.
So, here is my real concern, reefing would look something like this:
Sorry, that's a lot to unpack. Part of this post is just me thinking out loud. Ultimately, eventually, I will run everything back to the cockpit. But, probably not within the next few years. So, I am trying to make the best compromises I can.
Let me break this down into three seperate projects, but with some overlap:
- Outhaul: What I have is barely functional.
- Reefing: Same. Almost unsafe.
- Topping Lift: Nearly pointless, but technically functional.
Outhaul
The outhaul is shown here:
Just to the right of this photo, the wire rope attaches to a short section of braided nylon that goes straight to a horn cleat on the boom. It is pretty much impossible to get much tension. The horn cleat is about 2 feet from the aft end of the boom. (That bracket on the far right of the photo is a cheek block for the reefing line.)
I'm not entire sure of the history here. That half-moon shaped protrusion on the end cap is (my best guess) the original route of the outhaul. It has a groove that runs around the outside of that half-circle. (I'm sure this has a name, but I don't know it). But, the track on the top of the boom doesn't look like it would have allowed that. That is, anything coming around that half-moon would have rubbed against the aft-most tip of that track. The track sure looks original, though, so I don't know.
In any case, it looks like that block was bolted onto the end cap, some time later. I do consider that an upgrade, and I'm OK with that end of the setup. The other end (the cleat end) is what I don't like. At minimum, I am just going to run a longer outhaul line to a cleat farther forward. This, at least, allows me to tension from a better position.
Except on very small boats, I have only ever seen something barely functional like this, or an outhaul rigged all the way back to the cockpit. I will say, I am not going to bring it back to the cockpit. I am just not the kind of sailor that ever adjust this when under sail. It just isn't that important, to me to finetune the outhaul tension. That said, I do like to be able to adjust according to the prevailing conditions.
Reefing Line
Some day, I will bring the reefing line back to the cockpit, but not this year. But, the way it is set up, it is pretty sketchy and I do not look forward to doing it under hectic conditions.
So, you can see the cheek block near the center of the photo. That's fine. (The reefing line is just kind of hanging there, at the moment.) From there, the line goes up through the cringle, then down to this little eye-strap kind of thing (don't know what these are called).
First, this appears to be something added on later. I suppose it is possible the original boom had no reefing mechanism, whatsoever. I see no evidence of anything prior.
In any case, I do not like this eye-strappy anchor point. It doesn't exactly have sharp edges on it, but it looks inadequate and I am concerned about chafing when used in real conditions for more than a few hours. Maybe this is more common than I realize, but I don't think I have ever seen this setup. But, then again, I can't think off the top of my head what I have seen except on my own boats.
So, notwithstanding my concerns with the port side anchor strap thing, my beef is with the other end of the reefing line. It goes through that cheek block and forward to a point a few feet forwardo of the mast, where it terminates at a horn cleat on the boom.
I think that what I might consider is just taking it all the way to the mast. I don't have a free/unused winch at the mast, but if I installed one, I could use it for either the reefing line or the outhaul. But, I also start to think that, by that time, maybe I should add just a few more blocks and some clutches, and take my lines back to the cockpit. Still undecided what I care most about, here.
Topping Lift
I'm actually confused about my topping lift. This is the best (not great) picture I have:
This has a fairly typical setup of kind of an upside-down "V" shaped bridle with a little block holding up the point of the "V". (Not describing this well, but it is pretty typical.) In the photo, you can see the line attached to a shackle clipped to a strap bolted to the end cap. That line goes up couple of feet, through the block, and back down to that cheek block, then forward a few feet to a horn cleat on the port side of the boom.
That much makes sense. But, the line that runs from the top of the mast to that block at the top of the "V" bridle - that has me confused.
I would expect that line to go up through a masthead sheave, and back down the mast, thus allowing you to raise/lower the topping lift from the mast. But, the topping lift doesn't exit anywhere. I have internal halyards and there are only exit points for the two halyards. (The spinaker halyard is external.) That topping lift appears to just to tied on at the top of the mast or secured in some secret place. It is hard to see from below, but it "appears" to go through a sheave, but the other end does not emerge anywhere.
Is this actual a common thing? I don't think I've ever seen it, but again, it isn't the sort of thing I pay much attention to on other people's boats.
The end result of this is that the only way to use the topping lift is to adjust it right there a few feet from the aft end of the boom.
So, here is my real concern, reefing would look something like this:
- Point upwind and engage autopilot because this will be hard to do safely, otherwise. Even though I don't sail solo, this is really a two-person job with the current setup.
- Slack the mainsheet a bit so I can engage the topping lift. (I typically use the topping lift to make it easier to tension the reefing line.)
- Now, the boom is loose and I have to raise the topping lift from a line that attaches just a few feet from the aft end.
- Then, I have to harden the mainsheet while crew goes to the mast.
- I move up to the starboard side of the boom, near the mast, and crew lowers the halyard.
- I harden the reefing line and crew rehardens the halyard.
Sorry, that's a lot to unpack. Part of this post is just me thinking out loud. Ultimately, eventually, I will run everything back to the cockpit. But, probably not within the next few years. So, I am trying to make the best compromises I can.
