Mast - Boom rigging

[Harrolld]

I am trying to rig a Hunter 212 from the Owner's manual. I understand the main halyard pulling the mast up. The outhaul halyard attaching to the outhaul mainsail clew and being held by the outhaul tie off cleat. A little fuzzy about the reef line and tie off cleat, but think I can figure this out once the main sail is up. I need HELP with the following: From the owner's manual page 36B, I see the boom toppin lift (BTL) tie off cleat, BTL exit location, BTL line run, BLT line exit sheave and the BTL line end. However, the manual does not say what the BTL line end attaches to. On page 45 it shows #(6) boom topping lift, I suppose this is a line, what size? #(10) boom topping lift shackle, again it is not explained to what the line and shackle are attached to. Really! Any help is appreciated.

 

[Mark Malcolm]

Boom Rigging - Topping lift

On most boats the topping lift is either adjusted at the mast or backstay - the Hunter is a bit different. With my boat, the topping lift is a fixed 1/4" line from the top of the mast to the end of the boom (page 45?). I just bowline the boom topping lift line (page 36B? inside the boom) to the fixed topping lift line (fixed line coming from the top of the mast) making sure I have a couple of feet of in-boom line exposed before it attaches to the fixed mast line. This will give you some room to adjust things. The tough part is that it puts your topping lift shackle/bowline about 7 ft off of the deck. So it's best and easiest to always connect the boom line to the fixed line.You could use a shackle to make it a little faster to rig when trailering - bowline works for me. Make sure that that the topping lift keeps the boom high enough to give you plenty of headroom. I then release/loosen the in-boom line when the mainsail is up, letting the mainsail "hang" the boom where it wants to be. Note: make sure your vang and mainsheet are loose when adjusting the topping lift. I didn't and it gave me fits the firt few times I attempted to adjust these lines.Good luck!

 

[Steven Lowry]

My 212 has a 1/4" line that runs from the top of the mast to the BTL line. I suppose you could use larger line but, since the line is slack against the main under sail, you'll probably want small line. On my mast top cap there is an "arm" that juts out aftwards to which the BTL line is tied.