New Cal 29 owner rigging questions

[MeandmyCal29]

Hey, folks. I've finally let stupidity take over and broke my vow to never own a boat. I was given a Cal 29 in very good overall condition. As a friend said when I told him, "You got it for free? Man, you should have negotiated". Anyway, the previous owner had never flown the spinnaker and some of the rigging is missing. There's a block about a third of the way up the mast for the topping lift, but no lead back to the cabin. Is it supposed to be worked from the mast? Next, I haven't figured out is how the foreguy is supposed to be rigged. It seems like there should be a block at the base of the mast, since there is no padeye anywhere on the foredeck, but the only fitting low on the front of the mast is a small eyestrap, the kind used for redirecting a line rather than clipping a shackle onto. Again, no hardware for directing it to the cabin. Also, there are two pole cars on the forward mast track, one with a set pin, and the other that is loose above it. I have no clue what the second one is for. Next, there are beefy deck eyestraps on either side near the shrouds, which I'm assuming are for twinger and/or preventer snap shackles? Finally, the masthead halyard blocks seem to be reversed, with only one pointed forward, with two towards the back. The previous owner just had the jib halyard run through one of the back-facing ones, which seems likely to foul, and the (unused) spinnaker halyard run through the forward-facing one.
The rigger at the local marina bowed out from offering advice, saying he's not a sailor, he just replaces and adjusts.
Any help appreciated.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Hardly a friendly intro as your first post on a boating forum implying everyone who owns a boat is “stupid”. Notwithstanding that, we would need to see pictures to offer any reliable advice.

 

[dLj]

Hardly a friendly intro as your first post on a boating forum implying everyone who owns a boat is “stupid”. Notwithstanding that, we would need to see pictures to offer any reliable advice.

Hahahaha - I'm so glad you said this before my inner child came flying out through my keyboard....

In the spirit of sailors of old - I'll refrain from my first thoughts for a response and simply add - we need overall photos and some close-up photos - all done so us less intelligent folk can make sense of what your photos represent...

dj

 

[Joe]

I crewed for a couple seasons on a Cal 29 and I can tell you that every skipper will dial his boat in the he see's fit. Our skipper loved snatch blocks....for instance. He used them to open the slot when reaching with the genoa. Then they became the afterguy blocks when the chute was deployed. We used separate guys and sheets. The twings were much smaller stand up blocks, again with small snatch blocks just big enough to handle the 1/4 or 5/16 spin sheets. Here's an important point, the four halyard and the two topping lifts were managed at the mast. NONE were led back to the cockpit. We had the luxury of always having plenty of crew, he was very enthusiastic about inviting new people to participate, new folks were not allowed on the foredeck when racin, because that was the domain of his 30 year old son and his buddy... so... I was usually in the pit which I actually liked.. oh, and everyone was always "rail meat" ...

What's the point...... set the boat up the way you want... I know it's your first boat... but it doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means it's you're first boat. I'll tell you right now, don't mess with the spinnaker and the pole unless you have at least two other experienced crew and have practiced at the dock first. The more controls you keep at the mast, the more room you have in the cockpit for the afterguard..... helmsmen, trimmers, tacticians, navigators, cocktail waitress, etc. Let me reiterate that spinnaker and pole warning. Practice at the dock, have 2 experienced crew.

 

[FastOlson]

The rigger at the local marina bowed out from offering advice, saying he's not a sailor, he just replaces and adjusts.

Interesting. I have not met a professional rigger in 5 decades that was not a very good sailor.

 

[MeandmyCal29]

I thought it was strange. I suspect it was just a polite way of saying "don't bother me".
I'm on my way to the boat to take some pictures.

 

[Timm R Oday25]

Seems odd that the previous owner used the boat the way it was rigged for how many years and only now when you own it is everything wrong .

 

[jssailem]

The pictures will help. Be sure to take wide angle. Not everything should be a close-up.

The time these boats were built, simple was the focus. Lines handled at the mast was normal. Running all your lines to the cockpit came later.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

The spinnaker halyard should run through a swivel block at the masthead above the forestay. Usually there is an attachment at the top of the masthead with a ring extending forward. On a Cal 29 I believe the halyard remains outside of the mast, rather than internally. It can cleat off at the mast, but usually it is brought back to the cockpit (not the cabin as you write). The strap midway between the spreaders and the masthead is a good attachment point for the spinnaker pole topping lift. That also can be cleated at the mast, but is best to run aft to the cockpit. The foreguy (or pole downhaul) can be located in one of three locations at the deck level. 1. At the base of the mast, 2. Midway between the mast base and the stem head fitting, or 3. At the stem Head fitting. I like #2 personally, because you can better control the pole from the cockpit. That position is usually just under the pole bridal center point. If you want to pull the mast back toward the forestay, you can and ease it to let the pole out. I prefer to have the topping lift and foreguy cockpit cleat locations next to each other so one person can operate them easily from that location. I know some who like one on one side of the companionway and the other on the other side, but that almost requires two crew members to operate it when one can. Obviously if the halyard or anything is cleated at the mast, you have to have a mast man there to do the work. That can be the same guy who gybes the pole. Again, you want to fine tune all the jobs for efficiency. The spinnaker sheets should run to the aft corners of the cockpit. One is called a sheet (the one not attached to the pole) and the other is the after guy (the one opposite the sheet that does attach to the pole). Usually they turn the lines forward with a foot block (or cheek block like block) that turns the two lines usually to secondary winches behind the primary winches (on a Cal 29). If you don't have secondary winches on the coaming, and you do have cabin top winches on each side of the companionway, they can be used as long as there are no other functional lines already around them, such as halyards that are brought back to the cockpit. In that case, you need stoppers (rope clutches) forward the winches to cleat off lines to free up the winches. In terms of crew, you have the helmsman and a foredeck man. The foredeck guy tends to the spinnaker and the pole required at the foredeck. There can be the spinnaker trimmer, who also can be the genoa trimmer, or you can have one person on the after guy and another on the sheet. And another guy on the pole adjustment topping lift and fore guy. And some of those jobs can be done with fewer crew members (and I don't mean to suggest that all crew members are men. There are many women who can do those jobs as well). I hope this helps and doesn't confuse you.

 

[MeandmyCal29]

Thanks for all the replies- apparently the part of registering where I listed my sailing experience doesn''t appear in the posts. I've had decades of experience on everything from dinghies to maxi's , most of it racing, with a few deliveries. I'm quite familiar with modern racing foredeck rigging, having spent most of the time as the primary foredeck "ape" (thankfully more recently helmsman and/or tactician).
I'm not that fond of having the spinnaker rigging at the mast, as it requires at least two people out of the cockpit for raising, jibing and dousing. With the foreguy rigging, as I said, every boat I've sailed on has had a hefty eye strap on the foredeck, and I'm not crazy about the small thin one on the bottom of the mast that appears to be the placement point on the Cal29. It's bent from use, or as an attempt to "customize" it to redirect the force it has been subject to. Maybe it was used standalone without a block. I'm adding an eye strap to the foredeck, with another deck-mounted block to redirect the line back to the cockpit.
I figured out the situation with the halyards- I mistook the permanent boom lift for another halyard. The boats I've sailed on have used the main halyard on the end of the boom or a hydrolic vang to hold up the mast when the sail isn't up. Ditto the spinnaker halyard- again, the previous owner had removed all the running rigging for the spinnaker, so I wasn't aware it is supposed to be just run to the mast.
I still have no idea what the second car on the front of the mast is for. The upper one has no pin but big cast loops on the top and bottom, which I'm guessing are designed to have lines tied to them, with one going up and one down to enable adjusting its height on the mast while under load? Like the one with a set pin, it has a ring for the spinnaker pole, or maybe for a whisker pole if both the spinnaker and a blooper are flown? Seems unlikely, I'm spitballing here. Without any additional information, it is going to sit unused, if not removed.
Sorry for the lack of pictures. I had a friend take some, and he geeked it. If it helps, I'll retry the next visit.
A couple of new issues- the spinnaker pole, which has been nothing but a deck decoration for quite a while, has acquired corrosion in both pin sleeves. I was able to free them using a hammer and drift, but WD40 didn't get them to move very easily. How does one remove them for servicing? Is there a way to cut through the corrosion (presumably oxidized aluminum) without damaging the casting or the spring?
And finally, the motor (an inboard gasoline Atomic 4) occasionally conks out after 20 minutes or so, which the previous owner said happened with him as well. There's not a problem restarting it. The factory tank in the bilge apparently rusted out and has been replaced with one in the lazarette, which is properly vented, and the fuel pump is electric, so it doesn't seem like it's low pressure buildup in the tank or vapor lock. I have a friend who has an old British sports car, who suggested insulating the fuel lines to keep them from getting hot from proximity to the engine, but this seems unlikely. Any ideas?