Purpose of pulleys lateral to mast step?

CloudDiver · Apr 24, 2016

Those are stand up blocks, they re-direct your halyards from parallel to the deck up the mast.

Apex · Apr 25, 2016

from those blocks, it appears they enter a fairlead (circle mounted at front of handrails) to another fairlead at the aft end of your handrails. From there, there should be a cleat or winch handy to haul and tie off the halyards. We can't tell by pictures though.

Make some sailing friends and they can help rig the boat, or at least offer advice face to face. ENJOY!

Jim 5757 · Apr 25, 2016

Once you've stepped the mast and set up all of your running rigging, these blocks' use should become obvious.

Leeward Rail · Apr 25, 2016

To try help clarify the posts by Clouddiver and Apex...

Halyards are the lines, that raise and lower the sails.
On older Catalina 22s you have to go up to the mast to use them.
On later model Catalina 22s, the halyards were run back to the cockpit, so you could raise/lower sails from there.

Looks like your older boat has been modified for this. The halyards would run forward from the cockpit, through those fairleads (eyelet "things" near the grab rails in the photo), then through the turning blocks (pulleys beside the mast step), then to the mast. The turning blocks allow the line (rope) to change direction without excessive friction.

At least that's what's it appears to be configured for.

As Jim 5757 says... once you have your mast up, the routing of the lines should be somewhat obvious, with a bit of inspection/investigation. You likely have a pile of rope with unknown uses. That should also make more sense once the mast is up and you can better visualize how it all goes together.

I suggest you look into joining the Catalina 22 National Association. They have a great "Tech manual", compiled from years of Catalina 22 owners ideas. They also have the factory manuals available for download.
http://catalina22.org/

The C22 NSA and this site are invaluable for help.

Welcome aboard !

Don S/V ILLusion · Apr 25, 2016

This may be too cynical but if you have no idea what these blocks are for, how do you know if you 'got a screaming deal'?

gjordan · Apr 25, 2016

Sacramento is a hot bed of Catalina 22 activity. The company CATALINA DIRECT is located in Sacto, but I dont know if they have a show room. They have many parts for all Catalinas. There is also a chapter of the Catalina Association from Sacto that is going to do a trip up to the San Juans this summer. I dont have contact information for the local group, but I am sure you can find them. I also recently purchased an older 22, and have had lots of advice and help from the local sailors on Clear Lake. There have been so many Cat 22s made that there seem to be owners and ex owners everywhere and they all seem helpful. Good Luck. ____Grant.

CaptDon01 · Apr 25, 2016

Yes, Catalina Direct is located in Sacramento, and they've been supporting the C-22 for many, many years. But they don't have a showroom, but they will sell you items at their location from their catalog. I stopped in to visit them last summer on my way to the C-22 Nationals in Portland. I purchased a few items I just couldn't live without. They have also been a HUGE supporter of the C-22 National Association longer than I can remember. C-22 Fleet-4 is located in Sacramento also. HOLY COW! THE 4TH C-22 FLEET FORMED! They are still active after 40+ years! I had the pleasure of having dinner with them last fall at their annual awards meeting. There is an information request area on the C-22 National Association Web site for getting in touch with Fleet Captains, if no luck, send me a message.

Don

kito · Apr 25, 2016

Your C22 looks to be the same era as my 84. Looking at your picture, it looks like your mast step could use some attention. Re-bed and replace that rusted lag bolt. It looks like the PO stuck a galvanized one in there. The front bolt/nut looks ok.....it keeps the step from rotating. The lag bolt screws into the wood compression post.

kito · Apr 25, 2016

It looks like he just used what was available in his "can-o-fasteners". Btw, lag bolts on the lifeline stanchions? They are pretty long too. What are they screwing into? Is there a wood block tabbed in underneath? . Mine are through bolted with backing plates and nuts. Did those lag bolts come out dry or wet?

Apex · Apr 26, 2016

excdllent. Read up on MaineSail's website on rebedding hardware. Butyl and proper preparation will take a bit longer but last forever. G/L and enjoy!

woodster · Apr 26, 2016

Don S/V ILLusion said:
This may be too cynical but if you have no idea what these blocks are for, how do you know if you 'got a screaming deal'?

depends on who is doing the screaming

jwing · Apr 26, 2016

Sacto Dave, based on my experience, I recommend that you don't worry too much about solving all the various mysteries of your boat. Taking baby steps, learn how to sail her. As already mentioned, some of the mysteries will just about solve themselves. Others won't until your knowledge and skills progress to the point where you'll understand the what and why of various things about your boat. And some will remain mysteries. The point is: Don't get hung up on re-outfitting your boat until you sail it for at least a season. Instead, have fun sailing! Don't remove anything if it isn't in your way; someday it may become handy. On the other hand, fix things that are critical, and don't get stuck on doing things the way the previous owners did them. I wouldn't build a halyrad routing system with those components; on the other hand, I wouldn't change the what's there until I had determined that it doesn't work well and I had a better idea. Don't forget that you don't need to run the halyards back; on my boat, I prefer to keep them at the mast.