Questions re: mooring a 170

[Nick Penniman (npenniman@pulitzer.net)]

I have a 170 moored in Lake Champlain - subject to heavy winds and 2' - 4' seas while on the mooring at times.Q1 - do you keep the centerboard up or down for greater stability?Q2 - do you a) take the tiller/rudder assembly off, b) raise the rudder out of the water, or c) keep the rudder in the vertical position?Q3 - do you bungee the tiller to keep the rudder from slamming around?Q4 - is it sufficient to tighten the boom vang and the main sheets to keep the boom from crashing around in heavy seas?Q5 - has anyone had a problem with the boom vang shackle coming loose? Is there a better answer than the standard shackle from Hunter?Q6 - has anyone an idea as to how much tensiont o put on the upper batten? How loose (or tight) should it be?

 

[Edward Smith]

I havedn't moored my 170 but

Keep the center board down. My experience with hurricane force winds in Corpus Christi in 1999. Leave the tiller down and tie it off or bungee it.I've never had a problem with the boom vang shackle at all. The topping lift and the main sheet take care of the boom. I don't understand the question about the batten, I hope you have the boom cover over the main sail.

 

[Bob F]

top batten

In general, the role of a full is to carry tension out to the otherwise unsupported leech at the top of the sail, and give smooth curvature. It should always be at least snug, alot of folks use "light" to "medium" tension. Too much makes it difficult to flex the batten onto the opposite tack. Proper tension depends on wind velocity, vang tension, and traveler setting, but it's not overly sensitive. For visual confirmation of proper setting, I like to have telltales 6" behind the luff and at the leech. Get them both streaming when the sail is otherwise properly trimmed. Good luck!

 

[Paul Dong]

Hi Nick,Q1 - do you keep the centerboard up or down for greater stability?Yes. I was given this advice by the harbormaster where I have my boat moored. He had helped right another H170 that had turtled as a result of a storm. That other boat had been on it's mooring with both board and rudder up.Q2 - do you a) take the tiller/rudder assembly off, b) raise the rudder out of the water, or c) keep the rudder in the vertical position?The same advice applied to the rudder, so I keep that down too.Q3 - do you bungee the tiller to keep the rudder from slamming around?Yes. I use a line wrapped around the tiller and tied to the two stern cleats.Q4 - is it sufficient to tighten the boom vang and the main sheets to keep theboom from crashing around in heavy seas?That, along with the topping lift have worked fine for me (for the year that I've owned the boat).Q5 - has anyone had a problem with the boom vang shackle coming loose? Isthere a better answer than the standard shackle from Hunter?No problems here. Q6 - has anyone an idea as to how much tension to put on the upper batten? How loose (or tight) should it be?I've been keeping only light tension on it, after I found that it was not flipping over when I would tack in light air. I like Bob's advice on this.Regards,Paul