Rigging a Coronado 23-2 Help!

[judgeyoung]

Hey all, Sophomore sailor here needing help from seasoned pro's! I have a Coronado 23-2 that has the main sheet block on a short traveler on the floor just below the companionway. It has a cam cleat to secure the sheet.

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to release unless someone steps on the sheet to release it due to it being so low. I what to re-rig it to something that will work better, especially single handing. It would be an added advantage if I could get the lines more out of the way for the hatchway, but not really required.

I thought about simply extending the block off the floor with some type of pendant, but the block is attached to the little cart on the traveler, so I would have to have another block and cam cleat and another traveler car, correct?

There is a longer traveler on a junked boat I found with a similar setup that spans the cockpit seats, but it doesn't look like it would be strong, to me, and, of course, it only exacerbates the hatchway blockage.

What are some better solutions?

 

[jssailem]

Good morning @judgeyoung. There are many ways to explore this problem..
First let me give you a link to a harken tool set that shows many rigging examples. https://www.harken.com/systems/

Next while having the rigging design on the floor made sense to the engineers building your boat it may not be the best from a "Sailing" perspective. On the other hand it does free up limited places to sit by not running the traveler track on the seats.

A second consideration is switching the cam cleat around. Which would you rather have, pulling up on the mainsheet to lock the cam as the boat starts to take off in a stiff breeze of having to step down on the line to free it from the cleat when the boat starts to heel and you fear broaching. It is a compromise.

Perhaps you want to get closer to better in both worlds. Well you can sacrifice cockpit seating and run a new traveler at seat height across the space. This would give you more ways of managing the traveler by using lines to adjust the traveler along the track rather than the pin setup you have. More complex. Up off the deck and easier to grab. Better angle for the mainsheet to be cleated or uncleated. Will cost you some money and there will be some reorganization of the lines. The lines will be in your face so it may feel your tripping over them. All of these are compromises that only you can decide.

A wider picture of your overall layout, rigging and space would help to get more ideas for you. Ultimately you are the decision maker. A last thought is you might walk around a marina of sailboats from racing dinghies to boats 20-30 feet in length and check out the ways they are rigged. This might help to give you ideas for your changes.

 

[judgeyoung]

Thanks so much for your answer. Is it possible to just ad a car with a loop and extend it up to a new sheave/cleat setup? Or would that make it hard to cleat and uncleat with all the flex?

Is there a reasonable way to put the sheet on the cabin top? Or even on the cockpit rail? I currently have a single backstay.

Thanks again!

 

[AaronD]

Another picture to add to your thinking: See the double-ended main sheet design at https://www.catalinadirect.com/shop.../double-ended-mainsheet-with-standard-blocks/. The design is obviously intended for an end-boom-sheeted C-22, but you might be able to do something similar with a pivot block / headknocker and control the sheet from above. I used a Harken 2157, just in case you want to look into that option.

 

[jssailem]

JUDGEYOUNG - Is it possible to just ad a car with a loop and extend it up to a new sheave/cleat setup?

A = Yes you could do that. Now you would have a fairly large and heavy bit of hardware hanging in the air just under your boom. It would be about the height of your ears. It would give a whole new meaning to "getting boxed about the ears". That would not be my first choice.

Or would that make it hard to cleat and uncleat with all the flex?
A = Using a cleat hanging in the air would not be a big problem You would have tension on the sheet when you wanted to cleat or uncleat it. The issue for me is that uncleating it would be a cinch. Just pull down. That would be nice. Stepping on the sheet while sailing, it could also uncleat the main-sheet. That could be BAD.

I would look at keeping the sheet where it is.

If you are a bit handy you could raise the track on a block of wood say halfway up the height of the companion way. Leaving you room to get in and out of the cabin. This raised track might give you a better angle on the sheet to release it.

JUDGEYOUNG - Is there a reasonable way to put the sheet on the cabin top? Or even on the cockpit rail? I currently have a single backstay.

A = Putting the main-sheet on a traveler over the companions way is possible. Harken. Ronstan. Garhauer Marine. all have traveler systems that can be fitted. You will need to contact the company and talk about your boom and the changes you want to make. These all have a fair cost to them. They also can put a lot of stress to the middle of your boom if not designed well. No one wants to make improvements only to break their boom in the middle.

I might instead look for a base block something like this.

Note that the cam-cleat angle can be changed. This might be enough to improve your ability to cleat and uncleat the main-sheet.

You might give Garhauer a call https://www.garhauermarine.com/contact-us and discuss the problem they may steer you to a solution.

 

[judgeyoung]

Jssailem, that is EXACTLY what I need! I'll look through my boxes of extra boat junk just in case, and will look for one on Fleabay or somewhere else. Great idea!

 

[jssailem]

Like a blind squirrel, I find a sweet nut now and then.