Single handing
- Thread starter WI Rigger
- Start date
I use one on the clew of my jib to attach the whisker pole more easily. I also keep a selection of them on the boat in the spare part bin just in case. They're fun and not difficult to make so I'd have no desire to buy them. Having some excess Dyneema around is good too. I used AmSteel SK-78 1/8". I think making the stopper knot is the hardest part of the whole assembly; the splice is trivially easy, even though I had no real splicing experience before starting. I use a Ronstan D-splicer, but a coat hanger or folded over stiff steel wire would probably work just as well.
When you cut the Sk-78, do you use hot knife. I found, that when I tried to cut the Dyneema with a scissors and then burn the end with a lighter, the end just balled up. I was not able to smooth it out with my fingers. The ball would make it impossible to pull it back through the outer sheathing.
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R
I made something like a D-splicer out of a piece of #14 bare copper wire. It slides under the outer sheathing quite nice. Since it is bent over, I have a means to capture the dyneema to pull out back.
Thanks
R
I made something like a D-splicer out of a piece of #14 bare copper wire. It slides under the outer sheathing quite nice. Since it is bent over, I have a means to capture the dyneema to pull out back.
I just cut it with scissors. You really don’t want to burn the end or hold it together in any other special way. Actually once you pull the end through the middle you want to cut it unevenly to taper it. I cut one strand every inch or two from the end. If the end is left cut straight it will make a weak point in the splice.
The lazy jacks aren’t made strong enough to hold the weight of the boom, or to offset the tension of the mainsheet needed to keep the boom from swaying. You’ll still need the topping lift for that.
By the way, here are a couple of videos I’ve used for making soft shackles. The first is how I make general purpose soft shackles and what I find the easiest to use. The downside of that is that the loop is two separate strands, which I don’t want to deal with when trying to clip the whisker pole on. So for that one shackle I use the second method that makes a single loop.
Right up my alley. The water ballast tank lid slopes down in the rear of the boat Anywhere behind that where it is level or flat offset from the center. Place your transducer on the bottom of the hull, draw a line around the transducer. Then sand off the gel coat smoothing out the fiberglass. Attach the transducer with plumbers putty letting the putty ooze out some and hold it fast in place with tape. Let putty dry for 24 hours. You do not want any air between the transducer and bottom of boat. It works!
If you need to support the boom when the sail is down, at the dock or moored for instance, you can disconnect the main halyard and clip it to the end of the boom. Counteract this with mainsheet tension to minimize swing, or location the boom to one side to open up the cockpit. Some boat will have a short, wire pigtail attached to the backstay for this stowage purpose. Never saii with the boom attached to the pigtail.
When sailing, if your boom weighs down the mainsail excessively when the wind is very light, the topping lift can hold it up so the sail's trim won't be ruined. The topping lift normally has a method to adjust its length. Either a static line with a short tackle system that can be reached from the cockpit, or it can be rigged like a halyard where the entire line moves. Adjusting the topping lift can often be an annoying job, especially if you have full length battens on a full roach mainsail.....a real PIA.
If you don't currently have a topping lift, I encourage you to hold off installing one and, instead research a "rigid" vang system. The rigid vang eliminates the need for a top lift altogether. There are two common types. The first is an assembly that uses a piston and a complex tackle system. The second will he a set of torsion rods that augment your existing "soft" vang... commonly called a "boom kicker". On your 19 footer, if you already have a vang, the boom kicker route may be your best option. I you prefer the rigid vang, look at Garhaurer Marine's products. You would need the smallest one they make which means a pretty inexpensive option. You can set the device up to quickly disconnect for trailering.
I installed the Garhaurer rigid vang on my boat years ago, it was one of the best upgrades ever. My sailing experience was vastly improved.
Good luck, have fun.
I hope you meant to type that, Dave. Otherwise, my "like" is inappropriate and I apologize, and it's my brain that needs to be regenerated.
-Will
Has anyone out there built their own jib furler? I found some plans, but from there on up there is nothing. From the drum to the top of the jib, does one use a piece of 1/2” PVC pipe to wind the jib up on? Do all furler require the jib to be reshaped?
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