Hi All!
I have a basic understanding of some of the ways a symmetrical spinnaker is typically rigged.
I have a bridal system, and I've made it work, but something doesn't seem right or I'm just confused. The PO seems to have lots of dedicated hardware and lines for it, but I tried to put it all together and I ran into a few weird scenarios. I can find plenty of other boat's rigging setups online, but I'd like to see more of what you Catalina 30 folks do.
So, first here's what's on my deck:
Pad eye and cheek block:
Jib track:
Pad eye mid-way:
Pad eye mid-fore-deck:
First, the bridal setup was fine. But for the lower part of the bridal rigging (is that called the foreguy in my case?) it seems to come with a deck block that has a cleat on it. Every which way I've tried it, right side up or upside-down, it requires going up there to release it, so I don't see the point in running the line all the way back to the cockpit. That confuses me. It's something like this (not my exact one, but similar):
Here's two ways I can see doing my setup which I've attempted to test-rig both ways:
So, I've got bunch of hardware, some snatch blocks, and extra blocks that fit on my jib track. If I go with rigging setup "A", you have to go up there and take the guy line out and insert the sheet on the other side with the snatch block to tack each time. And that's fine I suppose (remember I'm lazy), and in this setup I appear to have enough deck hardware to accomplish what is pictured if I use the jib sheet winches as guy/spin sheet cleats (these are the only cleats I have, the self-tailing winches). So, I've got to remove the jib sheets from the cheek blocks before all of this too and put them somewhere.
My question about setup "A" is: do I use the pad eye locations mid way for the snatch block or something on the jib track? Where is the optimal place to put the guy block?
I've also experimented with setup "B", and tried using block hardware on the jib track, but for the life of me, I can't figure out a good way to cleat all the lines down. My only cleats again are the self tailing winches, so I have to first go to a block somewhere then back to the winches. And in this case I'd have to use all four of them, the jib winches and the little ones above the hatch. The lines get messy fast here.
Setup "B" seems cool because you don't have to take anything apart to tack, but I don't really see a practical way of doing it with the deck hardware. I have not idea what the PO had in mind, but there seem to be enough dedicated lines and hardware for me to use this setup.
I did manage to get it all rigged up with setup 'B' this day, but the next morning the wind turned and couldn't use it on the way to Catalina. Some day, on a good Santa Ana wind.
I have a basic understanding of some of the ways a symmetrical spinnaker is typically rigged.
I have a bridal system, and I've made it work, but something doesn't seem right or I'm just confused. The PO seems to have lots of dedicated hardware and lines for it, but I tried to put it all together and I ran into a few weird scenarios. I can find plenty of other boat's rigging setups online, but I'd like to see more of what you Catalina 30 folks do.
So, first here's what's on my deck:
Pad eye and cheek block:
Jib track:
Pad eye mid-way:
Pad eye mid-fore-deck:
First, the bridal setup was fine. But for the lower part of the bridal rigging (is that called the foreguy in my case?) it seems to come with a deck block that has a cleat on it. Every which way I've tried it, right side up or upside-down, it requires going up there to release it, so I don't see the point in running the line all the way back to the cockpit. That confuses me. It's something like this (not my exact one, but similar):
Here's two ways I can see doing my setup which I've attempted to test-rig both ways:
So, I've got bunch of hardware, some snatch blocks, and extra blocks that fit on my jib track. If I go with rigging setup "A", you have to go up there and take the guy line out and insert the sheet on the other side with the snatch block to tack each time. And that's fine I suppose (remember I'm lazy), and in this setup I appear to have enough deck hardware to accomplish what is pictured if I use the jib sheet winches as guy/spin sheet cleats (these are the only cleats I have, the self-tailing winches). So, I've got to remove the jib sheets from the cheek blocks before all of this too and put them somewhere.
My question about setup "A" is: do I use the pad eye locations mid way for the snatch block or something on the jib track? Where is the optimal place to put the guy block?
I've also experimented with setup "B", and tried using block hardware on the jib track, but for the life of me, I can't figure out a good way to cleat all the lines down. My only cleats again are the self tailing winches, so I have to first go to a block somewhere then back to the winches. And in this case I'd have to use all four of them, the jib winches and the little ones above the hatch. The lines get messy fast here.
Setup "B" seems cool because you don't have to take anything apart to tack, but I don't really see a practical way of doing it with the deck hardware. I have not idea what the PO had in mind, but there seem to be enough dedicated lines and hardware for me to use this setup.
I did manage to get it all rigged up with setup 'B' this day, but the next morning the wind turned and couldn't use it on the way to Catalina. Some day, on a good Santa Ana wind.
The one thing I might put on the guy is... I donno what it's called, but it's like a whiskerpole so that you can get the pole off the forestay as you go deeper downwind. And I've been trying to figure out how the PO set up the pole on my boat: it looks like the foreguy (I think I've been calling it the downhaul... the line that holds the pole down) is attached at the END of the pole rather than the middle. That REALLY calls for some adjustments though...
