I'm in the process of rigging my 1987 Pearson 31-2 to fly a symmetrical spinnaker. Mast car is already there (Isomat mast with molded-in track, etc.). Now have an almost new chute (recent E-bay purchase), new sheets, decent pole (just under 10% greater than J measurement), new halyard, etc. My current challenge is to figure out where/how to mount turning blocks on the stern quarters for running/trimming the sheets.
Unlike some other boats, there is no metal toe rail with integrated track/holes. The Pearson 31-2 has a lovely teak toe rail, approximately 1" wide at the top, slightly wider at the base and about 1 9/16" tall. Impetuously, I've already purchased two 2-foot lengths of 1" wide aluminum t-track that I was thinking of screwing down on top of that teak toe rail using #14 ss 1 1/2" FH wood screws, starting at a point on the toe rail even with just behind the forward end of the pushpit stanchion and proceeding forward toward the primary genoa winches. However, the chute for my masthead-rigged boat is absolutely huge and I am now worried that my "t-track wood screwed into the top of the teak toe rail" idea is not really strong enough to hold in a good, stiff breeze, much less an unexpected gust.
The teak toe rail sits above what appears to be an overhanging hull-to-deck joint/flange and has some sort of fiberglass cap/cover on the underside, presumably to hide the hull-to-deck nuts and bolts, etc. I'm trying to avoid a haul-out at the yard to remove this cap/cover and I don't have ready access to a dinghy, so safe removal of that cover/cap while the boat sits in the slip is problematic, if not almost impossible.
Anyone else have Pearson 31-2 already rigged for a chute? If so, how is your boat set up/rigged for the aft turning blocks for the spinnaker sheets? Where/to what do the blocks attach? Any thoughts/suggestions/ideas would be welcome.
Thanks.
Unlike some other boats, there is no metal toe rail with integrated track/holes. The Pearson 31-2 has a lovely teak toe rail, approximately 1" wide at the top, slightly wider at the base and about 1 9/16" tall. Impetuously, I've already purchased two 2-foot lengths of 1" wide aluminum t-track that I was thinking of screwing down on top of that teak toe rail using #14 ss 1 1/2" FH wood screws, starting at a point on the toe rail even with just behind the forward end of the pushpit stanchion and proceeding forward toward the primary genoa winches. However, the chute for my masthead-rigged boat is absolutely huge and I am now worried that my "t-track wood screwed into the top of the teak toe rail" idea is not really strong enough to hold in a good, stiff breeze, much less an unexpected gust.
The teak toe rail sits above what appears to be an overhanging hull-to-deck joint/flange and has some sort of fiberglass cap/cover on the underside, presumably to hide the hull-to-deck nuts and bolts, etc. I'm trying to avoid a haul-out at the yard to remove this cap/cover and I don't have ready access to a dinghy, so safe removal of that cover/cap while the boat sits in the slip is problematic, if not almost impossible.
Anyone else have Pearson 31-2 already rigged for a chute? If so, how is your boat set up/rigged for the aft turning blocks for the spinnaker sheets? Where/to what do the blocks attach? Any thoughts/suggestions/ideas would be welcome.
Thanks.
