Stand up blocks don't want to stand up

[Hermit Scott]

They stand up at first, but I can push them over and then they are stuck. Is there a part or something that goes in there to keep the spring from sliding around?
The stand up blocks I saw at west marine today have a shackle inside the spring. This one is made differently.
Does any one know what was originally done on the catalinas of 1979 concerning these cars? I bought the blocks and the springs. The slides/cars were on a track with nothing on them on the boat when I got it.

 

[Bill1565]

Harken makes a plastic boot, like what covers a gear shift,, but I'm not sure that will help. Question, why are you hung up on these blocks standing up? Why not let them fall down when there is no tension on the sheet?

 

[Joe]

Harken makes a plastic boot, like what covers a gear shift,, but I'm not sure that will help. Question, why are you hung up on these blocks standing up? Why not let them fall down when there is no tension on the sheet?

I'm with Bill, why do you need them to stand up when there're not being used? Don't sweat the small stuff, let 'em hang natural... heh, heh. But... I have some stand up blocks on my boat cause they look better that way when they are not used very often.

Hermit.... the springs are installed incorrectly or they are too big. They need to be compressed and inserted between the block and the top of the slide's hoop, with the shackle completely inside. It may be hard to see, but look at the base of the one in the picture.... Try a smaller spring... they're cheap.

 

[Hermit Scott]

Those have a flat surface to press against. If I put the spring on top of the round horizontal bar thay would fall over even easier.
I was unaware they didn't have to stand up. I thought they would be janglin' around while sailing if they didn't have a spring to hold them up.
If there is nothing made for this, I will just let them hang natural. lol

I have asked this before, saved the response and then deleted it by accident.

In the picture there is a track on the coach roof and then one on the rail. When sailing to the wind, I use the top track. Car further back for lighter winds to tension the foot, further forward for heavier winds to tension the leach. I keep the sail inside the shrouds.

When sailing downwind, I use the rail tracks. what's a quick guide for car position on that outside track?
I have a jib and a 150 Jenny. Do the track and car position apply the same to both of those sails?

 

[Ron20324]

Someone just stuck the spring in there. That is not the normal harware for a stand-up arrangement. To work, there would be two u's, opposed and interlocking- like two shackles would be. The sping would mouint over the 2 u's.

 

[Manny]

No worries, let those puppies dangle freely... The jib blocks on my boat are shackled to my toe rail and just flop over until the sheet on that side gets loaded. A little tension on the sheets and they pop right up

 

[catsailor]

Exactly. It needs to be on-deck.

Someone just stuck the spring in there. That is not the normal hardware for a stand-up arrangement. To work, there would be two u's, opposed and interlocking- like two shackles would be. The spring would mouint over the 2 u's.

Mounted on a loop, how can the block know which way is up (not a joke - there is nothing mechanically to guide the block)?

You don't need them. It was a PO mistake. Throw the springs in the might-need box.

 

[Big Moe]

Try some Viagra!

 

[Hermit Scott]

Actually I was the guy who bought the springs, tryting to make something work here. There were only two choices at west marine and the others didn't fit anything.
I dug throught the SS nuts and bolts and came up with this. It's countersunk underneath. Since I bought the springs I might as well use them. They were 81 cents a piece. Cheaper than Viagra, Big Moe.

 

[Stu Jackson]

There were only two choices at west marine and the others didn't fit anything.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...L=true&storeNum=2&subdeptNum=329&classNum=495

 

[Hermit Scott]

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...L=true&storeNum=2&subdeptNum=329&classNum=495

I already had the cars and the swivel blocks. I only went there for springs.

 

[Joe]

In the picture there is a track on the coach roof and then one on the rail. When sailing to the wind, I use the top track. Car further back for lighter winds to tension the foot, further forward for heavier winds to tension the leach. I keep the sail inside the shrouds.

When sailing downwind, I use the rail tracks. what's a quick guide for car position on that outside track?
I have a jib and a 150 Jenny. Do the track and car position apply the same to both of those sails?

Hermit..... first of all , I would suggest using the genoa (outside) track for most of your sailing. It is not necessary to change tracks for upwind and downwind sailing. The inside track will help you point a bit higher with the working jib when the wind is up, but unless there is a huge performance improvement, the inconvenience may outweigh the benefit.

Now... may I suggest you reverse your thinking regarding trimming the headsail. Move the car forward for lighter air, backward as the wind pipes up. Moving the car forward powers up the sail, moving it back depowers it.... Now might be the time for you to invest in Don Guillette's sail trim guide since you'll have roller furling headsail system soon.

Finally, the car position on the track is determined by observing the headsail's telltales when the boat is luffed up. The goal is to have all of them break at the same time. If the bottom telltale breaks first, move the car back... "bottom-back" if the top breaks first move it forward.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I already had the cars and the swivel blocks. I only went there for springs.

But if ya buy the wrong stuff and it doesn't work, how does that help you?

 

[sailingdog]

I'd recommend cutting a tennis ball in half and cutting a hole for the shackle to go through in each half... and putting them under the blocks, like a domed base for the block to sit in...

 

[Paul J. Rusyniak]

Hermit:
In the photo in your original post, where the block is down, is there a possibility it might touch the deck?
This would be especially worrisome if you accidentally stepped on it in that position, as you could scratch the deck.
If that's not a possibility, I agree with the suggestions to let her flop.
Paul

 

[catsailor]

Oh my! A scratch!

Hermit:
... is there a possibility it might touch the deck?
This would be especially worrisome if you accidentally stepped on it in that position, as you could scratch the deck.

Actually, a good solution can be to put some vinyl non-skid in the scratch area. I do that where the anchor chain goes to the windlass. http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/search?q="anchor+and+bow+details"

Or not worry about it. Life is short. I step on stand-up blocks too.

 

[Ross]

Hermit:
In the photo in your original post, where the block is down, is there a possibility it might touch the deck?
This would be especially worrisome if you accidentally stepped on it in that position, as you could scratch the deck.
If that's not a possibility, I agree with the suggestions to let her flop.
Paul

Just make a turks head mat and slip it over the block.

 

[Hermit Scott]

Take a look at the deck on my boat in the fourth post down. It is equivilent to the 20 year old car you had when you were 16 with the primer spots that you were "fixin up".
I am not concerned about the deck yet. After I get all the glass work done that I am going to do, I will paint it.
In the 9th post down I posted some pics of my solution. I drilled a hole through the bottom and countersunk the head, put 3 washers and a nut on it. It keeps the spring from sliding around too much.
The cars were very corroded. I thought they were SS. I threw them in some acid and they turned out to be chromed bronze. With SS locking pins and springs. They looked kind of crappy so I didn't feel bad about drilling a hole in them. Anyway they will stand up and not fall over with the springs I bought now.