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Leading the Outhaul
Aft
Monday, June 16, 2003
During the winter, I
decided to have my mainsail converted to a loose foot. Loose foots
are all the rage now, and with good reason: it makes adjusting the
shape and draft of the mainsail much easier, and allows a fuller shape
in light winds. Last season, I had revamped the outhaul
system, adding a nice 3:1 tackle on the boom and a cam cleat near
the forward end of the boom to secure the outhaul; with the boltroped
mainsail foot, this worked fine, as there was less need to adjust it
often.
With the new loose foot,
two issues immediately became apparent when I began sailing in the 2003
season. First, there was more of a desire--and more of a need--to
adjust the outhaul tension often, depending upon wind strength and
apparent wind direction. Going forward to adjust the outhaul from
the forward end of the boom was inconvenient at best, especially single-handed.
Also, without the
friction of the boltrope holding the foot of the sail in place, I
noticed increased difficulty adjusting the tension of the outhaul under
load (as the wind increased). It was possible with the 3:1
advantage I had, but if I could add more, so much the better.
After putting off the
project for a month or so, I finally determined to just do it once and
for all, and dedicated a glorious Monday for the job. I had spent
several weeks contemplating the project, and in preparation thereunto I
had ordered two blocks from Garhauer: a double block for the base
of the mast, to replace a single block that was already installed there
(for the cunningham lead),
and a new single block to install in order to allow the outhaul to make
the turn downward from the gooseneck. More on this later.
After a couple weeks, I received my blocks, which finally spurred me on
to schedule the project. I chose a beautiful, sunny, dry, dark
blue day, and I was in no hurry to wiz through the job; just being on
the water was so pleasant.
I began by purchasing
locally a few items that I needed, including 40' of 7/16" line for
the outhaul control (larger line equals more comfort for the hands, so I
went up one size from what I probably needed), a small cheek block to
install at the end of the boom, and, because I had been a bit concerned
about the strength of some 1/4" Sta-Set that I was using at the
clew end of the mainsail, I  bought 12' of 1/4" T900 line, a
Spectra/Kevlar high load line. I knew that I already had a small
Harken block, which I would need, left over from some other
project. I planned to reuse certain components from my existing
system as well--the block and tackle on the boom, a bullseye fairlead,
and a Schaefer cam cleat.
After
moving the sail out of the way to expose the port side of the boom,
where the existing outhaul tackle lay, the first step was to remove the
parts I intended to reuse from the boom. It was a simple matter to
strip out the line and unscrew the cam cleat and bullseye from the
boom. I also removed the ancient,
I'm-amazed-this-didn't-break-after-all-this-time turning block from the
end of the boom, which would now enter graceful retirement in my spare
parts box. Of course, it seemed that I needed to open ever locker
on board and remove every single tool box in order to do this particular
job, so the cockpit and cabin soon became cluttered with gear, open
toolboxes, and line.. |
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Finally, having
determined the final locations for hardware and lengths for the lines, I
cut (with difficulty--need a sharper knife) the Spectra line off at the
end, and whipped the newly cut end. The main adjustment line--the
one leading to the cockpit--is overlong at the moment, but I will live
with it for a while to determine how much excess I want to leave before
cutting it.
Although my total project
time (3.5 hours) was surely stretched out because the day was simply so
pleasant, it was still amazing how long everything took--gear removal,
installation, tool layout, cleanup, etc. I'm sure the job could
have been done more quickly--but what was the rush? |
