> I am looking at the Garhauser deck organizer and the Spinlock clutch to
> run main halyard aft to cockpit. Opinions on these will be appreciated and
> of course any alternates that should be considered. Owen Shaw Nashville P
15
> Sego Lily #2216.
>
Hi Owen,
The Garhauer deck organizer will suit your purpose just fine.
You didn't say which Spinlock clutch you intended to use. One of their full
sized rope clutches would be perfect, providing you choose one designed for
the diameter line you plan to use. Check the specs on the clutch. Also,
really old used clutches won't work on the newer synthetic ropes as well as
more recent ones.
I would recommend you do NOT use one of Spinlocks mini-clutches in the PX
line for your main halyard-- the small black plastic ones that are released
by lifting the line 45 degrees. They will release if you should happen to
step on them or kick them when you're standing on the cabinroof. For the
same reasons, I don't recommend using a cam-cleat. Both of them can
certainly take the load you'll be putting on them, but they're intolerant of
mis-placed feet. Trust me -- if your feet can kick a line loose, they
will!!! : ^ (
If you don't want to spend the money on a rope clutch, a low-tech horned
cleat is a truly excellent alternative -- you'll never accidentally lower the
main if you trip over the line or step on the cleat! But, rope clutches are
more convenient, in my opinion.
Here's a good tip on laying out your hardward on the cabintop of your P15 --
If you can reach the halyard at the mast with one hand and the clutch with
the other hand at the same time, you can "sweat" the halyard to get it really
tight without needing a winch. It's VERY important to keep get the luff of
the sail very tight or else the draft moves back with very gust and makes the
boat heel more, increases weather helm, and causes you to round up more often
than necessary. A loose luff can make a decent mainsail perform like a
blown-out mainsail when it the wind picks up. You'll be forced to reef much
earlier than you would if the luff is tight.
Here's how to "sweat" the main halyard: To get the halyard really tight and
good tension on the luff of the sail, you tighten the mainhalyard as tight as
you can initially and stop it in the clutch. Then you pull the halyard out
sideways with one hand where it runs alongside the mast. Next, with your
other hand, you pull the slack through the clutch as you gradually release
the tension on the halyard at the mast. If you do this two or three times,
your halyard will be really tight! This process is called "sweating" a line.
(BTW, you can also use a "cunningham" for getting the luff tight but that's
another topic and anyway, most folks have the luff of the main too loose for
decent performance to start with)
One other detail: fFor getting the most aadvantage out of your main halyard
tension, you need a line that doesn't creep. Creep is the tendency for a
rope under tension to elongate over a long period. Ever notice how you can
set the luff tight, but after an hour of sailing it's loose again? That's
because the rope used for the halyard has crept. That's why, before the days
of high-tech rope, folks used wire-rope for haylards. Now a-days, you can
get the same performance out of the hight-tech ropes.
Low stretch in a is nice, but low creep is just as important. All ropes
stretch initially (some more than others), but sweating them (or running them
to a winch) takes out the initial stretch. Regular dacron yacht braid is too
stretchy and creep-prone in my opinion. Stay-Set-X is very good for low
stretch and decent for low creep and isn't very expensive. My favorite is
Vectran-cored with a dacron cover (one brand name is Vizzion), but it costs a
bit more. Vectran is both low stretch and low creep, and absorbs hardly any
water too, so it doesn't get your jeans all wet for hours if you take on some
spray.
Another question -- What are you going to use to turn the mainhalyard 90
degrees at the base of the mast? You can use a halyard turning block, or you
can use a mast-steo irganizer. Take a look at the maststep organizer plates
on my website at
http://hometown.aol.com/jblumhorst/HomePage/Rigging/maststeps.htm
Also look at the maststep organizers at the Dwyer Mast Company:
http://www.dwyermast.com
If you want to see how I ran my lines aft on my P19, take a look at
http://members.aol.com/jblumhorst/lines_aft_at_tahoe.jpg
This probably more than you ever wanted to know about running a main halyard
aft, but, what the heck. If you got this far and actually read everything I
wrote, your boat will sail flatter, and be better balanced (and faster) than
before!
Fair winds, Judy B
Judith Blumhorst, DC
P19 Fleet Cap'n, Potters Yachters
1985 WWP19 #266 Redwing
Force 5 #7951, #7934s and #1333,
And a pile of windsurfing gear.
Sailing on SF Bay, CA
(5-35 knot winds, 2-4' chop, 2-6' swells, and currents up to 6 knots)
Visit Judy B's West Wight Potter Pages
(http://members.aol.com/jblumhorst/HomePage/index.htm)
and The Official Web Site of the Potters Yachters
(http://www.potter-yachters.org/)
