[alberg30] another boom query

[sunstone]

From: sunstone <sunstone at idirect.com>

Sanders; 
Well there is no end to spending money, I had Joe put batt-slides, made
by Schafer I believe, which use the existing t-track on the mast.   You
can go with that or without as your budget permits, Joe got me the best
price for them, North told me I should have three but Joe got me four
for the price of three quoted by North.   Cars definitely improve a full
batten but are not absolutely necessary and can be retrofitted later if
you choose, Joe will tell you about that and trust him on it as he is,
in my experience, honest to a fault.

With any full batten you usually have to turn the boat into the wind or
at least forward of the beam to reef or take down sail unless you like
dragging your sail down the shrouds when it is plastered all over them
once the tension is off.

The Harken solution, with all due respect, is a very expensive and time
consuming solution.   Schafer's batt-slides are a much less expensive
solution and do save on sail wear on the luff as full battens tend to
jam the sail into the mast due to compression but as I say they can be
retrofitted and, by the way, have Joe put in a light, flexible batten in
the top batten.

A jackline will allow you to bring the reef tack down to the first reef
without dropping slides as the first reef will be below the first
batten.   If you use a pendant on the second reef tack you can avoid
dumping slides but that may be unnecessary if the second reef is not too
deep.  That is a personal taste thing and in part is determined by the
location of your existing reef clew blocks on the boom.  Measure their
distance from the mast track and also the tack offset from the mast
track and write that down on a diagram for Joe.

I'm a big believer in maximizing the roach on the main, that is the
purpose of full battens with the backstay being the limiting factor.

Lazy Jacks, the simplest are the best and cheapest.  1/8 or 3/16" line
looped over the spreaders coming down to a cleat on the mast so that
they can be eased right off and run parallel to the boom to the
gooseneck for racing or awning placement is ideal.   On the boom don't,
repeat don't, put any fasteners on the boom.  Simply run a line with
three or better 4 small loops in it from the gooseneck to the end of the
boom underneath and tie it on.   This will serve as a fully adjustable
anchoring system, instead of eyestaps, for your lazyjack lines which
will be run through these loops and up to the line about 10 feet or less
above the boom.  Simply put a loop in the line either with an eye splice
(3/16 line) or tie and carry it over the spreader.   Total cost about 8
-16 cents a foot or about $15-25 CDN.

Forget all those lazyjack kits, you can adjust the jacks to suite your
main roughly at the end of each batten and can move the attachment
points at will because it is just a line with loops in it. 
Additionally, there are no holes to drill and no proud fittings, like
eyestraps, to tear open scalps in a close call or a bumped head. 

With lazyjacks, when reefed, you rarely need to tie in the foot lines
which is good because if the clew line fails and the foot is tied in bye
bye main belly.   Always tie in a second line around the boom to the
clew when reefed and tying in the foot, or better, don't tie in the foot
at all.   When reefed in big seas, with high peakloading, it is a good
practice to tie a line through the tack and to the mast to take some
pressure off the sail track in the tack area.

John
SandersM at aol.com wrote:
> 
> From: SandersM at aol.com
> 
> TO THE LIST:
> 
> As I begin the task of rerigging WILD ELF, the boom keeps sticking in mind
> (metaphorically, of course).  My gooseneck slides up and down on a track
> below the sail track.  The boom travels a foot or so upward on the track when
> the main is fully hoisted.  When the main is lowered, all of the sail track
> cars stop a foot or so above the boom.
> 
> I am planning to have a fully-battened main cut, and this is the source of my
> concern.  One of the appealing aspects of full battens is their contribution
> to ease of furling and reefing the main.  But as the boom sinks when the main
> halyard is eased, and the sail is stopped from falling to the boom by the end
> of its track, the current configuration would seem to thwart both.
> 
> Has anyone given this any thought?  Is there a compelling reason for having
> the gooseneck on a slide?  Can't sail shape be controled in most conditions
> simply by easing or tightening the halyard, with a fixed gooseneck?  If there
> is some reason for keeping the boom on a slide, then is there some way to put
> it on the same slide as the sail track, so that the sail can drop all of the
> way to the boom for reefing and furling?  Is this an issue that the folks at
> the Triton loft know about?  Or is it an issue only in my imagination?
> 
> I apologize in advance if you all have already run this subject to ground in
> my absence.  But if I'm going to rerig the boat over the winter, I'd like to
> get it right the first time around.  All advice and observations, as always,
> are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Sanders McNew
> WILD ELF  (# 297)
> New York City
> 
> 
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