Cockpit reefing

[Sabre27Admin]

Iain C
United Kingdom
181 Posts

Posted - 10/09/2011 : 19:50:41
OK, to answer JerryO's question, and to pick up on his point about forum use, here's a brief description of my cockpit reefing system.

Kit list

-New reefing lines, main/kite halyard/topping lift. Selma fids and learn how to eye splice!
-Clutches/jammers (I was given all mine)
-Winches (eBay)
-Ply backing pads for above plus epoxy
-Headlining glue (and a mask!!)
-S/S bolts (order in advance from a stockholder. Don't do what I did and buy them from a chandler at stupid prices as I had made that weekend a "project" weekend!)
-S/S 316 plate for turning block mounting (eBay)
-Deck organisers (eBay)
-Single turning blocks x 4 for main, topper, kite, pole
-Double turning blocks x 3 for mast base reefing lines (x2) and gooseneck (x1)
-Saddles, monel rivets, big rivet gun

In essesence, I needed to add a 4mm stainless plate to each side of the tabernacle, held clear by spacers and washers, to allow me to shackle the new turning blocks in place. I got a local engineering company to drill the big holes to fit round the mast bolt. Drilling the smaller ones, and the tabernacle itself, was an absolute nightmare. After sitting on deck, in the snow, having broken the umpteenth "professional" drill bit, I bought some Dormer bits from YouBoat in Gosport, lubricated with engine oil, and cursed myself for wasting the last 3 hours! Much better results!

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Photo above shows plates. Note reefing lines (yellow/blue) still to be spliced, and "cleat" beaten out the way with a hammer!

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Stbd side. From aft, we have the kicker (yet to be upgraded to nicer string!), topping lift, main halyard, kite halyard, pole up. All goes back to...

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...this lot. L-R, kicker, topper, pole, main halyard, kite halyard. Make sure that the lead onto the winch is fair (remember the lead needs to be the right hand side of the winch, not the middle!) and position it so you can swing the handle (annoying the jammer handles prevent this, clutches are OK. Jammers will get swapped for clutches one day!). Tricky bit is removing the headlining and positioning all the wooden backing pads. Take time getting everything in the right place, you do not want to have to move it! You want the jammers as far from the winches as possible, but you also need to be able to fold the hood down.

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Port mast base. The yellows do the first reef, blues do the second. The clew lines go up to another double block under the mast at the gooseneck, and then back along the outside of the boom, running through a couple of saddles to keep everything tidy. Tack lines go up through the cringles and back down to the mast base. Note pole downhaul not yet let back...still trying to work out best angles for this, however I suspect it will just stay where it is. You still need to go up front to clip it on and gybe!

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Port reefing line jammers. Pretty self explanatory really! However when the sail is stowed, and you've pulled all these tight to tidy up, you do need to ensure they are free to run when hoisting the main.

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My friends (L-R) Tom & Alex and my other half Katherine enjoying a sunny Solent at Easter! You can see the vinyl patches in the front of the sprayhood which C&J made for me which allow the lines to pass through. Also looks like we've forgotten to tighten the reefing lines after hoisting hence everything hanging down...sack the crew! You can also just make out the 2:1 genoa car controls...one additional thing to sort over the winter is a way of pulling them back. However, I have recently found out that if you drop them out the jammers, they do actually come back as you grind the genoa in, but it's not an exact science!

Contrary to any fears I had, you don't "roll" the lines underfoot, not trip over the bit not flush with the deck.

Worst bit of the whole project...fitting the deck organisers. Port one is at an angle due to the offset hatch...wish I'd done the same with the stbd side. Also, pulling the headlining of was a nightmare, and right where they are, there is a re-inforcing bar, so it was a nightmare getting the nuts on the bolts (and I had to get creative to do them up as I was on my own). I never bothered with reinforcement pads for the organisers due to the plane that the load was in.

Big project in my mind, but 100% worth it. If anyone has any questions or wants more photos, just ask.
Edited by - Iain C on 11/09/2011 11:17:44
sabre27
178 Posts

Posted - 10/09/2011 : 20:33:56
Hi Ian,

You've set a high bar with this one. Looks like it should be in the 'Handbook'.

Genoa car control. Go to the 'Handbook' – R – Rigging – ‘Genoa car/slide remote control’. Simple with minimum hardware. Works like a dream.


Paul Howard. S27OA Technical Officer.

jerryo
Ireland
70 Posts

Posted - 10/09/2011 : 21:17:40
Well Iain. What can I say. Exemplary posting with great pics and commentary backed up with the most important "what I would do if I had to do it again" info.
As Paul said, you have set a high standard.
Fantastic, well done and thanks for picking up on the hint.
(How the hell are any of us going to follow this?)

Jerry

Iain C
United Kingdom
181 Posts

Posted - 11/09/2011 : 12:06:18
Thanks for the kind comments chaps. If you do want to put it in the handbook I can tidy it up a bit and get some pictures of all the components.

Paul, thanks for the tip on the genoa remotes. Mine are actually a bit different...my cleats are on the outside, vertical face of the cockpit coaming, hidden behind the dodgers. For the return, I was simply going to splice some fairly meaty bungee inside a spare piece of Excel Fusion I have, and run it from the back of a car, down the deck above the rubbing strake, across the back of the cockpit through a couple of bullseyes and back down to the other car.

The bungee keeps the fusion "bunched", but when you apply load, the outer compresses down onto the bungee core and all the load is taken by the outer, so you pull against something solid, not the bungee. It's a trick we use in 49ers on the trapezes in the adjusters believe it or not. The bungee keeps the trapeze ring high above the deck so it's easy to clip on, but when you get your weight on it the outer "unbunches" and you are dangling from a perfectly tensiones, not stretchy, piece of rope.

The trip line on my spinnaker pole is done in exactly the same way and works well.