Halyard cleats, unknown holes, jib sheets

[SailYona]

Sailed her solo today, that was too much fun. I took some photos of some areas that need attention and wanting any advice.

1. Someone removed the halyard cleats (why?) and before I buy some is there anything I should know about size or race regs?

2. The placement of jib sheet cleats seem odd to me, a little awkward today too, is this placement normal?

3. Holes in both port and starboard seats (again, why?) maybe someone put in permanent chairs, is there something I'm missing here?

4. Holes in cb housing. Don't want to interfere with cb raising if I fill them, so no harm in leaving as is for now unless someone has a better idea?

I also found the hull # 13625.
As always thanks for help and enthusiasm.
Photos here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/41131432@N07/sets/72157621824696429/

[GreenLake]

Halyard cleats. Mine have been moved to the mast. Some people have a block on the mast hand lead the halyards to cleats on the cuddy. I personally fail to see the advantage of that. Halyards are not something I usually adjust a lot, and I can reach them fine where they are now.

(In my case the original cleats have not actually been removed, so they now serve various misc. functions)

I don't race, but I understand the rules for running rigging are rather flexible, so I'd say, go ahead. (Look for "handbook" on this site, to get the rules).

Looks like the guy(s) who had the boat before you was/were quick drilling holes. You may be looking at the archeological evidence of a number of different rigging options and/or misc. optional equipment.

The CB holes you can fill, or you can use them to mount something, like a compass. They are a bit too far back for the typical platform that holds cam cleats for the jib sheets. Mine looks like this (click for larger image).



This should also give you at least one example of what kind of different placements for jib sheet cleats are out there.

[Peterw11]

My halyards run through cheek blocks at the base of the mast and out to cleats mounted where yours were. I think that's original. I see no reason why you can't put that back the way they were if you like. Mine work fine and the ergonomics work for me.

I can't explain the holes in the seats. Why you would want a fixed seat in that location makes little sense to me.

My jib cleats were mounted in a similar orientation (90 degrees to the CB trunk) to yours and were indeed awkward, especially when singlehanding. Mine have a double cam cleat with fairlead, but mounted on a single stainless steel plate, and located in the center of the thwart, with the fairlead facing the coaming.

I think GreenLake's picture shows the ideal location and I plan to mount mine in a similar fashion.

In the interim, I simply removed the mounting screws, rotated the plate to a 45 degree orientation to the trunk, redrilled new holes and reinstalled the screws. This simple mod made a world of difference and trimming the jib is now much easier. You might consider doing the same, and move the cleats closer to the trunk (and your usual seat location ) at the same time.

The holes in the CB trunk are another mystery. If water leaks in while underway, you could plug them with something and glass over them. If not, you could eventually use them to mount another piece of gear, or a mounting plate for new jib cleats as in GreenLake's example.

Just from the glimpses shown in your pictures, it appears that the boat is in pretty good shape, particularly the wooden trim. My brightwork is no where near as nice, but I hope to rectify that over the winter.

[kokko]

The placement of the jib sheet cleats bothers me. Mounted on the thwarts is not convenient for cleating. Mine are mounted at the tip of the cb locker like GreenLakes.

[navahoIII]

Speaking of jib cam cleats, ours are mounted on the inside coaming, a foot or so aft of the cuddy and just beyond bronze-clad holes (through the coaming) for the sheets to run from the cockpit to the deck, where they then go through a block. The cleats are old, made of the same modified, hard linen as the mast head sheave, as well several others onboard, but they work well!

I imagine their position is less easy to use than thwart mounted cleats, but as we are not racing it doesn't matter so much.

[SailYona]

I think having halyard horn cleats would be great as I had to rig up a tiller harness so I could adjust halyard on mast cleat, oh and then there was the time when the jib sheets blew out and I had to climb up on the bow to retrieve them. (whew.) I put knots in the ends.


Glad this boat isn't bigger as my wallet would be much smaller. I already want to replace thwarts, add swim ladder, get align-quick for trailer, a topping lift, add two cleats and get new sails. OUCH.

Thanks for the ideas and pictures,
Yona

[jcalvinmarks]

The good news on your upgrade list is that the topping lift, swim ladder, and trailer aligner aren't that expensive. The topping lift costs only as much as 50 or 75 feet of parachute cord or 3/16" rope of any description. I found a hook-on swim latter the fits beautifully over the rail of my DS2 at Overtons for $30. And just from a quick search, I see Align-Quick for $20 all day long.

New sails and cam cleats, though, now you're getting pricey. And thwarts are probably more of a pain than an expense, but I'm sure varnish and marine-grade wood can get expensive too. That's why I'm thankful for my DS2, which has only limited wood to it.

But yes, I too have started down the long road of spending more money than I should on a sailboat. I want to put two access hatches in the foredeck so I can put items in the front of the cabin without having to climb all the way in there. Use it as an anchor locker and store extra coils of line. I've already added a wind indicator, a few new blocks, lots of line for new halyards, swim ladder, etc. etc.

[SailYona]

I like the idea of an anchor locker. I'd love to see a pic when you get it finished.
So much to do, so little time.
Yona

[GreenLake]

According to my notes and rough estimates, I predict that boat and trailer license , maintenance, improvements and replacements (sails) will perhaps come to six times the purchase price over a decade of ownership, with moderate, but regular use. Per hour of use that comes to about the same price as going to the movies for an hour (crew included).

(Hours spent doing the maintenance are not counted in this )

To me, that doesn't seem like a high-priced hobby at all, but it does help to go slow and make upgrades only if they're really worthwhile and necessary, and promise definite payback in more enjoyable usage.

There's also the incentive to go sailing more often, to bring the average down

[barnesbyron]

I would guess that the holes in the seat....if they are aligned with the holes in the CB, were for a traveler that may have been installed at some point.

[jcalvinmarks]

Greenlake, I like the way you think! That's going to be my new position when my wife starts fussing about how much money I'm spending on the sailboat. I can tell her that, on a per-trip basis, sailing is less expensive than [fill in the blank], even with the added expenses of hatches and swim ladders and maintenance and upgrades and so on and so forth.

Less expensive that amusement parks, movies, golf, or just about anything else you might want to do on a Saturday.

Fantastic!

[Roger]

spend your money on a sailboat or spend your money on a therapist. Same money... same outcome, which would you rather do?

Also time spent on your sailboat adds to your lifespan and health.