DaySailer.org Forum

I need to change my outhaul it has a small sheave at the end of the boom and a small V cleat 1/3 down the boom from the end. I pulled it down hard. When I was sailing I noticed a wrinkle at the foot of the sail due to the O/H being too tight I tried to ease it and I could not uncleat it under a load from where I was sitting. I had to leave it. I would have to stand up at the cuddy and pull the line along the boom to un cleat it. Which is not practical.

SD

According to Mike, that wrinkle might have been OK.

Usually, if you head into the wind for a bit, that should unload your sail enough to fix things, even with the cleat where it is.

Yes but I think it would still be hard with that V cleat single handed. I may put a different cleat on it.

with a wrinkle in the sail I always thought you had to get the wrinkles out with out hauls, down hauls, halyards etc. I may need to rethink that.

I have the V cleat as well and it can be hard to get it loose. My Rhodes 19 boom (same boom as DS) has a horn cleat for the outhaul.

John

I've had the opposite problem with mine, it would not hold reliably.

Mine's a simple single small block on the forward hole of the boom end cap casting (the topping lift attachment lives at the rear hole). I hated the stock V-cleat located about mid-boom, so replaced that with a clamcleat w/ fairlead. So far so good! 3/16" outhaul line. When it's as tight as I can make it, the clew is about 1-1/2" forward of the block, and I get that "shelf or crease" in the foot. When I loosen it, the clew only moves an inch or so forward, but the shelf goes away, and other wrinkles appear in other areas of the main ... ?

I've gotten to the point where I've been able to adjust up/down/outhauls enough to eliminate most of the wrinkles in the sail for any given set of sailing conditions, except one really annoying one just forward of the first batten up from the foot. Asked Joe Waters (sailmaker out of SC) about it at last year's Kettle Kup, and he didn't have a good answer for me ...