Outhaul

[paultp]

Probably the last control left to change on my boat! ;D

The current boom end has a little pulley wheel that barely moves, the lines have been on the boat for at least 15 years and the shock cord that tensions the control is 10 years old. Looking down the boom I can see something hanging around in the middle and I have no doubt that this is also of dubious quality so I am keen to replace the lot.

As always I have no idea what to change it for!

I have an open foot sail and this is attched to the boom at the clew using a shackle and slide. The current outhaul also attaches to the slide and is then fed to the normal controls on the foredeck.

I'd be grateful for any advice as to how to attach the sail to boom and outhaul and also what to put inside the boom. I've seen the diagram in Dinghy systems for a 4:1 system and that looks like the thing to go for.

I've had a look at the pics on the gallery but the outhaul isn't clear in many of them. Quite a few boats seem to have some sort of strap round the boom?

Anyway, all (sensible) suggestions are welcome - feel free to go as far as giving sailboats part numbers if you like!

Thanks
Paul

[Meat Pie ...]

Paul
Lets deal with current trends first...
Most elect to tie the Sail to the mast at the Tack and to the Boom at the Tack and again at the Clew.A strap can be used at the Clew.
Settings ... as a basic guide keep the Tack to Mast positioning parallel to the back edge of the mast....thats usually the way the sail was made.The Tack to boom should be relatively loosely tied but with enough tension to take minor creases out of the sail luff or to your individual preference.The tie-down to the Clew to the boom[whether you use a tie or strap]should obviously allow travel up and down the boom but the sail should be secured as close as possible to the boom.
In your particular case....
Loosening up a seized sheave should not be an issue...it should rotate freely.
Try using WD40 or similar to free it up.If this fails drive out the axle pin and take a look at whats happening and causing the jam...Fit a new sheave if necessary and re-assemble.
Using the boom slider is fine provided it slides freely.A good suggestion is tie some shockcord to it to give some "recoil" when outhaul tension is let off.
As for the internals of the outhaul system itself.
You can provide as much mechanical advantage as you need but keep it simple and ensure it does not snag or could entwine around itself.Use some of the new very lightweight plastic blocks[16 or 20mm]if the old ones are past it.
Take a look at the OK Class site...there is a good layout for an internal outhaul system.
Needless to say that the whole system should be free-running....in my experience if the internal block system functions well its the exit from the boom to deck level that is the next culprit in the attempt to get an efficient system.Take some time to get this aligned properely.
Hope the above helps.
A second thought for an internal outhaul system layout take a look at P&B,s brochure or at Harkens brochure if you are stuck.

[paultp]

Thanks for the help Roger,

A couple of questions:

I didn't realise that the sail should be attached to the boom at the tack end, I've only ever attched it to the mast and that attachment is quite a bit higher (inches) than the boom. I have some shockcord round the mast with a hook that clips into the hole in the tack.

A bit like this: www.britishmoth.co.uk/gallery_0814_nationals08_d2/thumbs/IMG_5549.JPG

What should be used to attach the sail to the boom?

Regarding using shock cord on the boom slider, I did have some but I had it running all the way to the inboard end of the boom. Any suggestions of where it should be fitted?

I had a look at the OK site and to be honest the layout they use looks a bit complicated and they don't say where stuff should be fixed (the micro-block with becket for example). www.okdinghy.co.uk/technical/overdek.html

I couldn't find a diagram in th P&B brochure but the sailboats one has a basic layout for a 4:1 so I'll go with that. I'm just going to replace the lines and block that are in the boom at the moment.

To make my life a bit more difficult the inboard end of the boom is rivetted into the boom and the block at that end is on a clip that is also rivetted to the boom, so I guess that is staying! It looks like it was all put together then the end rivetted in place. The outboard end can be removed though.

I'm working out a cunning way of getting the lines and block out of the boom using drawstrings so that I can replace the lines and whatever is inside the boom and still be able to get it back in again whilst working from one end only.

Maybe I should chuck some pictures up?

Heres one showing the inboard end where one line appears from inside the boom:

Attachments:

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And here's a closer pic of the inboard end (yes the boom is on my dining room table!) showing the other end of that line looped around the boom end:

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And here's the other end:

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64 views and one reply

Sorted it all out today. ;D

Simple one block in the boom, freed up the pulley at the outboard end, replaced all the (very old) lines. Installed shock cord to tension.

My experience with telecomms cable came in handy; running draw cords to replace lines as I could only acces one end.

I'll see if it works next week.