Adjustable Genoa Cars

Rick R.

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Just received our new Garhauer adjustable Genoa system complete with cars, track cam cleats....everything except the line and unfortunately, instructions.

Anyone have an idea how to run the lines and what size to use?

I saw an older thread about this from 2009.

Thanks in advance.
Rick
 
markvone

markvone

Sustaining Member
Rick,

I have an old (original?) Harken ball bearing system on my E36RH with a 4:1 to the genoa car that works well. You mount the track end pulleys at the fwd end of the track so the control line always pulls the car fwd. The sheet will generally pull the car aft on its own but bungee helps in light air. The bungee needs to be well thought out and LONG (at least 3x the pull distance to work well and not over stretch the bungee past recovery). It wears out often as stated in the 2009 thread. Mine was shot in 2 years and I haven't redesigned it to be longer yet, so I didn't use it last year - didn't really miss it. Control line is dead-ended at the fwd track end for a 4:1. I run my control line inboard of the track back to the genoa car and outbd fwd up to the track fwd end so that my control line comes back inboard of the track to a cheek block on the coaming side then up to a cam cleat. My lines are way bigger than they need to be for strength/stretch, probably 5/16, they are easier on the hands than thin high tech line. I'm using Sta-Set for these as the big size is lightly loaded so little stretch anyway. Can't see expensive high tech line just sitting getting cooked in the sun for this application since I'm not racing. Your max line size will be limited by the pulley sheeve size, but I doubt you'll need the strength of the max size. My #1 genoa is a 500 sq ft laminate sail and I can move the car in all wind conditions with the 4:1 and Harken BB car and pulleys.

If you provide more details (pull ratio, configuration, etc) some one may provide more detailed tips specific to your setup.

Mark
 
E

E33MikeOx

Member II
Rick:

I think you tried to contact me earlier, but I had "misplaced" my log in password and couldn't reply at the time. As to how to rig your adjustable genoa cars, a walk around 'most any marina will find boats with adjustable cars - take notes and/ or pictures. Rigging is fairly standard as described by Mark. Marks' remarks about the haul back bungee are right on. May take some experimenting to find the right combination of size and length tah will work best. In my installation, the forward end of the bungee is tied off at the chainplate, lead back to the end of the Genoa track, around a small block, up to the genoa car, around another small block and dead ended on the becket of the block at the end of the track. That gives the bungee something approximating a doubled pull back on the car. Another tip: Use Hog Rings on the bungee cord - much better than trying to tie a knot! Hope this helps.

Mike O.
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R

Ryan L

s/v Naoma
Rick R. said:
Just received our new Garhauer adjustable Genoa system complete with cars, track cam cleats....everything except the line and unfortunately, instructions.

Anyone have an idea how to run the lines and what size to use?

I saw an older thread about this from 2009.

Thanks in advance.
Rick
Click to expand...

Be careful to prevent the ball bearings from falling out when you slide the unit onto the track...
 
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