• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

Some rigging mysteries on E35-2

RedHerring

Member II
I wonder what the factory setup for mainsail reefing was like. My boat has slab reefing lines and lazy jacks, but no reefing hook.On the gooseneck there is a 3/8" hole for the pin that goes into the tack cringle, and an empty hole of the same size about an inch below.

There is also a cleat on the starboard aft part of the mast, just below the original gooseneck position (PO has moved gooseneck down). The cleat is not inline with any winch.

My best guess is that there was one or two reefing hooks bolted to this gooseneck fitting, and the cleat may be from a cunningham (which I don't have rigged, either).

Can someone ever so kindly tell me (or even better, show me a picture of), what was the reefing hook supposed to look like originally, and what is this mysterious cleat for?
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
My guess is that the cleat is for reefing. It works pretty well to just thread a line through the reefing cringle and cleat it down, then go back to the cockpit and tension the luff. At least the cringle doesn't fall off the horn, as it often does when there's no one available to tighten the halyard immediately.

Reefing horns on the gooseneck are OK, but as the sail stacks up for second or third reefs it gets awkward or impossible to pull the cringle over the horn.

"Dog bones" are one answer--two rings connected with strapping to extend the cringle. But they're always on the sail.

reefing horn.jpg

Another answer replaces the horns with snap shackles, as described here:

http://www.hood-sails.com/under-the-hood/14017407

Mitchellreeftackhooks1.jpg
 
Last edited:

mkollerjr

Member III
Blogs Author
That got me thinking. I have an extra reef line led aft, and the dog-bone and j-hook set up. I think I'm going to fasten the extra reef line to one of the rings on the dog-bone. This would give me a double line reefing system and let me reef without having to go to the mast.

Mark
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I tried that for a while, and it did seem to work. Trouble was in my case that the lines to the second and third reefs were long and in breezy conditions they rapped irritatingly against the sail and mast. It was just a jury rig, though with whatever line I had on hand.

What I'm going to try is a cam cleat on the mast base as a temporary holder for the the halyard, to hold the dog bone on till I can return to the cockpit and tighten the halyard.

I read about it somewhere on the forum. When you do start winching the halyard, it just pops out of the cam.
 
Top