Replace Outhaul E34

[Shadowfax]

FFor some perverted reason the outhaul on my E34, which is rope to wire, the wire is not stainless steel, but a ferrous metal which is now about to break due to rust, etc. Has anyone replaced their outhaul on a 34 [which is probably the same set up as the 32 & 38] and if so, what is involved?

 

[Tom Metzger]

Outhaul

Paul - I looked at the owner's manual for the 35-3 and it shows a 4:1 tackle for the outhaul. You should be able to pull it to the end of the boom by attaching a tail onto the outhaul line.

I haven't done it, just a WAG.

 

[Seth]

Should work

You should be able to tie a messenger line to one end of the old outhaul and pull it through so it is replaced completely with the messenger. Then take the old one and measure it, and buy a nice piece of Spectra or other very low stretch line (do yourself a favor-the regular dacron yacht braid is WAY too stretchy-that is why there was wire to begin with). Otherwise you will be constantly having to re-tension it as it stretches under load! go for the good stuff! Then tie the new line onto the messenger, and pull it through!

S

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

There is a thread on here somewhere about outhauls and vangs for the E-38. I wrote a lot of it but am not that savvy at linking to that stuff. I replaced the 4:1 OEM outhaul with 12:1 and used spectra with cover spliced on where it was outside the boom. It exits the side of the boom to a cam cleat then through a 30mm block so it can be tensioned from any angle. The 12:1 is really sweet in that you can apply tension when the sail is fully loaded. I found the 4:1 purchase did not really help much and the horn cleat on the boom was not as effective as the cam cleat. Over the past year I have upgraded all of my running rigging to make things easier to use. I often singlehand the 38 and I'm 5' 5" and weigh 130 on a good day. Increasing purchase where possible and replacing sheave blocks with bearing blocks makes things a lot easier. If its easier to adjust you are more likely to make the adjustment making the boat faster. I am a performance oriented sailor so the changes are a double bonus for me in that they help make my boat faster and easier to sail. If you need specifics on the outhaul and dont find them on the site lemme know. Definately lose the wire and go with high tech single braid. You will save weight, gain strength, and eliminate the chance of those dreaded meathooks.

 

[Frank Langer]

Ted, I'm just wondering if there is any issue with damage to the mainsail by tensioning the outhaul when the sail is fully loaded in a stiff breeze. I often head up slightly til the mainsail luffs a bit, then tension the outhaul (same for halyard or similar adjustments) before falling off again to my normal sailing course. Maybe I'm being a bit too cautious/protective of the sail
...any thoughts?
Frank.

 

[Shadowfax]

Ted,

I see your point about going all rope, but won't I have to change the sheeve that I can see and what about the one I can't see? I'll try the archive and see what I can find

 

[Chris Miller]

Sounds to me like Ted needs to just eat more cheeseburgers

The spectra (or dyneema, or vectran, or whatever) will allow you to go down a size in line which will make sure everything runs nice and clean through the current blocks. Shouldn't be a big deal. It will also help get better purchase on the horn.

check someplace like www.apsltd.com (or your local race shop) in the sale rack. might find a good deal from their scrap.

Tensioning the outhaul under load won't hurt it, just don't tension past horizontal wrinkles.

Chris

 

[cawinter]

Keep us posted

Paul, please keep the us posted. I want to echo the comments about the deficient 4:1 for the outhaul.

After going to the 8:1 on my boom vang I use it much more frequently to adjust the tension. With the 4:1 it was basically set and forget.

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

Been working on the cheeseburgers metabolism has to slow one of these days... My main is loose foot and the car at the end of the boom for the outhaul has 4 little delrin wheels that it rides on so tensioning under loan is not a problem. To Chris' point I keep an eye on the sail and don't over do it. I watch the draft and when its where I like it I stop with the tension.

Vang is another story. The existing was 4:1 going to a clutch with a winch near by. I went to a rigid vang that has 3:1 internally then 6:1 outside going back to the clutch. Never need the winch now. I can easily get all the vang I need with one hand. The rigid vang also got rid of my wire topping lift which took a few pounds out of the rig. So 4:1 is probably fine but you will need at least 10:1 to be able to get the tension up high enough by hand. If you have a winch close by then you could just stay with the 4:1 and use a winch.

As for the sheaves. Mine were delrin/Plastic and rather tired. I replaced them and happened to have an aluminum one for the outhaul but the delrin would be fine. If yours are old I would replace them as they are cheap and if one goes when you need to reef it could be a PITA. I have a Kenyon rig and the sheave popped out from both ends easily by easing all the lines and pulling the pin and sheave together out of their slot.

 

[sailingdeacon]

After wondering why my internal outhaul (87 E34) was so stiff, I pulled the blocks out the aft end of the boom. Finally I noticed that the original wire turning block in the boom end was installed so that it squeezed the block preventing it from turning freely. Apparently the holes for the fasteners were drilled wrong at the factory. So fixed that, and the block turns nicely.

BUT... as I pulled out the block I could not figure out how others replaced or improved the 4:1 . What I get after pulling the douible block and lines out the aft end is a single double block with one line leading forward to the front exit of the boom, and a final line (other end) leading from that block to an attachment point (apparently with another block) somewhere up in the boom. How in the world do i get to that forward block to make a change???

 

[Loren Beach]

invisible tackle...

Deacon,
When I overhauled our boom I took it off the mast and then removed the gooseneck fitting. The frozen screws and bolts were are very tough to convince... after many years of chemical marriage with the aluminum.

Once inside I found that the forward end of the outhaul tackle was secured where the vang fitting was -- it's been a decade and maybe it was one of the bolts at the gooseneck, come to think of it.

Anyhoo... once you access the interior front end of the boom, all will be revealed, as the old saying goes, hopefully.

Admittedly, I was very motivated, since the vang fitting broke and the only way to repair it was to extract it from the inside to weld up the SS pieces.


Best of luck,
Loren

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

Mine was dead ended at a pin just aft of the gooseneck. Actually there was a stainless bail that had one a mainsheet block attached to it just aft of the gooseneck. The through bolt that held the bail on was what the outhaul purchase was deadended to. I got rid of the bail altogether but did keep the bolt to attach my outhaul to. I used a piece of tubing to prevent compression loads. The tubing was about 1/2" od and went through the boom but was flush with both sides. A bolt was inserted through the tube and the whole thing was tightened up.

 

[jgarmin098]

My 32-3 had a 4:1 set up. I recently had the rigger replace the blocks and add a doubler taking it to 8:1. Once I get it back, I'll be leading it aft to the cockpit. What's the sense of having an adjustable outhaul if you have to go forward all the time to adjust it...?

 

[Shadowfax]

Outhaul Project

Went down to the boat this weekend with tackling the outhaul project and a couple of other lesser feats in mind. After asking the group what was involved I felt sure it would be a half hour project. A mitigating factor in this particular project was the weather conditions; well below freezing with a steady 20 to 25 mph wind, with a snow squall thrown in now and then for effect.

I tied a messenger line to the line coming out of the boom and stared pulling on the outhaul at the boom end. The fit where the line enters the boom is tight as it goes through a turning sheave and a clutch and finally the hole in the goose neck assembly. After forcing the line with the messenger through all this I got 7 or 8 feet and all stopped. Spent the next 20 minutes trying to get the line back out through the goose neck because everything was so tight. I decided that the problem was the thickness of the line, so if I taped a messenger to the wire end this would not be a problem. About this time I was joined by a friend who when the messenger line became stuck again he decided all it needed was a bit more force which promptly parted the messenger line from the wire well inside the boom. Shock shown in our frozen faces. A look into the boom with a flash light from the aft end showed nothing but numerous lines and 18 years of aborted attempts at bird nesting. It was quickly decided that the boom had to come off and into my friends garage where frostbite was less of an issue.

At the garage and after a liquid warm up, both ends of the boom where removed along with about 5 lbs. of nesting material and the reasons for our inability to do this with messenger lines became apparent. I expected a wire to rope line situation run through blocks inside the boom. What I found was the line tied off on the through bolt at the end of the boom just in front of the boom fitting, that ran through a block with a becket and a fiddle block. The wire was attached to the becket, no messenger line would have ever worked. We also found that the line used was too large for the sheaves in the blocks and the old line with the tape and the messenger could not clear the body of the block. Also the turning sheave in the boom where the wire leaves the boom was frozen. After rereading the posts on this I realized I had been told this set up might be the case.

My friend decided that I not only needed a new length of wire, but new blocks and while we where at it, new line of the right size and long enough to be led back to the cockpit though the new rope clutches he made me buy at the boat show. Oh, and new reefing lines since it was all apart, I had bought new rope clutches and I should be doing it right.

Off to the local WM where we are well know to the local sales staff, who where bored because you could hardly see across the street for the snow squalls so the place was empty and they promptly set us up with a length of wire from the left over bin. For the cost of the compression fittings we had the wire. Over to the rope department where a 48 ft. length of 5/16 was found in the left over bin which we got the SPECIAL DEAL on. I have a Port Supply card so the two new Lewmar blocks where about 40% off and the reefing line was 30% off. In my frenzy, and since I had to take my main sheet off to do all of this anyway, I brought that in and had them send it out to put a Flemish eye on the one end to remove the bowline connection at the block uniting the main sheet to the traveler. All told I was out of there for for just over a $100.00. Not bad.

Everything went together in a flash now that we understood how it all worked and the boom with all its new line, new blocks and lubricated turning sheave is back on the mast and looking spiffy.

I guess the best advise I can give to anyone attempting this project is to take the time to take the boom off the mast and remove both end boom fittings and as Loren said, "all will be revealed."

Next: Change the traveler cars from Schaefer to Garhauer