Upgraded SC-15 Questions

Technical discussion of ARC products
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whalerman
Professional
Posts: 101
Joined: November 5th, 2007, 11:26 am
Boat Make/Model: SC 17, SC 15
Location: Hamburg, New York

Upgraded SC-15 Questions

Post by whalerman »

The 15 that is for sale on the brokerage page has some neat modifications. I'm wondering which of them would be important to a recreational sailor and would be possible to retrofit to a SC17. Dual downhauls, doe this mean one for the main and one for the jib? From the picture I'm led to believe that there must be a 4 to 1 or 6 to one mechanical advantage for the downhauls, but I could be wrong. Is there an advantage to a 6 to 1 downhaul as opposed to a 2 to 1 other than ease of tensioning? How much tension can you put of the luff of the main?

What is a Maxx batten? I have a set of nice tubular battens that do a good job.

I like the idea of forward traveler controls as I spend my time by the main beam when sailing solo.
DanBerger
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Posts: 280
Joined: May 3rd, 2004, 3:29 pm
Boat Make/Model: SC 15 w/ spin!, SC 19
Location: Norfolk, VA

Re: Upgraded SC-15 Questions

Post by DanBerger »

Yeah, Tom dangled that 15 in front of me a little while ago--that was beyond mean, borderline cruel. He is absolutely right that the price is good for all the modifications, I have more than that in my boat and it keeps adding up.

I'm assuming the dual downhaul is for the main. If you have two pivoting blocks, you can adjust the downhaul from any angle, anywhere on the boat. I added that system to my 15 and I sail solo all the time, so it is very convenient. I can adjust the downhaul from the wire! If you are just pleasure sailing, I don't think it would make a difference besides being cool.

The self tacking jib is a great mod to any boat! Mac just got a compression pole for his 17 that had the downhaul (uphaul?) for the jib routed through the end of the pole. I set up something similar on my 15 and cleat it under the front beam. I think that is a great mod, too, because it took a while to tie the sail on to the pelican striker and then I couldn't adjust the tension on the sail. It really stunk when it worked its way loose.

The Max batten is an aluminum tube that goes in the bottom pocket of the sail. It kind of acts like a boom and does not bend. I think that is a great addition.

Now, on those forward controls, I think they are great if you have crew, but I didn't like them for solo sailing. I had that set up on my 20 and was really impressed--I think a large boat like that (and all the larger ones) really need that system so you can take advantage of that purchase. The crew gets to control the jib and the traveler that way. I simplified my jib controls but I have to have them criss-cross on the trampoline and you end up sitting on it if you are crew. You have a lot more room on a 17, so you could definitely make it happen.
whalerman
Professional
Posts: 101
Joined: November 5th, 2007, 11:26 am
Boat Make/Model: SC 17, SC 15
Location: Hamburg, New York

Re: Upgraded SC-15 Questions

Post by whalerman »

I have a cheek block and a jamb cleat mounted on the port side of the mast. By looping the down haul line through the foot of the luff then around the cheek block and through the jamb cleat I get a 2 to 1 mechanical advantage. I can pull the luff pretty tight, but I don't know how to measure the force exerted. If I added a double cheek block and went through the foot of the luff twice I would have a 4 to 1 system. I am wondering if the extra tension on the luff, creating a flatter sail, would be beneficial sailing in the 10 to 17 mph winds we typically get on Lake Erie.

Erie is currently a block of ice. I need summer, sailing and water skiing.
Mac M
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Joined: June 13th, 2012, 5:05 am
Boat Make/Model: SC17
Location: Lugoff, SC

Re: Upgraded SC-15 Questions

Post by Mac M »

The self tacking kit is really nice if you single hand a lot, or even if you don't (my wife loves self tacking jibs). You can get the stuff all figured out from Tom and it's a pretty easy install.

As for the downhaul. I had a 4:1 on the 17 I robbed off of the 20, but went to a 6:1 when I upgraded to a big Pentex square top main. I'll attach a picture of the old 4:1, it's simple.

Image
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