main sail coversion

[pworthington]

I just purchased a 1983 SC 17. It's in fair shape but should be a fun project. I have a few questions: 1) I am thinking of converting the leach of the main to a lug style so I don't have to deal with the resistance issues with hoisting the main. Has anyone tried this? 2) Where can I get an owners manual? - I saw someone post a similar request for one. 3) How tight should I make the shrouds?-I have a Catalina 22 for comparison. That's all for now, there will be more before I launch her. Great forum !!!!

[Matt Haberman]

I don't think that converting the luff of the mainsail to lugs would be necessary (or recomended). Typically the problem with raising the sail is a combination of several factors. 1) Condition of sheave at top & base of mast. 2) Halyard line in poor condition and typically too large. We currently use 3/16" low halyard line and this makes a huge difference in raising the sail. 3) Condition of luff on sail, if the luff rope is damaged, non-low stretch line, etc. all can make raising the sail difficult.

First adjust your forestay length so you have approx 5 degrees of mast rake with respect to the deck of the boat just in front of the main cross beam. This can be measured easily with with roofing protractor available at most home improvement stores. Next adjust your side stays so your mast can rotate from side to side to the point that the sail track at the back of the mast will point somewhere between the sidestay and the end of the beam.

All replacement parts and owners manuals are available from Aquarius Sail. For infomation on parts, etc. please call 651-462-SAIL or email sales@aquarius-sail.com

[rghdc]

Have you tried this? MCLUBE DRY LUBRICANT
SailKote Dry Lubricants...you can get it at West Marine for about $10.

Regards,
Bob

[Tom Haberman]

Changing to slug slides is not a correct modification on an SC17 mainsail. Adding slug slides will destroy the correct mast rotation and the battens will poke past the mast as it rotates.
If your halyard is a wire to rope splice style it should be replaced with the current hook and ring with the low stretch halyard.
All SC , ARC & RC sail plans use the bolt rope type luffs. This provides a superior sail shape and is a much more efficient method than slug slides.
Also make sure you are feeding the bolt rope into the mast all the way. If your luff tape becomes pinched as it enters the mast it will become very difficult to raise the sail. We now have a pair of ball type sail feeders that can be mounted at the entrance to the sail track. These will keep the bolt rope in the track. There is also a prefeeder available that aligns the bolt rope with the ball feeders.
Check your halyard and mast top sheave first.
Good sailing.

[pworthington]

Thanks,

I am not familiar with fully battened sails, they are quite a piece of engineering. I replaced the halyard with a 3/16 line and it made a significant difference. I also lubricated the aluminum rollers at the base of the mast. I can see where the wire rope end was hitting against the top of the rope on the headboard. I need to but a few batten fittings at the forward end of the sail for a tight batten fit. Hey, did all 17's come with a jib? This has no signs of any rigging (1983 SC 17). Thanks again !

[Matt Haberman]

The 17 came with a Jib as standard equipment, but it is not uncommon to see them being sailed uni-rig.

[pworthington]

Matt, You mentioned that the shroud adjustment should allow the back of the mast to rotate between the shroud and the "end of beam". Does end of beam mean directly outboard/perpendicular to the hull? Also, I put in a phone call to order some parts yesterday, just checking if you got my message? Also, should this mast be foam filled or sealed for "zero" water entry? I'll be doing a dunk test this weekend. Thanks, Hope to have my first sail next week
Pete W

[Matt Haberman]

Pete,

Yes, I was refering to the outboard end of the beam where it meets the hull.

The mast should be sealed to prevent leakage. I would advise against filling with foam because of increased weight and water absorbtion. We have always sealed a foam plug in the mast at both the top and bottom, additionally all fittings are sealed with 3M 5200 to prevent leakage.

I will check to make sure they received your parts order yesterday.

[davefarmer]

My SC20 with a new square top Pentex main was always tough to raise. I hit the luff rope with McLube every time it was raised, but the real trick was to pay close attention to the rotation of the mast as the main was being raised. If the mast was perfectly in line with the sail, it would go up fine, if not the luff would bind and the effort required to raise the sail further would go up exponentially. So the boat MUST be pointed into the wind, and I would have the crew pulling on the hlyd from behind the rear crossbeam as I fed the sail into the luff groove, and changing his position in response to wind shifts to keep the mast in plane with the mainsail.

Dave

[BugTussel]

i have a 82 sc17 and i am having the same issue with raising the sail. i am defiantly going to replace the sheaves and wire/rope halyard.
but i often sail alone and trying to line up the sail with the track and pulling the halyard is a chore. how do you rig the prefeeder and where can i order it from?

also should i add a sail hook after i convert to a rope halyard?

[Matt Haberman]

Bugtussel,

The conversion to a rope halyard would include a mast head hook. Both the conversion kit for the halyard and the pre-feeder are available from Aquarius Sail along with all other parts for your SuperCat.