Trapeze wire and Self-tacking Jib questions...

[rghdc]

I have some questions about my 1994 Supercat 17. Having owned one in the past (1981) and sailed it extensively, I thought it would be a breeze to put this newer one together. But this has turned out not to be the case…

I have the original manual, but the boat has been modified with the new style tramp material (I have no idea if the tramp came from Aquarius Sails or not). It has the self-tacking jib. It has had new standing rigging of which the upper thimbles on the side stays are too small to attach directly to the main shackle on the mast as shown in the manual (The main shackle {part # 1116-0000} on my boat is ¼” and I am not sure if this has been increased in size, or is stock... it does not have the eye hole for safety wire so I am thinking it may not be stock) Because of this I have to attach the side stays to the main shackle with two smaller shackles (is 3/16”necessary to equal the load carrying capacity of the stock size wire? They are one size smaller than 3/16” at this time).

I have two Trapeze wires on each side of course…but I have only one grommet to run thru the tramp…. Is this the way Aquarius routs their trapeze lines? Or is this some custom made tramp with only one trapeze grommet when it should have two? Do both trapeze wire bungee get routed thru this same grommet? Does anyone have a good high- resolution picture they can send me of the proper set up?

When I owned my old SC 17 I lived on the water, never took the mast down, and quite frankly never paid that much attention to how it went together after the initial set up. I seem to remember that each trap wire had its own grommet to run thru, spaced several inches apart. I have looked at all the pictures in the manual and the Aquarius Products section, but cannot find a picture with enough detail/clarity of this part of the boat to come to any conclusion. Do both trap wire bungee go thru the same grommet? Or do they terminate at different locations? If so, where?

Also have a problem with the self tacking jib. My 1981 Supercat had the old set up which allowed the boat to tack like a dream…The self tacking jib on this boat seems to want to put me in irons every time… I have never had this problem before. Oh…and the sails are not stock either…they are custom Dave Calvert (with square top main) that one of the previous owners had made. It seems that on a beam/close reach you can’t flatten out the jib to adjust the slot…either the draft is too full, or if you sheet it in to get rid of the excess draft, it moves the clue too close to the center line and stalls the main…any suggestions?

It is frustrating to jump into the middle of a modified product and have little information as to what is stock and what has been changed…the immediate previous owner is not the one that did the modifications so I have not even bothered to ask him…things like having ¾” line for the main sheet (the line would not move freely thru the blocks so I replaced with the spec. 3/8”line) makes me want to go thru the whole boat and check everything. I know it is difficult to make recommendations based on a modified product…but any suggestions that would allow me to utilize as much of the equipment that I already have would be greatly appreciated.

If I had a better trailer I would ask Mr. Roberts if I could pull it down to him, and let him tell me what is what. But I don’t think the trailer is up it. A few well-defined photos may do the trick.

Thanks,

Bob

[Bill Roberts]

Hi Bob,
I have I have seen the boat you are talking about. The boat has changed hands several times. Some of the owners have been brand new to sailing. They did not know how to put the boat together and got advice from the beach cat sailors around them. These other brand boat owners had not seen and did not know how to rig the boat either. So, what you have at this point is a mixture of rigging ideas from beach cat sailors of other brands of boats, Hobie, Prindle, Nacras, etc on a boat they had never seen before.
>Obvisously the standing rigging is not factory and was probably made up at some rigging shop in south Florida. This should be replaced with factory or factory equivalent parts so that the mast does not fall down.
>The forward shock chord passes through the front beam. There should be a gromet in each beam cap.
>The self tacking jib was missing some crirical parts, pulleys, four years ago and they are probably still missing today. These parts are the ones that make the self tacking jib self tack. Without them it doesn't work. I tried to explain this to a Jupiter owner, Mark something, but he did not seem interested. He was happy with the boat the way it was. He was brand new to sailing.
I will be glad to help you get the boat straightened out. Give me a call at 772 221 8494.
Bill