raising the main is a bitch on this SC15

[gahamby]

I straightened the slot on the mast and spliced in a new halyard but it's still a fight. Would a direct wire to line splice be better? What brand of sail feeder should I install,if any? Is there a lube or wax that will help that wont crap out the sail? I am open to all suggestions. Thanks GH.

[Matt Haberman]

GH,

Take a look at this discussion: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=303&hilit=halyard+hook

There are several good points regarding what makes a sail difficult to raise. You also might want to consider converting your halyard to the current style without the wire. There are several advantages to this arrangement, one of them being it should be easier to raise your sail.

[whalerman]

Matt is right as usual. I have had 3 SC17's in the short time I have been sailing cats. My current boat has the rope halyard and the hook arrangement at the top of the mast. It works very nicely. I use McLube Sailcoat dry lube spray on the slot and luff so the sail just glides right up. The thin rope halyard really helps as well. Chances are the sheave at the top of mast is screwed up from years of wear. I purchased a new sheave from Matt that has nice bearings in it so the main now goes right up.

So the hot ticket is: new skinny halyard, hook & ring conversion and sheave with bearings. Don't try to piece a system together your self, it is only frustrating. Just buy it from Matt and you are assured of getting the right stuff the first time along with some really good advice.

[Bill Roberts]

Hello Profsional,
Who made your sail? What brand is it? If the luff curve on your mainsail has too much curve in it, it will be very hard to pull up. The mast forces the luff of the sail to take only a slight curve as it is raised equal to the bend in the mast. If your sail has too much Luff curve in it and the sail battens are very stiff, as the sail is raised, the sail is bending the mast. This causes very much friction and very hard to pull the halyard and raise the sail.
TEST: Turn your boat over on the grass and raise the sail by hand. Tie a short piece of line on the headboard and pull the sail up the mast. If the problem is the sail, the luff curve etc, it will be hard to pull. If the sail can be slid up the sail track easily with a reasonable pull, the the problem is internal, the mast and halyard. The wire to rope halyard has worked well for many years. For there to now be a problem, something has changed from factory specs and it is not the mast extrusion.
SAFETY: The reason for the halyard lock at the bottom of the mast is safety. If you see an oncoming squall and can't get to shore, like out in the ocean, you can drop the mainsail on the SC product and greatly improve your safety. If the halyard lock on your boat is at the top of the mast and you have to walk out in front of the boat to undo the halyard lock and a squall is coming and you happen to be out in the ocean, you are in big trouble. The halyard lock at the base of the mast is a safety feature on your boat.

[SC15Av8or]

SAFETY: The reason for the halyard lock at the bottom of the mast is safety. If you see an oncoming squall and can't get to shore, like out in the ocean, you can drop the mainsail on the SC product and greatly improve your safety. If the halyard lock on your boat is at the top of the mast and you have to walk out in front of the boat to undo the halyard lock and a squall is coming and you happen to be out in the ocean, you are in big trouble. The halyard lock at the base of the mast is a safety feature on your boat.

Bill that is very interesting. Why then have you switched to the hook at the top of the mast?? I know if I am not head to wind and there is a slight breeze in the sail it ain't coming down. I was caught in a squall and the best I could do is run with it down wind to the nearest beach. Wrapped the main around the side stay and rug burned a few spots on batten pockets from doing so.

[Matt Haberman]

Just to clarify, Bill is referring to a halyard lock system like that used on a Hobie 16, which requires you to essentially be off of the boat when lowering the mainsail.

[Bill Roberts]

Professional,
Along came the late 1990s and into 2000 and it became fashionable to have a very high mechanical advantage mainsail downhaul system to bend the mast. One could change the sail form full to flat with downhaul tension bending the mast. That takes alot of compression load coming down the aft edge of the mast. Add to that the load coming down the aft edge of the mast from mainsheet tension and having two or three big guys on the wire and all the sudden it was possible to break masts. This was happening moreso in other classes rather than on SCs. The SC masts are slightly larger in section than any other beach cat. That was done to make it so that when the boat turned over, it would not go turtle and therefore could be righted and sailed home. This works really good in the Atlantic Ocean where SCs were designed and developed. Another safety feature of the SCs. SCs are also not put together with pop rivets in the hull. This is another SC safety feature. Hulls won't fill with water and sink when the boat is turned over. Anyway, back to the halyard lock location. Having the halyard lock at the top of the mast eliminates bringing the mainsail luff tension, downhaul tension, back down the mast a second time. So, the halyard lock was moved to the top of the mast. The SC halyard lock at the top of the mast can be released from the trampoline. Simply release the downhaul,pull the main halyard, the sail will move up the mast sailtrack slightly, rotate the mast counter clockwise as far as possible and release the main halyard and tug down on the mainsail bolt rope and the sail comes down.
Halyard lock release tips: It is easier to disengage the halyard lock finger from the ring if the wind is comong across the boat at a slight angle or greater from the starboard side. This will push the head of the sail twisting off to the port side which then makes 'less mast rotation' required to pull the finger out of the ring.

[Bill Roberts]

Professional,
More on the same subject. If you have an aftermarket sail with a large diameter soft bolt rope, this is probably your problem, drag between the non standard bolt rope and the wire to rope halyard at the splice. The SC standard bolt rope is 1/4ins dia, hard braid.
Before you can fix the problem, you must find the cause of the problem. Turn the boat over and pull the sail up the mast by hand, no halyard involved. This test will help you find the problem.