New gripe sheet for an old 19

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Jonathan Levine
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Joined: August 30th, 2019, 12:17 pm
Boat Make/Model: SC19, SC20
Location: Southern Alberta

New gripe sheet for an old 19

Post by Jonathan Levine »

After a false start a few weeks ago (a 12-hour day yielded a 15-minute sail after both rudder lock pins went to bits - old UV-killed plastic, got replacements from Tom) I finally got out for a couple of proper (though still too short) sails.

1. I'm still running the stock '83 wraparound tramp and wire traveler and have no immediate desire (or budget) to get a new tramp and switch to a car-on-track traveler. The existing setup, though, sucks pretty badly. My objection is that when there's tension on the traveler line, that tension rotates the cleat to lee and away from the user, making it harder to adjust than it should be. Seems to me the problem is that the fairlead (bullseye) rotates with the cleat rather than being fixed while the cleat alone rotates. Has anyone come up with a fix for this?

2. This is a little thing, and barely sail-related, but pretty stupid. This yellow mesh tramp came with a big matching bag that has four rings that mate with four spring clips on the tramp. What idiot decided that the the spring clips should be on the tramp to snag your clothes, wetsuit, harness, etc., rather than putting the rings on the tramp? Not pulling it apart now, just hoping they don't kill me before I take the tramp off and have them switched over the winter.

3. What are the feelings regarding trailering w/ or w/o rudders? Unlike (e.g.) Hobie rudders, the tiller isn't part of the locking mechanism and can't be secured down to keep the rudders raised on the road, so some other means of keeping them from dropping needs to be devised. At a glance, it seems to me that a suitable length of wood dowel through the rudder lock notch adjacent the transom (when the rudders are raised) will keep them in place. I'm a nomadic sailor looking for every trick possible to reduce setup time for day sails.

4. This is the first boomless rig I've ever owned, and thus the first without a mast rotation yoke. This seems to have made it a lot harder to unhook the halyard ring from the mast when dropping the sail. Comments and suggestions?

All for now (I think).
T Peterson
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Re: New gripe sheet for an old 19

Post by T Peterson »

I've trailered my 17 a lot for many years and never had the rudders drop in transit. So, now you have given me something to worry about... Except I have the boat in a nice location and some years don't trailer anywhere... If I was going to drive several hours I'd probably remove the rudders and tie them on the tramp but anything short of two hours I'd leave them on.

As for the clips on the tramp I'd put a small sock or tiny drawstring bag over each one and tie a cord around the bottom.

As for the mast rotation when dropping the sail, if you have a helper, have that person rotate the mast while you release the halyard. I remember that's what helped me but I have a different halyard hook now.
Matt Haberman
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Re: New gripe sheet for an old 19

Post by Matt Haberman »

Hi Jonathan,

1) Can you post some photos of your traveler setup? I think I am visualizing what your describing, however I don't ever recall anyone raising the issue you describe.

2) I suspect your tramp is an aftermarket. All of the OE tramps always had the bag as an integral part of the tramp. There have been several different iterations of how the bag was designed and its size, but they were always integral to the tramp itself. With regards to the issue with your tramp, seems to me like Tom's Peterson's solution might work, or you might want to consider removing the clips entirely and replace them with rope lacing to secure the bag.

3) Most everyone we know always trailed with their rudders on the boat unless it was a long distance / cross country trek. We have seen a few cases of the rudder dropping when traveling over very rough roads, for that reason we always recommended securing a piece of rope through the rudder casting and cam notch to prevent the rudder from making contact with the ground if it were to fall.

4) Not having a rotator has never really been an issue for us. My suggestions for lowering the mainsail are the following:
1) Make sure the boat is facing straight into the wind.
2) Stand on the same side of the mainsail as the hook is located on.
3) Push a little bit of the sail up the mast track at the bottom.
4) With the mast pointing straight back Pull on the halyard until it stops.
5) While holding the halyard grab with your other hand just below where the sail enters the mast and rotate the mast towards the hook side.
6) While holding the mast rotated, release the halyard and pull down on the mainsail.
7) While pulling down on the mainsail slowly let the mast rotate back to center, the main sail should come down and off the hook.
Matt Haberman
Aquarius Sail Inc.
http://www.aquarius-sail.com
Matt Haberman
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Re: New gripe sheet for an old 19

Post by Matt Haberman »

Jonathan,
One additional thought on rotating the mast when lowering the mainsail. Since you have spreaders on the mast you can always push on the diamond wire to rotate the mast. It hit me today when I was lowering the main :D
Matt Haberman
Aquarius Sail Inc.
http://www.aquarius-sail.com
Jonathan Levine
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Joined: August 30th, 2019, 12:17 pm
Boat Make/Model: SC19, SC20
Location: Southern Alberta

Re: New gripe sheet for an old 19

Post by Jonathan Levine »

Please forgive my perfectly terrible manners in letting this thread hang for the better part of a year, but spring is (finally)(sort of) here (we thought it was spring, anyway - it was +25C the other day - then we got a few days of snow and it's around freezing again. Grrr....) and that means getting back to work on the boat+trailer with a vengeance.

Regarding the traveler business: I could take a photo, but there's a picture on page 16 of Supercat-19-Owners-Manual.pdf that illustrates the problem perfectly. It shows the rig effectively on a port tack, with the traveler and main block starboard of the centerline. Under tension, the traveler's geometry has rotated the traveler's cam cleat to starboard; that is, away from skipper and crew on the port hull. As a result, the first 5" or so of pull on the traveler line is "wasted" just rotating the cleat toward the user, and the constant force (under sail) rotating it away from the user also makes it a little more unpleasant to uncleat than normal. I realize this may sound like a nitpicky complaint, but it's the kind of detail that I'm surprised was allowed to persist over so many years - I really would have expected Bill, Tom, someone to have come up with something friendlier.

Oh - and on the rudders: I cut a couple of plywood disks 5" (?) in diameter and epoxied short pieces of 1/2" dowel into holes in their centers. With the rudders up I push them into the rudder lock notches and against the casting, and keep them in place with shock cord retainers. Seems like a decent way to go (unless/until someone points out why they're a bad idea).
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