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| Halyard lock for reefing the main? http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=54111 |
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| Author: | piperdunlap [ Tue Mar 10, 2015 11:07 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Halyard lock for reefing the main? |
We are planning to do some long distance racing with our H20 and will add one or two sets of reef points to our mainsail. I understand some of the Worrell 1000 boats had reefable mains. Does anyone know what, if any, halyard lock system would work further down the mast? I think adding another stock "hook and ring" lock at the right height for a reefed main would chafe the sail on one tack when it was fully hoisted. Any thoughts? Thanks. -- Piper |
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| Author: | mmiller [ Wed Mar 11, 2015 8:36 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Halyard lock for reefing the main? |
Any reefing would be an issue with the CompTip track. Maybe add an aluminum section at the point you intend to hold. You might have to add a pigtail below the lock ring... down to the head. Something very low stretch. You would have to drop the sail... add the pigtail and re-hoist. May be difficult to lock the ring on the hook too. |
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| Author: | srm [ Wed Mar 11, 2015 11:59 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Halyard lock for reefing the main? |
One thought that I have had would be to cut a small opening in the sail where the lower hook would chafe. This would allow the hook to pass through the sail as the mast rotated. The opening would need to be reinforced around the hole by adding several patches to each side of the sail and/or webbing to transfer the downhaul load without tearing the sail. Other things to consider- the mast section in the comptip is not constant, meaning that the hook which is designed to be installed at the tip of the mast would likely have to be modified or customized in order to be installed lower on the mast. Also keep in mind that in the normal position, the rivets for the hook go through the hook, through the fiberglass comptip, and through the aluminum mast head casting. The head casting acts as a backing for the rivets. If you mount the hook lower on the mast, you will not have any backing for the rivets inside the mast so there is risk they could pull through the fiberglass. You could add a pigtail to the ring but then you would have to fully lower the sail anytime you wanted to reef or un-reef. The other option is to just add a cleat at the bottom of the mast, forget about the hook, and just use the main halyard to support the sail when reefed. The problem is that you will probably get a lot of unwanted mast bend if you do this so getting the downhaul to set properly may be a problem. Still, this may be the simplest solution in the long run. sm |
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| Author: | piperdunlap [ Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:02 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Halyard lock for reefing the main? |
Thanks for your comments, Matt and srm. I'm guessing an aluminum section would be to avoid having the plastic luff channel splay open and release the bold rope when the main is sheeted hard. Maybe a bite of spectra or dyneema through the headboard and around the mast just above the hounds that you could tension from below like a noose to keep the head forward in the slot. It would only work for the first reef because of the shrouds, forestay and trap wires. Looks like there will be some experiments in our future! Thanks! |
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| Author: | srm [ Thu Mar 12, 2015 5:12 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Halyard lock for reefing the main? |
The aluminum section of luff track is the easy part. If you look at your comptip, the top 12" or so of the luff track is a separate aluminum section. You can just buy one of these sections, cut the existing plastic luff track, and install the aluminum one where you need it. The bigger issue is how to secure the head of the sail at the reef point. How about this for an idea - a custom hinged hook. The hook would have a vertical hinge and be spring loaded so it snaps to center, but as the mast rotates the hook would pivot so it lays against the sail rather than poking into it. Just another thought.... sm |
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