Seaway Conversion

The through bolts will spread the load

Thanks for the reply!

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'84 H16 #80116 Tequila Sunrise

I was also wondering how the single central clevis pin would hold up to the load, since usually a double or triple block has a stainless "U" bracket which connects the two or three clevis pins, then a d-ring is used to make the connection from the boom tang to the upper/central hole in the "U" bracket. This bracket divides the load into the two/three clevis pins from all blocks instead of directing all of it though the single clevis pin if not using a bracket. The plastic on the pulley isn't that thick where the clevis pin goes through, and it is taking 100% of the pulley load at that point. I was scared that this would be the point of failure, but I see pictures of other seaway conversions, and they have used the single pin without reinforcement, and have yet to read that one has failed.

I'm happy to say that I installed mine yesterday and took the boat out to test them in 16-20mph wind with some pretty wild gusts, and they held up fine. Much easier on the hands & arm compared to the 5:1, and I didn't even have to use the ratchet. Very hard to release the line through the gusts though with the original 1/2" line which is currently installed, the gusts nearly got me a few times. I ordered some salsa 8mm line, should be here today, should spin through the blocks much easier.

I was also able to take the shrouds down from the 2nd hole from the top, all the way down to the 2nd hole from the bottom of the 7-hole shroud adjuster plate, and was just about block to block sheeted in hard. (I have the newer shroud lengths). I can't say that I noticed an improvement in pointing, but it did tame the boat down a bit, and the bow isn't trying to pitchpole the boat anymore. Before I'd have to keep my weight near the back of the boat on a reach, now I'm much more centered, without really needing to move around much.

I did notice a counter-rotated mast a few times, but that may have been because of my jib tension being too high. The triple block is connected to the forward tang on the boom. I would assume moving it to the aft tang would make the counter-rotation worse.

The U bracket speading the load is of course the best engineered method, using three of the clevis pins. Probably why we don't see any break is because the flange of the clevis is below the two through bolts at the top. The force added to the clevis holds the plastic body in compression against the bolts instead of under tension where failure would be commonplace. No the load isn't getting spread across the through bolt evenly but good enough for a cheap conversion.

I got my new pulley in and put it together this weekend. I also cut the extra material off the bolts. Instead of a pad eye I just removed the ratchet mechanism(mine was worn out) and placed the becket pin and bushing in its place as a tie off. Pics to come. I still haven't done the reeveing.

Took the boat out after the modification. Huge difference. Much easier to hold the mainsheet without fatiguing my hand and not relying on the cam cleat. I can see why this is standard equipment now. Second image you can see the portion of the becket that used to be on one of the singles hanging from the boom. The ratchet mechanism has been eliminated. I did have to drill the hole from 1/8" to 3/16". There is plenty of room for the bowline if you place the fat side of the knot towards the bow. I have some concerns however about rolling the blocks up with the sail at the end of the day. Usually my mainsheet is pretty wet. I'd like to remove it from the boom after sailing it. I swear I lose a pin every time I go out and I'd like to have a faster way to get it assembled to the boom and traveler car. Does anyone have any suggestions for hardware to make this easier. When the sail is flapping it is very frustrating to get the pin placed and the keyring loop(what is the formal name for this) through the hole on the pin. I'm really tired of losing hardware at the dock. Luckily my boat came with a convenience kit but I'll run out someday.

I recently purchased a new halyard from salty dog (non OEM), and the shackle has what they call a captive pin, which works great. the pin is under tension from a spring, and has a small rod pressed in which sticks out perpendicular to the length of the pin. There is a relieve in the shackle body that the rod lays into, and is held in place by the spring tension. You simply push and twist and there is an opening in the shackle just large enough for the rod to pass through. No more lost items! Not sure where to get these, or even what they are called, but someone is making them, probably available in a variety of sizes.

https://www.saltydogmarine.com/product_info.php?products_id=2536

That looks like it would work very well for the top. The traveler car has the receiver for the pin so I can't see it working for the lower. Maybe the solution is use the captive shackle at the top, keep the pin on the bottom and rig it on land so I only lose it on the asphalt. Thanks. The triple block is more bulky than then original single.

Captive shackle on the top, Tie a light line from the shackle to maybe the block or the top loop on the boom. It will always be there and you won't lose the pin. The rings I have heard called ring-dings, don't know if that is the official name but seems to be the most common name.

Maybe one of the quick push-button pins for the bottom again with a lanyard to the block or the traveler to keep it where you want it and not lose it.

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84 14T Redline #67 Blue Hawaii faded but still working!
82 Yellow hull16 '81 Boomer nationals 20.9 on GPS
83 White hull 16 No sails "Clean and Purty Now!"
87 White hull no sails no tramp

When recreational sailing a 16

We always left the upper attached to the boom bail and used a quick pin to attach lower to the traveler car.
NOTE: If the hole through your traveler car is "ob round", from years of hard use, the ball stop on a quick pin may be ineffective.
Please check before you lose an expensive pin in the water (don't ask me how I know)

To make A1cnc lanyard - drill hole barely big enough for a tiny line through the pins' cup (some have hole pre-drilled) and tie it off to the traveler car, somewhere,
or drill hole in S/S part of car. If using holes tie figure eight on both bitter ends.

BTW, try putting the upper on the rear bail and crack the main sheet completely off in a tack...may help your counter rotation issue

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1984 H16 "Mister Rogers"
1984 H14 "Sundays"
2000 H20 "Jet"
Sheet In, Max Out

Will try it, thanks. I generally let the main sheet out about a foot or so in a tack. Seems to help keep momentum at the end of the tack and when you begin to sheet in, gets the boat moving a tad quicker. I'm still wondering though if I just had too much tension on the jib, I pulled it on tighter than I ever had that day.

I didn't pull on the halyard quite as hard last time I went out, and kept the sheet loose in the tack, seems to have solved the issue. I was able still able to use the forward tang on the boom.

Just wanted to revive this thread to say I did a 6:1 low profile seaway conversion yesterday and it turned out great! I had a whole extra 5:1 system to use so I had plenty of parts to combine and threw out cracked and damaged plastic pieces and kept only the good ones.

I'm new to drilling out rivets and I found the process very frustrating. I ended up finding a metal 3/8" bit at the hardware store that did a pretty good job if I ran the drill as slow as possible with as much pressure as I could. I then had to hammer out the rivet axles with a surprisingly high amount of force. It did not damage the plastic thankfully.

I completely rebuilt and cleaned all of the blocks, it was surprisingly easy if just a little time consuming. They contained 21 plastic needle bearings and 6 small ball bearings. The ball bearings in my blocks had a lot of corrosion but I was able to rescue them by soaking them in vinegar for about a half hour and then rubbing them with fine grit sandpaper. I cleaned all the needle bearings with simple green and then washed them. I coated all the bearings metal and plastic in sailcote dry lube and then reassembled each block onto my hex bolts. They rotate so smooth now!

Upper triple:
I used 3x 3" 1/4" SS hex bolts with nylon nuts for the upper block, it was thinner because there were no metal brackets sandwiched between the blocks so 3" bolts ended up being barely enough. I used the single center pin to hang the upper.



Lower triple:
I used 3x 3.5" 1/4" SS hex bolts with nylon nuts for the lower block, because of the additional metal brackets sandwiched in the middle the 3" bolts were too short. My plan was a little different than hobiewonconobie in that I kept the original bracket around the ratchet block I just cut it shorter to remove the connection and so it doesnt stick out beyond the wheels (see picture below). So the sandwiching order on the bolt was Block 1 - ratchet plate Left - cut ratchet bracket - block 2 - cut ratchet bracket - ratchet plate right - block 3. I did use a single washer on the bolts on the top of the block on both sides of the middle block to provide appropriate spacing. I used the set screw like several others suggested to set the position of the ratchet bracket, I didn't need to cut the set screw down it was just the right size. Also note that on the ratchet bracket I had to use a hacksaw to cut off the pin that the spring rides on as I couldn't drill it out.
Blue circle is the plate I cut back at the red dotted line on both sides:




This was a really fun project and I thank you you all for your suggestions! Can't wait to try it out next weekend. Feel free to provide feedback/suggestions if you have any. Also if anyone else wants to try this project feel free to ask any questions and I'd be happy to help!

-Thalweg