Rigging the forestay

ultrarunner · Post by **ultrarunner** » August 12th, 2008, 12:41 pm

I just about have the SC 17 together. Raised the mast last night and attempted to put the jib up.

However, as I pulled the rope down the jib did not go far enough to the top. The cable end was still a foot or so up in the jib.

I'm not sure I have things mounted correctly up at the mast.

I included a couple of pictures. This is my first time rigging a SuperCat.

efinley · Post by **efinley** » August 12th, 2008, 1:35 pm

You have the furler swivel mounted below the sheave for the halyard, you should turn it around so that the swivel connects to the mast with the sheave below that. Otherwise when you furl the jib it would twist the halyard around the swivel. It will also make the cable come further down inside the jib. Typically you need a short pigtail that goes from the end of the cable down to the chain plate to tie off the halyard.

-Eric
SC20 #113

ultrarunner · Post by **ultrarunner** » August 12th, 2008, 1:40 pm

Ahh...ok. I just got off the phone with Aquarius and they're sending me the pigtail.

But the same can be accomplished by swapping my swivel? Do you have a picture of that arrangement?

thanks

efinley · Post by **efinley** » August 12th, 2008, 5:27 pm

well you need both the pig tail and to turn the swivel/sheave around. Once you do both things it should work much better.

Post by **Matt Haberman** » August 12th, 2008, 8:32 pm

I found a couple of photos that might be useful. The one of the jib halyard turning block don't show the roller furling swivel, but it would go on the left between the pigtail and the halyard turning block.
The other photograph of the hounds is the typical setup, and don't forget to use safety wire so the shackle pin doesn't come out.

efinley · Post by **efinley** » August 13th, 2008, 12:12 am

Matt,
What is on the hound to make it so wide? It looks like a big bushing or something.

-Eric

ultrarunner · Post by **ultrarunner** » August 13th, 2008, 7:13 am

Thanks Matt. You're sending me the pigtail and the shackle I need. I lowered the mast last night and I'll lay it back out when I get the parts.

thanks so much.

Post by **Matt Haberman** » August 13th, 2008, 12:23 pm

Eric,

The white bushing you see is actually Nylon Flat washers stacked up to take up the extra space between the hounds and the shackle

ultrarunner · Post by **ultrarunner** » August 13th, 2008, 2:27 pm

Thanks for the washer-explanation. I found a bunch in my parts box. I was looking in the illustrated parts catalog, and didn't see them. I'll use them when I re-rig the hounds.

ultrarunner · Post by **ultrarunner** » August 16th, 2008, 6:14 am

Ok, I received the pigtail, and I swapped around the furler swivel and the jib halyard pulley.

So, as you can see from my picture, the set up is:

masthounds, pigtail, swivel, halyard pulley, forestay cable.

Allright, I thought all was good, and raised the mast. Now I had WAY too much slack in the mast, even with the forestay cable at the bottom hole of the adjuster.

I called Tim at Aquarius, and he thought my forestay cable was too long. Turns out I had a 17'8" cable in place of the required 17'4" cable.

I had the correct length cable on-hand and swapped it out and re-raised the mast as I STILL have too much slack in the mast, again, with the forestay at the bottom hole of the adjuster. I did not take the measurement on the excess slack, with will re-raise the mast and do so.

My bridle cables are 4'5" and everything else appears to be ok.

What is going on here?

Tom Haberman · Post by **Tom Haberman** » August 17th, 2008, 2:21 pm

The problem I see with your bridle wires is that they are too long,
Correct bridle wire length is 49.5" pin to pin.
You should also check length of sidestay and the distance from the hole on the hounds to base of mast extrusion. Do not include base casting in this measurement.
It sounds like somebody has modified the rigging so it would be wise to verify these measurements before proceeding.

ultrarunner · Post by **ultrarunner** » August 17th, 2008, 3:51 pm

Tom, thanks so much for the information. I'll verify the measurements of the bridle cables as well as the self-righting cables. And the mast hounds to base dimension.

thanks,

Mark

DrPepper · Post by **DrPepper** » August 18th, 2008, 8:13 pm

ultrarunner wrote: masthounds, pigtail, swivel, halyard pulley, forestay cable.

Your picture shows a shackle between the halyard pulley and forestay. My forestay is connected directly to the pin in the pulley.

I am fairly certain my boat has not been modified. I bought my boat from a friend of mine who bought the boat new in 1983. I replaced the original 25 year old standing rigging last year. All of the new rigging I bought from Aquarius matched the original in length except for the pigtail. My original is 7" while the new one is 9". If I had one more hole in the adjuster I might have been able to use the 9" pig tail. I ended up ordering a custom made 7" pigtail. It will be interesting to see what you end up with.

ultrarunner · Post by **ultrarunner** » August 18th, 2008, 8:26 pm

Hi Dr. Pepper, thanks for your comments. I am thinking that the shackle was the result of the setup having been originally opposite of how it's pictured now, whereas the halyard pulley was connected to the mast hounds. I swapped it around as Aquarius and others indicated my setup was not correct. I hadn't though about removing the shackle. I'll see if Tom chimes in.

I will be back at the boat on Wed. and I'll measure the rest of the rigging. I suspect it is going to come down to the bridle cables being too long.

By the way pepper, we live in the same town. Send me a note with your contact info, and we can get together. My cat is right on the water on the Webster side of the bay.

Post by **Matt Haberman** » August 18th, 2008, 8:50 pm

I hadn't noticed the shackle between the halyard turning block & the forestay. That shouldn't be there, the forestay should go directly into the halyard turning block.