Is everyone pretty much going to the tang on the mast with a spectra tail to a block that is attached to the mast by a line around the mast attached to the luff track?
I was at Key today and saw that most of the N20s had it done this way. My boat has the cheek block about a foot above the stainless bale that the line goes through. I had a really hard time getting the spin halyard up the last couple feet under any load. If we were DDW it worked ok but with trying to keep any height above DDW and raising the spin it was a big pain. I looked up the mast and the halyard did NOT seem to catch on the hounds and there was no chafing on the tape I covered the hounds with when I checked later. I think it has to be that 90 deg angle with the halyard coming around the bale which is causing 90% of the prob. Anyone have any ideas/opinions? I am close to switching it to the way the N20s have it at Key (I think this is a mod, not the way they come stock).
A quick way to test the theory short of a complete redo would be to hang a block on a line from the cheek block so that it hangs just below the metal bail, and rig the halyard through that. If that works better, then go ahead with replacing the cheek block with an eyestrap and the metal bail with a line.
I thought about that, and will probably try it, but the block is somewhat close to the bale so there isn't much room based on the angles so the block will be above the bale during rotation and almost under it midline which could creat probs with the block getting caught on the bale.
That is how I rigged my N20, by tying the line to the old cheek block on the mast. the new block sits just above the bale and works perfect like that. A couple strips of electrical tape on the mast keeps the block from rubbing too hard on the mast and taking the paint off.
We're still running the old system (with the halyard running up through that cheek black and back down through the bale). What is the problem you guys are experiencing with it that way?
I was not experiencing an issue, I was just hoping it would make the halyard run a little smoother. That didn't solve my issue, but since it appears to be the way the newer boats are rigged, I just left mine as it works just as well.
The new N20's are shipped without the bail stock. I had no problem with either method. The last two feet is always a bear. I doubt it's related to how it runs at the top of the mast.
I'm not sure which system I like better. I'm concerned with chafe on the lines up there. I replace them every season for sure. The bail use to get bent sometimes and I would think it would fail eventually also.
6 or 1 or 1/2 dozen the other in my opinion.
Mike Hill
www.stlouiscats.com
Honestly, I am not sure that is the issue or not, just seems like a place that might give me a problem. The cheek block is really probably too small for the halyard I am using but at that point it is just the core of warpspeed. I think, in the end, it is probably just me not being used to it.
I usually had yong crew on my I 20 and the Jav 2. The spin halyard going up was the biggest problem but I found it much easier when I tied a larger block to a foot of line through that tiny cheek block on the mast.
The larger turning radius and free moving block on the line made it much easier to get the halyard all the way up. I tied it just long enough so that if the block on the bail were straight up, the two would not touch by about an inch. I also put a little larger diameter block on the forward beam where the halyard came down, on the way to the back of the tramp. Just having a larger radius turn made it easier to haul up.
The foot long line off the top cheek block also saves you two feet of halyard flailing about when the spin is up. I believe this is how some of the Europeans rig their F18's, at least that's what I was told.