Search options (Page 7 of 11)

Wire on mine.  Rope should be fine if you are still experimenting.  However, be sure to use a rope with no stretch and no creep.  Otherwise you will be constantly adjusting your halyard tension for the sail.  Once you are happy with the length of the pennant, replace the rope with wire and you can then forget about it.

On my boat I have a furler so the halyard is a necessary part of tensioning the leading edge of the sail. 

If I had a hanked-on sail I would probably invert the hoist arrangement to match that on my main.  For my main, I now hoist the sail all the way to the top of the mast, and then tension the luff by pulling down the boom.  This reduces the hoisting work on the halyard and puts the onus on the downhaul.  I can use a multi-part block and tackle for the downhaul which makes it easy to adjust the sail from the deck and/or the cockpit.  Plus I can just use my weight to push down the boom.  A similar arrangement on a headsail would involve leaving the foot loose, hoisting the jib to the masthead, and then using a block-and-tackle arrangement to pull down on the tack of the sail thereby tensioning the luff.

Mine's at the bottom.  It makes sense to have it there for clearance of pulpit and lifelines.  It also makes it a bit easier to see what is behind the sail. 

Your question is a good one though.  I was intending to order a new genoa sized for the maximum hoist, eliminating the need for the pennant.  However, this season I will try switching the pennant to the head to see how I like having the foot of the sail closer to the deck.

My vent runs the same way on my 1976 and when I replaced the hoses I added a loop to prevent water from passing down the vent and into the tank.

For the smell, I have done three things which have been successful.

The first was that I replaced the two engine compartment passive air scoops that are on the deck on either side of the tiller.  I went with active solar powered vents.  The goal was to get air from the bilge and engine compartment moving away from the cabin.  Solar vents are great -- install them and forget them.  On one of the vents I connected a 4" duct to ensure that it draws air from the lower bilge.  The other draws from its base, directly below the deck.

My second job was to clean all surfaces in the bilge and engine compartment.  The occasional fuel and oil drips over the years had made the whole area dirty and smelly.  A strong degreaser and stiff brushes right to the bottom of the bilge worked for me.  And you have to clean the engine too.  As an aside, it was interesting to see how much paint came loose.

The third smell strategy was to eliminate the source of the smell by switching to biodiesel.  Fuels have been been well discussed elsewhere in the forum but 100% bio-diesel (B-100) has been a good choice for me and might help you too.  If going after the smell, don't bother with biodiesel blends -- to get the effect it's an all-or-nothing strategy. 

Good luck!  Getting the fuel smells out of the boat is a huge step in improving its habitability.  I am so pleased that the blankets no longer stink of diesel...

Christopher

Dandy!  Thank you Fessalo!

This is an interesting discussion and it has me brainstorming.

As for reboarding, I was thinking about adding a couple of simple folding steps to the rudder.  I suppose that my odds of reaching these steps are about the same as being able to deploy a swing ladder but something is better than nothing, especially for lifesaving.

Sad news John -- this working thing is overrated anyway.  Maybe hang tough and plan for next season?

Best regards!

Christopher

Good day Antoniogm!

Have the conversation with a good rigger but I expect they will say stick with the wire diameters that you have.  When the boat was designed, all the standing rigging would have been spec'd for the boat's needs including a safety factor.  I assume you are not adding huge new sails so the rigging loads will not have changed.  Ironically, I would expect that the quality of the wire will have improved over the years and the loads supported by the 7/32 wire are now slightly higher than they were previously.

I believe the lower shrouds on my boat are 3/16 wire but I would have to check to be certain.  I would expect these to be lighter than the upper shrouds.

In terms of the backstay configuration, our set-up works like a charm and I see no reason to change it.

On my boat I have 1/4 wire for the forestay which I had to replace four years ago as part of a repair to the furler.  At that time my rigger said that the 1/4" wire was overkill but I stuck with it for peace-of-mind as the wire lives hidden under the furler extrusion.

Also, ask the rigger if your standing rigging *needs* to be changed.  In my experience we sometimes get projects into our heads that are not necessary or can be deferred in favour of other projects. 

The pedigree of your Contessa ensures that you won't sound like an ignoramus because you've chosen such a great boat!

Christopher