mizzen snotter

[PinoyPiper]

on the CS17 rigging plan, it doesn't really show how the mizzen snotter is rigged. does it cleat on to the sprit as shown on the diagram for the main snotter? or is does it simply cleat on to the mast? or am I missing something? I can't find it on the pictures on the CD either. i've never rigged a snotter before... how have you guys done it?

also attached is a pic of the main snotter, not sure if the block attached to the mast is the right one, but this is what Carla sent. The main snotter leads to a block on the deck then to a bullseye which leads to a cleat on the side deck. that bit I got.. I've only gotten as far as rigging up the main, there's a tree in the way of the mizzen mast, so I have to wait until the trailer is done so I can wheel the boat out from under the tree.

[Alan Stewart]

Mizzen snotter is the same way. We brought ours to a clam cleat on the side of the mast about a foot above the thwart. A horn cleat would also work. Make sure you have the downhaul tied to the thwart first, then up to the sail and then to a cleat. Unless you have some other system to hold the mizzen mast down in the hole in the event of a bad capsize.

-Alan

[PinoyPiper]

I think I found a picture of one on Wes' page. I just need to confirm it.

[Alan Stewart]

The blue line in the pic appears to me to be the halyard because of how much of it is coiled up underneath. The mizzen snotter must be on the backside of the mast out of view. An alternative is cleating the snotter line off onto the sprit itself. Not as easily adjustable though for obvious reasons but a good set it and forget it approach. As long as the mast rotates (which the mizzen does) the snotter tension is not a problem when you ease sheets.

[PinoyPiper]

As long as the mast rotates (which the mizzen does) the snotter tension is not a problem when you ease sheets.

Okay now I'm confused...

Graham mentioned this in the spar plan for sail track:

When using sail track it is essential to fix the masts fore and aft to keep the sail track centered. This can be done by cutting a 1" thick disk to fit inside the mast with a 1/4" cap. A 3/4 wide x 3/8" thick tenon is fitted under the cap. It is essential to glue everything together and screw as shown

The mast steps must have a pair of partial discs 3/8" thick, glued and screwed to form a mortise to mate with the mast tenon...

I actually forgot to do this bit. I can still do it with the mizzen mast, but not with the main as the deck and mast tube are obviously in the way. I'm actually thinking now of alternate ways of fixing the position of the mast.

so do the masts rotate freely or not? My masts have tracks btw.

[Peter HK]

Don't worry, regarding mast rotation you can do either - that is fix it or let it rotate. There has been some discussion of this over the last few years with advocates of either persuasion, so I'll give my interpretation. Rotating the mast results in slightly better flow over the sail. I chose to not allow rotation as I feel the halyard and reefing lines (if you have them) work better if kept aligned and I feel this is more important for the sailing that I do on a CS17 (cruising rather than racing).

The snotter tension issue depends on how long a line and how stretchy it is- if you had hi tech, minimal stretch braid and not much length (eg only a couple of feet as if it is cleated on the boom) then when you ease the sail the tensions can get very high. With the main led aft there is lots of line to provide a bit of stretch. I wouldn't run the snotter along the mizzen boom for this reason and also it's so nice to be able to adjust it while sailing. Run it down to a cleat (of any sort ) on the front of the mizzen mast to a convenient height and use simple polyester line to allow a bit of stretch. You can see the snotter line cleated on the front of the mizzen mast in this photo.

Cheers

Peter HK

[PinoyPiper]

there you go... Thanks Peter.... i'll just let the masts rotate then... Initially, i'll just be racing... i'll figure out a way of fixing them that can be turned on or off in the future... I'm thinking of maybe just a barrel bolt of some sorts....

[Tom Lathrop]

If a mast can be allowed to rotate without any mechanical issues, I can see no reason to fix it in place. Nearly all results of rotating are positive ones in my opinion.

[Ray Frechette Jr]

Graham used to speccify having them fixed in place.

Royal pain in the but that was with heels snapping free and sprit issues.

Graham now on new plans has removed that language and just lets them rotate at will.

Much Bettah!

[wkisting]

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[wkisting]

Not sure what happened to my previous post by my internet went out this morning while replying.

The line against the mast in the pic Roy posted is my snotter. The coil of blue rope laying over the thwart is from the mizzen halyard which is actually cleated off on the other side of the mast. It just looks like the two are connected, but that's an optical illusion. The other (black) cleat is for the mizzen staysail halyard when we fly the staysail.

The other pic I posted above shows where the mizzen halyard actually cleats off on my mizzen (on the port side of the mizzen mast). Ironically, here too it looks like the halyard is connected to the snotter, but they're separate lines. The snotter terminates at the cleat on the front of the mizzen mast (call it the 12 o'clock position). The halyard terminates at a cleat on the port side of the mizzen mast (at about the 7 or 8 o'clock position).