Club Foot

[Mike Pennington]

Does some one have a pic of the club foot pully and the route one threads the line through the single and double block. The diagram in the plans is a bit vague for my soft brain. I am confused as to where to attach the end of the line on the pully side. The deck or the club foot?

[Phil Gowans]

I use 2 single blocks. A buntline hitch to the becket on the bottom block reeved throught the top (port to starboard) then starboard to port on the bottom so the line will come out on the port. This I run through a block attached to the bottom of the of the fore shroud and to the cockpit.

[Mike Pennington]

Thanks Phil,

Those blocks sure look nice, your boat has always grabbed me by the heart, so salty and traditional. Maybe next winter I can make some for my battleship. I would like to get rid of those metal turnbuckles, they work, but they just don't have the look.

Steve Hale, of Ketchikan Island, Alaska, built a Vacationer, stuck to the plans, and has one of the nicest traditional Vacationers I have ever seen. To bad he lives bookoo 1000 odd miles away. He is shy too, so I'll do the bragging for him. One beautiful boat, hunter green, built of Canadian Marine ply, beleave me he didn't spare the nickles.

[Frank Hagan]

Here's a shot of my club foot set up ... a block with a becket provided enough purchase for this small sail. The jib sheet is attached to the becket, reeved up through a single block on the club foot, back down to reeve through the block on the deck:

I positioned a small block on the forward chainplate to lead the jib sheet back to the cockpit (this view is from the cockpit, looking forward along the starboard side):

And then put a cam cleat back on the side deck in the cockpit, positioned a couple feet behind the companionway:

I later changed this cam cleat I bought used with a standard cam cleat on a "pad" of hardwood about an inch high ... didn't need the swivel action, really, and replacing the original after it died was "too expensive" (there's a reason people sell their stuff sometimes!)

I also changed to a twin jib sheet set up, which I now prefer. But the club foot worked well, and made it a bit easier to learn to sail.

[Mike Pennington]

Okay, I got the Idea, I wasn't to far off. I went over to Sara Lee's site and peaked at Craig's Rigging page, too! Duh!

And How come WEST MARINE is all the way the heck in Anchorage? Thats enough to make a guy as grumpy as ...... I almost said his name, but I know he's Lurking, instead of making you know whats.

Anyway, I found some heavy duty eye screws for fareleads and I will run my lines through them for now. I want to get every line I can near the cockpit for the big scare, I mean trial run of the furler sail. :wink:

Lord Help the Jet Skiers, :twisted:

[Frank Hagan]

The screw eyes will work ... as long as you orient them so the little crevice near the shaft isn't where the sheet will rub on the eye when you pull on it.

I think we overbuild these boats quite a bit with all the modern gear. Pendants and lizards would work fine at the loads we experience.

[tdrown]

I agree with Mike, Phil's Weekender is one of the most beautiful one's that I've seen pictures of. And very kind for posting so much information (and of course Frank). I am going to have to do all this soon, rigging looks so confusing. My hardware so far consists of a few spare pullies I found in the basement, and the closest West Marine is in Phily (a hour to downtown), probably a lot less than Fairbanks to Anchorage, how long is that, dare I ask? I hope to do spars next week (while or after painting/fiberglassing) and rigging the week after.

[Derek]

Oh to have energy like you do Tyler! I've had several evenings lately where I considered starring at the boat for an hour progress!

[tdrown]

Don't be too jelious, this stuff hasn't happened yet. This is just my road map. I certainly hope I am able.

[Mike Pennington]

Anchorage is a six hour drive from Fairbanks, give or take a few minutes dew to trafic, speed traps :cry: or moose in the road.

[Phil Gowans]

I think we overbuild these boats quite a bit with all the modern gear. Pendants and lizards would work fine at the loads we experience.

One of my goals is to try to simplify things on my boat and to make most things myself. Often that means making them a little more traditional. For my new lapper I wasn't sure I wanted a sail track on the deck. I decided to make some fair leads and attach them at the correct location right to the deck.

[Andrew]

Frank et al.

On Aslan you detail that you have gotten rid of the club foot and have gone for the 'more advanced'/'normal' jib sheet setup.

Being as advanced as I am at the sailing game (NOT ) I have the following question....

I believe your 'new' setup has two jib sheets running to the cockpit (port and starboard), whereas the old clubfoot setup had the single jib sheet (I think you had it to starboard) reeved through the 2 blocks infront of the cabin (I'm really getting a hang of the new lingo ). So (and finally here's the question...) can you have the best? of both worlds and have a single jib sheet to the 2 blocks in front of the cabin WITHOUT using the clubfoot?

I'm sort of hoping that anyone with any sailing experience isn't rolling around on the floor laughing now :oops: if this is one of those really dumb questions. :shock:

I was just hoping to get away with a single jib sheet whilst still having a little more? control over the jib

[Frank Hagan]

I believe your 'new' setup has two jib sheets running to the cockpit (port and starboard)' date=' whereas the old clubfoot setup had the single jib sheet (I think you had it to starboard) reeved through the 2 blocks infront of the cabin (I'm really getting a hang of the new lingo ). So (and finally here's the question...) can you have the best? of both worlds and have a single jib sheet to the 2 blocks in front of the cabin WITHOUT using the clubfoot?

[/quote']

This is one that confuses quite a few people ... even sailors who have been sailing for a long time. One of the reference books I have describes it as a "trick of physics" or "geometry" that the clubfoot is so good at making a self tending stays'l (or jib, on our boats). Brion Toss, in Rigger's Apprentice, page 152, describes the set up this way:

... try the second arrangement shown' date=' in which the forward end of the [jib'] boom swivels on a pedestal mounted on deck aft off the base of the stay. When the sail is sheeted in, the boom stretches the foot of the sail out for a flatter shape. Off the wind, the difference between boom length and sail foot length causes the sail to become fuller for more efficent reaching and running.

The rigid jib boom can be controlled with one line from the center of the deck, and because it swings in an arc, when it is extended out to port or starboard, it allows the clew of the jib to pull in closer to the forestay, allowing it to "balloon out" and become full. You can try this by tying a string to a stick on one end, and then to a fixed point an inch or so behind it. When you swing the stick to the side, the string becomes loose. On our boats, that "string" is the foot of the jib sail.

Trying to make a loose-footed jib comply would be an exercise in futility. You could allow it to fill with the wind, but if you tried to flatten it for more power, it would just bring the clew back to the centerline. If you positioned the block on the centerline to make the sail flat when you brought it back to the center, it wouldn't be able to swing to the side as far ... in our test above, you would have the string attached to the same point as the end of the stick.

With two jib sheets, one is used to let the sail fill out with the wind, and the other is used to flatten it out. The "flattening" sheet allows you to really try and eake out the most from the sail. Its a bit more work, but for some of us, pulling sheets and holding tillers is what we want to do when we sail our boats.

[Barry Pyeatt]

For the traditionalist who's trying to mimic the Friendship Sloops for example, most of them had club foots on their Staysail so that they accomplished just what Frank is describing. They then flew another jib infront of the staysail and it was shaped to take advantage of the power available with it. Not necessarily to get the foot of the sail flat to give it power. Both of these sails needed little in the way of attention. The skipper could pay attention to the work being done.

If you want to get a higher performance potential then you would do away with the clubfoot and re configure it as Frank has done to take advantage of the shaping potential and power. Yes, it gives you more to do. For the novice, try it with the club foot for awhile until you get used to tacking and working with the balance of the main and the boat under varying conditions, then change and see if you like it better.

I know a lot of large boat skippers that have gone back to the clubfoot for the jib because it works.

[Andrew]

Thanx Guys

For now the club foot stays