Don Silsbe Posted April 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 A few months back, I promised you photos of my sheeting systems. Here they are, starting with the mizzen. First of all, you should know that my design priorities are: Simplicity Ease of rigging up Cleanliness-- in fishing mode, I don't want dangling blocks & loose lines flopping around. Economy I also reserve the right to opt out on any one of these, if I want; which I have. The mizzen is attached to the transom with a removable bridle. That's a Lanyard Knot (diamond) in the center of the Dinghy Control Line. I didn't need to use DCL, but I had a short piece of yellow, so rule #1 kicked in. All the blocks are attached using soft shackles-- they stay attached to the sheet. I wanted all my sheet cleats to be forward of me, so I broke rule #1 & 4, and went with the system shown. What got clipped from the photo is a Ronstan RF58. The forward (detachable) block on the sprit is held on with another soft shackle, fed through a low-profile eye strap. Since this block has to be fed through the mid-sprit fairlead, I went with a large white nylon ring. I can easily pass the block and shackle through this ring when rigging. The snotter is knotted to the mast, & held in position with another low-profile eyestrap. It leads through a smooth, varnished hole in the end of the sprit, and leads aft to a V-cleat in the middle of the sprit. NB: I rotated these photos in my file folder, and they still show un-rotated! Grrr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted April 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 The mainsheet system is much simpler. It uses the same snotter arrangement, which I did not give you a photo of before. Three blocks are attached to eyestraps using soft shackles. With the eyestraps mounted underneath the seat, it keeps the seat clear for rowing or fishing. These lead to Graham's standard fairlead-clamcleat system. All of this comes off the boat for fishing or boatride mode. The only obtrusive piece of hardware is the Ronstan RF58, which is removable, too, since it is attached with machine screws and T-nuts. The sheets are all New England Ropes' Buzz Line. The snotters are Sta-Set, in traditional snotter green. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted April 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 Finally, my centerboard system works like a champ. There are a pair of cheek blocks mounted on the underside of the forward thwart. That positions the pennant to run close and parallel to the trunk. There's also a fairlead stop that the blue ball contacts, to prevent the centerboard from rotating forward (I hope) in grounding situations discussed on this forum. Then, it's a simple two-stage cascade system terminating in a V-cleat on the underside of the center thwart. I see that I have a run of varnish to clean up on the c/b trunk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jknight611 Posted April 4, 2016 Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 Don, that looks great! It took us 6 months and several holes to drill/fill to optimize our sheets an cleats. Alan was great at the Messabout helping identify the best places, and a reefing system second to none. But.... Hope you enjoy your new boat, and we are both very sad we can't make the 1st Annual Mountain Messabout! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted April 5, 2016 Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 "1st Annual Mountain Messabout! " Hey, Jay. I like that name! If you get some time later this summer, maybe you can come up for a few days. We'll do a special jus for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted April 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 It's a shame you can't make it, Jay. Chick's right, though. Let's plan something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted April 5, 2016 Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 Don, your rig looks well thought out and executed and the boat is very lovely overall, (much better than my work, just ask Alan). The only thing I can see that you might want to think about is the attachment point for the forward block that turns the mizzen sheet on the mizzen sprit-boom. The attachment point near the center of the boom will put a bending load on the boom which could be avoided by attaching the block at the forward end of the sprit-boom. One of the fun things about playing with a newly built and rigged boat is tweaking the rig. You may decide that the bridle on the mizzen sheet should be a little longer or shorter to end up pointing higher or being quicker to rig, etc. or you may come up with the best way to tack a mizzen staysail single-handed and eventually you'll end up with a boat that sails as well as (but slightly differently than) other boats of this design. There are a few things, though, that might cause grief in gear failure and I think the location of that block might eventually over-stress your nicely-built mizzen sprit-boom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted April 5, 2016 Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 Oops - Here's the picture I tried to attach to my previous post... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jknight611 Posted April 5, 2016 Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 That would be awesome! We will plan on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted April 5, 2016 Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 You guys are starting to make me consider the 2-3 day drive to get there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 Robert, you're my hero if you can drive there in two days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 The trick is driving in shifts. And pretty fast. I have been party to several rapid crossings... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 I am getting a little sick of you guys talking about all the mess-abouts that you have access to. It's just not fair. We have nothing like that here in Australia. I so have to get my butt over the US some time to attend one of these events. I am so envious of all you guys. Sure we have the odd little wooden boat show here and there but not on the same scale as you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 Hey Alex, throw the boat in the water and head across the expanse, zip through the canal, into the big pond, and up to Vandemere for the B&B messabout in October. If you leave now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 Is there a date for October yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Marshall Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 Now the third weekend in October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 Alex, if you were in Perh you could join up with the Old Gaffers when they go out - They look like they have plenty of fun. Otherwise you could always host your own messabout. If I remember correctly, the main reason there's an Appalachian Messabout is that Chick moved up there and went stir-crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 "Chick moved up there and went stir-crazy." Yep! But who knew there were so many other boaty folks were hiding out here in the mountains! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Chick, I leave tomorrow. Spent today readying the boat with supplies. Hope there are no pirates on the way. Will contact once I hit the US coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Alex, I'll leave the light on for ya. Just get onto the Savannah River and work your way on up to Lake Hartwell where our Mountain Messabout will be. You'll be too late for that, but you can come up a couple more lakes to Lake Toxaway. That's about as close as you can get to where I am in Hendersonville. Don and I will run over and pick you up. You'll have to negotiate a few rapids and dams, but that will just add to the adventure! See ya soon. Well, maybe it would be best to just go to Graham's messabout in October. It's on the "real water" at the coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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