Rope on aft shroud??

[MadMacX]

Hi All,

I have a small (3/16") rope attached to the aft shroud with a sliding cleat attached. For the life of me, I cannot figure out what that line is for. Up to this point I have left it attached, but I'd like to clean things up and remove it. Does anyone have any idea what the purpose of that line is?

Also, when setting up the mast what do most people do with the furler to keep it from scratching up the windows and gelcoat? I have a cloth bag wrapped around it now, but I wondered what the rest of you were doing.

Thanks, Pat

[Captain Steve]

Soft Toppers(they advertise on this site as boatbimini.com) make a padded bag to cover the furler. Many on this list have bought replacement carpet kits, boom tents and other products they make for a mac.

[Kelly Hanson East]

I used to use an old towel, but Chip put me onto the bungie trick for the furler - now it never touches the deck until the mast is almost upright.

Bungie it fairly high on the pulpit to make this easy.

[Trouts Dream]

When you refer to the aft shroud, I asume you mean the backstay. If so then the line you are referring to may be for holding the boom up when the main is lowered. I use a single line from the top of the mast to the end of the boom to support the boom. When main is hoisted there is a lot of slack in the line so it doesn't affect sail shape. If you did mean shroud then I'm as baffled as you are.

[Kelly Hanson East]

Perhaps its a flag halyard? 3/16 is a bit small for holding up the boom.

[March]

Yeah, I was thinking flags, too. You migt want to consider adding a little triangular sail as a weathervane (don't know the technical name for it, but you get the idea) so that your boat will always be pointing into the wind when at anchor

[MadMacX]

You guys just might be right about the flag thing. Here are a couple of pictures that I took to give you an idea of what I was referring to. I hope they come out OK.





Pat

[Beam's Reach]

Could also be for an anchor light if you don't have one permanently attached to the mast.

I have a small light that I clip on to the topping lift and pull up with the halyard when I anchor at night.

Blake Beam
Beam's Reach

[MadMacX]

Finally got a hold of the PO and he told me that they used it to hoist a flag of their local sailing club, on the rope in question. Mystery solved.

Regarding the furler, what is the bungie trick, KHE? I tried to bungie it to the pulpit, but it I had it too tight because the bungie was just about at the breaking point before I released it. Please enlighten me because this furler is a major PITA.

Thanks,
Pat

[Kelly Hanson East]

Longer bungie...

Try a six footer, you can also bungie it to the side of the pulpit, not necessarily straight, either. If you manage the mast from the spreaders, you can easily twist it to overcome twist forces from an off-centre head sail..

[MadMacX]

OK, KHE, I just tried it again, but this time I used a 60" bungie and tied it off to a bracket on the pulpit. Much better. When I tried it before, I wrapped it around the furler drum a few times which shortened the bungie too much. Now I got it. Thanks for the tip. I'm learning.......slowly, but learning.

Thanks,
Pat

[Retcoastie]

Pat,

I bungee the furler to the end of the mast lowering boom. As the mast goes down the boom and the furler go up. No Problems!

Ken

[Loefflerh]

Not my idea, came from the board and works like a charm: bungee the furler to the life line, hook it up thru the hole where the pin goes thru. Mast down - the furler drum is just behind the forward stanchion, when you raise the mast it slides back on the lifeline, never touching the deck - it stays at the same distance above.
Hans

[Andy26M]

Do you know those wash mitts they have for washing a car? They're usually either fuzzy or made out of fleece fabric, like a big mitten with an elastic wrist. You can often find them at places like Harbor Freight or Ollie's for less than 2 bucks a piece.

If you have a CDI FF2 like many of us, then one of those should fit snuggly over the furler drum with the elastic holding it in place nicely.

I use the mitt on mine even when I'm also using the bungy to hold it out of the way, and I leave it on there when trailering to keep the drum clean and free of squashed bugs and things.

I also find a pair of these mitts real handy for the ends of my mast-raising pole, to help reduce the numbers of dents and dings I tend to put in people and equipment while moving it around!

- Andy

[Beam's Reach]

I use the car wash mitt too Andy, but I think I'll try the bungee with it.


Blake Beam
Beam's Reach