Leading the main halyard aft--- Hardware/steps required?

[mikeg]

Hi all,
The wife and I have been getting in a few good winter sails on our CP19 here in central Florida. And we just bought a nice mainsail cover to go with her, and it's great. Can leave the sail bent on at the marina, etc. Bought her just this past July, so the add-ons/customizings continue.

Our 19 does not have halyards led aft, although I think some in her era (1987) do.

I'm wondering if anyone on the forum has added mast tabernacle fairleads/turning blocks, "deck organizer" and the aft cabintop clutches required for this setup, and if so, what would you recommend as a smooth course of action for carefully installing these?

Our boat has the roller furling 135, so no need to lead a jib halyard aft. Since I think deck organizers usually come with a minimum of two sheaves anyway, we'd probably only need to add a second leader block and clutch if we eventually choose to use a spinnaker.

Anyhoo- thanks in advance for any comments you can make.
Best,
Mike G.

CP19 "Freebird"

[JohnS]

Hi,
My recently acquired CP-19 has both jib and main halyard led aft. At the base of the mast are two stand-up swivel blocks, one for each halyard. These are bolted through the cabin top and have appropriate backing plates. A typical example of this type of block would be the Schaefer 02-62  or 03-62. It comprises a single block mounted on a spring base to keep it from flopping onto the deck and it can swivel through 360 degrees to align with the halyard. If leading only the main halyard aft tradition would dictate that you place this block to the starboard side of the mast. In my case both blocks are on the port side. The halyard then leads away from this block, angling aft, to a point on the deck that would give it a straight run back to the cockpit between the cabin top grab handle and the runner for the hatch. In my case a double deck organiser is used to make this turn; in your case this would leave a redundant sheave in the organiser, but if you intend to add a spinnaker halyard in the future, no problem. Alternatively you could use a single cheek block at this point. From this point the run is straight back to, in my case, a double rope clutch and then to a pair of cleats on the face of the cabin.
Hope this helps.

[mikeg]

Very helpful, thanks John.

You actually answered the question I had percolating in my mind; would a main halyard only aft-run be traditionally led on the stbd. side-- I thought this would be the case, but your answer on that helps me better visualize the setup.

By the way, what sort of backing plate arrangement is used below deck for the swivel block attachment/backing? Is this pretty much just glorified 'washers', or something more substantive.

Thanks again for your help. Doesn't sound like it'll be a bear of a project.
Best,
Mike G.

[JohnS]

Mike,
The backing plates are just big washers. If you buy the block new it may have the backing plate with it or available as an option.

[mikeg]

Thanks John,
I went online last night and found the parts needed--- Schaefer block and deck organizers--- and some other company (i think it was "Spinlock") offers a good two-line clutch for the coachtop. Single clutches are available, but I'll likely just install a double.
Mike