Tack Reefing Grommet and a few other questions - new owner

[Maritimer67]

Hi,
New Sun Cat owner here.  Just purchased a 2008, burgundy hull color, hull #296.
Boat is presently in NC, but I will be bringing it home in early Sept.  She will be kept at the Tampa Sailing Squadron in Apollo Beach, FL where I live.

Question 1 - I saw during the inspection the other day that the sail is missing the reefing grommet at the tack.  The boat has only had two owners and I believe the sail is original.  Was this just an oversight when the sail was made?  The owner said that he never reefed the sail. Am I missing something the way this sail is reefed at the tack?

Question 2 - I've been working my way through the forum posts on the Sun Cat to learn as much as possible from all of you.  The sail cover is in pretty tough shape.  I could probably get it patched up, but I'm inclined to get a new one.  An advantage to living in the Tampa Bay Area is proximity to Hutchins and their suppliers.  I saw someplace that Ameriseam ( http://www.ameriseam.net ), located in Tampa has canvas work for the Sun Cat.  Does anyone know if they are the supplier to Hutchins? Their prices look competitive to the other ones I've seen on the forum for a sailcover.

The boat was not sailed very much since it's purchase by the original owner in 2010 and the second owner. Some items that I think are necessary are missing and I'll need to add. For example, the boat does not have lazy jacks and I could see from raising the sail during the inspection that keeping the sail and gaff contained will be tricky without them , so I plan to install them.

Also, no tiller locking capability and I think based on comments and what I've seen, the Wavefront Tillerclutch seems to be a good option.

Also, no tell tales on the sail or wind indicator on the mast.  Have any of you mounted a wind indicator at the masthead?  Which one?

Appreciate all the great experience on this forum. I also downloaded the Steinfeld Catboat Guide.  Terrific FREE resource!

V/r
Roger (the other one, not the one who has posted lots of great info!!)

[Tim Gardner]

Welcome Rogerm!  Your username Maritimer 67 is unusual, Former Merchant Mariner?

TG

[Jim in TC]

Welcome to the world of Sun Cat! I am in my first season so will defer to others with more experience if I stumble on any of this...

1. Hard to say why the grommet is missing...but I have reefed a couple times and given the sail shape at the tack, I suspect that you could simply wrap that part of the sail around the boom a bit and secure with a line (maybe a few turns around the boom?) to a cleat or simply tie it off. Another option, if that seems lame, would be to have a grommet installed (or, if handy that way, add it yourself).

2. No experience with that company, but will offer that a sail cover in nice shape is a big benefit in sun and rain protection.

Our Cat came with partial lazy jacks and instead of finishing the job, I took the pieces off for now. Many swear by them but we have not been troubled by difficulties with the sail or gaff, except one time when the first mate misunderstood the drop sail order (which had not yet been issued...). Even then, and in something of a blow, we were fine though busy for a little while. I can see some advantage but I am unconvinced by those who suggest they are a necessity on a cat rig.

Our tiller came with Tillerlock, mounted on the top of the tiller. I don't know which is the best, but this one seems simple and functional, and is in use a lot (with stretchcord instead of line). Check the reviews (and even look around the homemade ones) and make your best choice. Handy gadget, and I plan to experiment with moving it to the bottom of the tiller (any thoughts out there on that?)

For telltales I simple tied a short length of yarn on each shroud. The first mate considered this pretty lowbrow at first, but she has gotten used to it.

[bruce]

Welcome Roger,

A photo would help, but are you sure that someone hasn't added a slug and a shackle to fill the empty reef cringle by mistake. I believe the Sun Cat has 4 slugs, equally spaced. The reef cringle is between the two lowest, and the sail is reinforced at the cringle as it is at the leech. The luff cringle is hooked on the ram's horn on the boom gooseneck in use.

[Jim in TC]

Oops...I was making a recommendation at the wrong part of the sail...

[Maritimer67]

Thanks for the replies!

Tim G - yes, I am a former merchant mariner. Graduated from Mass. Maritime Academy, class of 1967.

Bruce - adding a sail slug at the reefing location is maybe what someone has done. Thanks for the info on the # of slugs and locations.  When I get the boat home in early Sept., I have a number of projects to deal with and look at the sail slug placement.

Jim TC - I reviewed the forum postings for the tiller locks and I think I like the idea of the TillerClutch under tiler, flip up, flip down simplicity. Just one more of the projects to decide on. Need to sail the boat for a bit to see what needs attention first!

[Floridagent]

Congrats on joining the Compac fleet!

I mounted the TillerClutch on the bottom of the tiller on my Sunday Cat "Cay Cat".  It is wonderful there — out of the way when actively steering but with the flick of a finger immediately applied when needed.  The TillerClutch is a nice piece of hardware—well executed.

Fair winds...
Bob

[bruce]

I like my TillerClutch, good intuitive design. I didn't realize how much I used mine until the cover on the control line parted at the end of last season. I removed the line, the bunched-up cover did interfere with the travel of the tiller, and the rest of the sail I found myself flipping it on and off even though it was disabled. I had internalized it's use much more than I had realized.

Just a heads up, on my PC, setting up the control line was more critical than the manufacturer suggests. Made up the the boom gallows, the line could be tensioned with the rudder amidships, but as the tiller swung to the side the line would loosen, and control of the tiller lost. In other preliminary mounts, which also looked to be about right to the eye, the line, tensioned with the tiller centered, would tighten as the tiller swung, limiting steering! YMMV, of course.

[Jon898]

Bruce:

I think that's a geometry issue with any transom hung rudder.  For the line to work best it needs to be attached the same distance aft as the pintles and the clutch located as far from the pintles as each line attachment point is from the pintles.  With a transom hung rudder like most of the CP's that geometry is not possible, so the line will loosen or tension as the rudder swings, depending on where you've put the attachment points.  One solution is to use stretchcord as Jim in TC did.

Jon

[bruce]

Thanks, Jon. Actually, I was able to mount the control line so it would stay equally tensioned. I didn't go into the details because I've got a PC, and the SC guys here have been very tolerant of my posting on their forum. The boats are similar, but not the same obviously, and I figured a heads up was a good place to leave it. The manufacturer's lack of detail on this implies the attachment points aren't that critical.

For me, I mounted a piece of scrap furring using the top row of tiller horn fasteners to test different attachment points. The magic spacing was to have the fairleads 31 3/4" apart and centered. Once I had that worked out, I made up a piece of teak. It's just screwed in place, easily removed.

I'm sure other attachment points would work, higher and lower, closer and further. It would be interesting to see the curve they describe, but I'm happy with what I've got. My guess is that similar results could be found on the SC, if they face the same issue.

I've since hinged my tiller, in the second photo. Handy for motoring in the harbor while standing. With the tiller folded up, the TillerClutch control line goes slack, of course. No flex in the tiller when used in its normal position.

[Tim Gardner]

Tim G - yes, I am a former merchant mariner. Graduated from Mass. Maritime Academy, class of 1967.

I'm a Domer from the class of '73  NY Maritime.  Going to the 45th this October in Da Bronx.  Not many of us here on the site.  Welcome!

TG

[Maritimer67]

Just a heads up, on my PC, setting up the control line was more critical than the manufacturer suggests.

Thanks for that info.  After looking at the TillerClutch site, I was a little confused as to whether I needed two attachment points per side for the control line as they suggest or just one attachment point per side.

Sun Cat owners who have the TillerClutch - can you advise how and where you made the control line attachments?

Roger

[Floridagent]

I sail my Sunday Cat for fun — not for competition.  So, I installed the Tiller Clutch solely to keep my rudder's position fixed on any particular point of sail whenever I need to do something else with both of my hands rather than steer the boat.  Therefore, I mounted it under my tiller handle and simply tied the ends of the single line running through it to the bottoms of the stanchions supporting the boom gallows.  The stanchions existed, were convenient, and eliminated any need to drill more holes in the boat.  It works fine and the line is not in my way.  Obviously, you can try tying the lines to the stanchions at no expense and see if it works for you before choosing an alternative, more complex solution.
Bob

[DanM]

 The PO installed a tiller clutch on my SC and I also find is very useful.
The line goes back to the stern quarter (does that sound more nautical than "the back corner?") At each end, the line goes though a fairlead and then a couple inches back to a clam cleat. The two pieces are lined up fore-and-aft.
  Thus the fairlead and cleat are in line, the fairlead redirecting the line to the cleat. This arrangement give you the wide angle you need for the clutch line. One downside is that the line is in your way if you want to sit all the way back in the corner, so it's nice to be able to easily release that control line when you don't need it.
Speaking of gadgets on the tiller, how many of you SunCat owners have a tiller extension? I think sometimes it would be nice to sit further forward and steer with a stick. I'm not sure exactly how I'd place it. The tiller already has the rudder-lifting cleat and the tiller clutch so I'm kind of running out of room to put more stuff. Just wondering.....

[bruce]

Roger,

Looking at the manufacturer's instructions, you're right of course, you don't need the all the cleats and fairleads shown in their diagrams, it just makes the line easier to adjust or remove. You could just tie off to fairleads, or the boom gallows as Bob suggests, and avoid one or both of the cleats entirely.
http://www.wavefrontmarine.com/assets/docs/TillerClutch_OwnersGuide.pdf

It's also not clear why they want to mount the cleats forward on the coamings where they're in the way. Once the line is tensioned, it shouldn't need frequent adjustment. The turn at the fairlead is the critical thing, the run between the fairlead and the cleat is fixed, the cleat can be anywhere.

BTW, the loads here are minimal, the TillerClutch is designed to slip under moderate pressure. You can still move the tiller, to steer in an emergency for example, with the TillerClutch engaged.