The adventure continues with a new to me Sunday Cat

[mikehennessy]

Greetings all,

Does anyone have a preferred Loos gauge setting for the side stays on the Sunday Cat [besides being equal :-)]?  Gerry didn't have a recommendation when I bought the boat.

After two seasons I want to inspect the tension before sailing next season...

Happy Thanksgiving!
- Stay positive and test negative

Regards,
Mike

[Renae]

I've been wondering about this too.  So far I've heard "not too tight" which I didn't find exceptionally helpful.  I did tighten each side a couple turns late in the summer because the slack on the lee shrouds seemed (symmetrically) excessive.

[Cpy23ecl]

I've always tensioned my shrouds by sailing close hauled in winds around 10 mph.  If the lee shroud has any slack I hand tighten it until I can't turn the turnbuckle any further by hand.  Then tack and do the same for the other side.  Once back at the dock sight the mast to be sure it's still plumb.  At that point I can plumb the mast if needed by loosening one side and tightening the other an equal number of turns without changing the overall tension.

No idea if that's the correct way but I've been using this method for decades and have never had a problem.

Fred

[bruce]

I agree with Roland, that the shroud in Reighnman's photo looks to be too tight. I've never heard of anyone purposely raking the mast on a SC.

I understand the desire to quantify shroud tension with a Loos gauge, but in the 10 years I've followed discussions of SC standing rigging I've seen little support for that.

Here's some links from this forum. Capt. Nemo (aka Don Nelson) liked to take on the topic.
https://cpyoa.com/forum/index.php?topic=7150.msg52383#msg52383
https://cpyoa.com/forum/index.php?topic=4869.msg33950#msg33950
https://cpyoa.com/forum/index.php?topic=4869.msg33946#msg33946

Here's some links from the Catboat forum on the TSBB (previously active, now dormant). There is content, if you can wade through the banter.
https://forum.trailersailor.com/post.php?id=1234975
https://forum.trailersailor.com/post.php?id=978111
https://forum.trailersailor.com/post.php?id=977018

The lee shroud will always be loose, I wouldn't make adjustments underway, I think you'll get way too tight. The step on these boats is not designed for heavy downward loads, and the forestay lever will be a bear. In addition to the suggestions in the links, sight the mast under load. If it stays vertical then the rigging is doing it's job. A buddy boat may be helpful here.

[Reighnman]

One of the issues causing confusion on my end was the differences in the set-ups between the Sunday Cat and Sun Cat.  Seems the Sunday has a block/halyard system and the Cat has a quick release system. I've loosened the tension and the mast is now much closer to vertical. For those that keep their boats in a slip, do you lower the mast or leave it up? I'll do a search as I'm sure this has been discussed.

[Renae]

The block and gin pole system I believe is now standard.  My 2004 Suncat does not have it, and once I figured out line organization on takedown, I don't really feel like I need it, at least at this point.  Com-Pac sells the retrofit for those who want it.

Most of the difficulty I've had with raising and lowering the mast on my own (100% trailer-sailor) arises from the Lazy Jack system installed by the PO.  It works fine, but it's a two leg per side system that becomes quite slack when I lower mast.  This creates loops that seem to have an inorganic genius for hooking around the gaff or the boom on the next raising.

Honestly, I don't think I'd miss the Lazy Jacks if they were gone, but a simple topping lift might be essential.  I may just try that out in the spring.  Has anyone else gone that route?

[bruce]

Renae, I agree slack lazy jacks can take perverse pleasure in tangling in the sail bundle, the peak halyard is a distant second in that.

My broker had his sailmaker set up our lazy jacks. I've made several changes to the hardware, but the layout has remained the same. A line made up to the boom, port side aft, that runs up to a block attached to a line fixed to the port mast head, then back down, under the boom, back up to a block attached to a second fixed line at the stbd mast head and back to a cleat on the boom opposite to were the line started. It has a particularly long tail, that confused me at first, but once I recalled the broker's instructions it all made sense.

The point was, before dropping the sail, slack off the lazy jacks, bring the legs on both sides forward and loop them over the long pin, and snug them up. The lazy jacks now lie tight along the mast and boom, and don't get tangled in the sail bundle when the mast is folded down. I do the same with the peak halyard.

Hopefully the photos make sense. The lazy jacks have the blue marker, the peak halyard is green, and the the throat is red.

[Renae]

One more reason for me to eventually get a long pin. 

[Finbar Beagle]

Ryan,

Congrats on the Sunday cat.

My cp 19 originally had laminated drop boards.  I ordered the replacement teak ones form Hutchins.

[bruce]

Ryan,

Can't say about SC sailors, but most PCs leave their mast up in a slip. The sail or a boat cover could be modified for the standing peak halyard, and lazy jacks if applicable, or the lines could be brought forward to the long pin as above. We dry sail, I'll let others say what kind of halyard slap you'd have with all those lines running up the mast!

I have seen it suggested that you could just slack the peak halyard so it sags down, and put the sail cover on and let the peak halyard emerge from the open seam under the boom and just flop around. Maybe for the short term, pretty low on the Bristol scale.

Renae, my original long pin, just hanging on the lanyard, had been snagged a couple of times raising the sail. The second time it went overboard. I made up a new one out 1/4" SS rod, and mounted a holster on the front of the mast stub so it wouldn't foul as readily. I made the pin longer (8") to make looping the lines over it easier. It's worked well.

[Jim in TC]

I had the same hangup problem with the long pin that Bruce describes. My solution was a threaded bolt about 1/4" longer than the span and a plastic piece I found in the bins at the hardware store that I could thread to hand tighten. We are now (well, not right now) in a seasonal slip and leave the mast up (why wouldn't you?) so I could put a lock nut on the bolt since it would only be installed/removed on one launch and retrieval.

[DanM]

Our SunCat is on a mooring ball all season (without a cover) and we leave the mast up. Just raise it once in the Spring and drop it once in the Fall. No problems with that (except when spiders build a web on the windex!). By the way, this is maybe obvious; but if you drop the mast and don't use a full boat cover, you have to make a cover for the mast hinge so that rain doesn't go down the open mast stub and into the bilge. Sometimes I have the SC on land with mast down and not covered, like when I'm working on it, so I  cut the side out of a detergent bottle so that it slips over the whole assembly and then tie it on. I guess you could make a fabric boot instead.

[Roland of Macatawa]

DanM:

Check out this thread for a source for a canvas mast hinge boot:
https://cpyoa.com/forum/index.php?topic=11087.msg83661#msg83661

Regards, Roland

[DanM]

good tip in the "mast sock" thanks. a more elegant solution and easier to store, too.

[Reighnman]

Thanks for the insights on mast or down. The boom appears to have all the hardware for lazy jacks, not sure if that's standard by Compac but it helps me for sure. Bruce, your lazy jack system sounds great, and the photos really help too.