Sun Cat rigging

[cooter]

I am about to order a new Sun Cat, my concern is that the standard rigging on the cabin model has mid boom sheeting. This set up seems to intefere with cockpit seating. The rigging on the open cockpit model is at the end of the boom to keep the cockpit  clear. I am considering ordering the cabin model with end boom sheeting, has anyone have any ideas or opinions on this? I have contacted the factory and they sai
d it would work out fine.  Thanks Cooter

[tmorgan]

I just picked up a new Sun Cat.  In getting used to the Cat rig, I did notice that on a reach or broad reach the mid boom sheeting helped in flattening the sail like a boom vang does on a sloop rig.  If I moved the traveler all the way to the side the boom was out on, it increased the downward pull on  the sail. 

[cooter]

thanks Tmorgan for the reply, do you find that the mid boom sheeting interferes with cockpit seating? I'm a newbie at this forum stuff so please bear with me.

[tmorgan]

I was sailing the boat alone so I don't know the answer.  It seems that four could sit without a lot of problem.

[suncat202]

I think the traveler at the hatch is a bit in the way but that a traveler at the back will have more difficulties. What I did was add a snap shackle on the end of the main sheet so I can disconnect and toss the mainsheet over the boom when I am in port. This gets it out of the way.

[mike gartland]

I sail a mid-boom sheeted CP-23 and don't know how the cockpit dimensions of the two boats differ so I can only comment on how it affects a 23.  The sheet traveler is mounted near the aft edge of the bridge deck (which is about a foot wide in a 23).  That places it about 1 foot in front of the companionway  and can be in the way of people entering and exiting the cabin unless the traveler is run off to one side or the other (which is more common than not).

The positive effects on the sail are noticeable.  The combination of the mid-boom sheet location and a boomvang which I also added (especially for downwind performance) do a very nice job of flattening the sail and adding power to the boat.  Just taking an extra tug on a slightly loose boomvang results in a surge forward which is felt quite easily.  The mid-boom sheet location contributes to the same sail control.

The downside does not have to do as much with the comfort of the cockpit occupants as it does with the greater difficulty of popping the main sheet cam cleat when you would like to spill some air in a hurry in gusty conditions.  With 3 or 4 people in the cockpit it always seems that someone's legs are in the wrong place and it is sometimes difficult to release the cam cleat (which releases downward on my boat) because there's a leg in the way....and it's also a pretty long reach from the tiller if the helmsman is also manning the sheet.  The bottom line is that, IMO, the mid-boom sheeting improves boat performance, has little effect on crew comfort, but does increase a bit of additional risk if necessary to quickly release the sheet when under a lot of tension.  You may be able to see the sheet arrangement in one of the photos of WindRush posted under mgartland on the Owners Photo Gallery (prior to boomvang installation).

[mike gartland]

A correction to the above post....the photos are in the CPYOA Member Galleries.  Sorry for the confusion.

Mike

[cooter]

Thanks one and all for the rigging tips. I have noticed that the larger Horizon Cat is rigged with end boom sheeting on an even longer boom so it is not without prescedence. If it proves to be a problem I could either add a vang or re-rig to the normal position. The boat is still a month from delivery so I'll let you know how it turned out. Thanks again.  Cooter

[cooter]

Hi folks,  I have finally been out sailing my new Sun Cat with the end boom sheeting, it really works well.  I'm not a racing sailor so maybe the sail would be better shaped with the mid boom sheeting but the boat sails fine, the end boom sheeting does not get in the way at all and is no problem to release. The only small inconvenience is that you have to move around the sheet rigging to get to the outboard motor. Otherwise I'm very glad that I ordered it this way.  The dealer that I bought it from who does race commented that he was surprised that more Sun Cats were not ordered with the end boom sheeting, so I would recomend this rigging.  Thanks all for your imput,    Cooter

[cecilg]

Thanks for the update. This is great to know and I wonder how much trouble it would be to move to the end boom sheeting situation.
Again thanks for the info.
Cecil
2005 SunCat

[patch]

  wonder how rear mounted sheeting would be if a boomkicker was added.