New Suncat

[steve brown]

Well NUNKI finally arrived in late June. I spent about a week or so getting things on board, Cetoling the teak and checking functions, etc. My friend John, who bought my 19 got her launched on July 6. We had problems getting the sail up do a twisted peak halyard at the gaff. The boom did want to go up high enough also. The boom was touching the gallows a lot. we did sail for two hours and that was enough of a relief after waiting so long. The huge sail seemed to be a problem regarding flaking and securing it also. I guess it takes time and practice to get it right. Any comments and advice will be most welcome.
Kind regards, Steve

[Tim Gardner]

Congrats on your first sail - Send some pics of your new Suncat "Nunki".

TG

[cavie]

Install Lazy Iacks and a gaft downhaul. Must haves on a Suncat

[capt_nemo]

Steve,

Congrats on NUNKI - you'll really enjoy the Sun Cat once you get used to handling the running rigging.

A few comments follow that I hope will address your first sail experience.

To get the boom up high enough to clear the gallows make sure that all lines that might keep the mainsail (and hence the boom) from going all the way up are free to run. I'm specifically referring to the boom downhaul and perhaps a gaff downhaul. Once rigged and before putting the boat in the water grab the boom under the gooseneck and raise it up to make sure nothing is caught or twisted.

The twisted peak halyard interferring with a proper mainsail hoist is a common problem due to the way Com-Pac rigged the boat. Change the peak halyard SWIVELING BLOCK attached at the gaff to a FIXED BLOCK and the problem will be minimized. With block changed, most of the time any slight twists in the halyard will work out in the process of tensioning the peak halyard.

With regard to dousing, flaking, and securing the huge mainsail - some form of Lazy Jacks will serve to tame that pesky gaff and huge sail. Lazy Jacks are one of the first mods most Sun Cat Owners install. Once down, and somewhat controlled, you can flake and secure it as you see fit with some form of sail ties. I use a long bungee cord permanently secured through small pad eyes along one side of the boom and small hooks midway between the pad eyes on the other side of the boom. Just reach over, grab the bungee, stretch it over the sail, and secure it on the hook! I've used this system on sailboats up to 35'. I supplement this with a few bungee loops with balls on one end - never leave the dock without them.

Hope this helps.

capt_nemo

[steve brown]

Thanks for the helpful information Capn Nemo. I am about to add a fixed block to the gaff plus a gaff down haul and a topping lift. When I raise the boom at the gooseneck it stops at the bottom of the mast hinge assembly. It stops right near the reefing hook. Is that as far up the mast the boom raises? What other function does the "long pin" do besides containing the halyards, etc. before lower the mast? Thank you for your reponse to my additional questions. Regards, S. Brown

[Tom Ray]

Steve, the boom can slide up through the hinge. Yours is getting caught on something, usually the reefing hook or the two stainless bars on each side of the mast.

The long pin holds the gaff boom below the hinge so that no damage occurs during mast folding, and holds the main boom up off the deck when the sail is not up so that you can open the forward hatch, have a Bimini top up, and get in and out of the cabin more easily.

I don't bother capturing my halyards with the long pin. The boat is going to be a mess with the rig down no matter what you do, and a couple more lines flopping around do not bother me.

Some of us also use the long pin while sailing, but you're not supposed to do that. It's a lazy man procedure.

[steve brown]

Thanks Tom for your response  to my questions.  Yes my boom reefing hook/ goose neck is catching on the hinge assembly. Is what I have what the factory intended or is it an error in fabrication? Hutchins had very little to say in their manual about this part of sail raising. What do I do to allow the boom to go higher if that is what is supposed to do? thanks again folks for your input. Steve

[Joseph]

Steve,

Also congrats on your new cat. Here are a couple of suggestions that may solve your problem: apply some grease or lubricant on the track of the mast on both sides of the hinge and using your hands pull the gooseneck up and down past the hinge several times. I always check by hand whether the gooseneck will slide freely past the hinge after I raise the mast. This serves the purpose of making sure that the downhaul is running freely and that nothing else (usually a reef line) will hinder the boom from gliding up past the hinge. Also, make sure that when you hoist the sail (and the boom) the boat is facing the wind, the boom is centered and the sail is fully depowered with the mainsheet and the boomvang uncleated. It is difficult to hoist the sail (and the boom) if the sail is opened at an angle and/or is catching the wind and not luffing. Personally, for the purpose of keeping the sail depowered, while hoisting or dousing the sail, I prefer to make use of a toping lift, but for the same purpose you could also use the lazy jacks, or even keep the boom resting on the gallows, if your steering is real steady against the wind.

Hope this helps.

J.

[cavie]

After standing the mast, raise the boom up thru the hinge and install the long pin thru the ring under the boom or below the boom. this will get the boom high enough to clear the gallows and get the sail up high every time with no snaging. With lazy jacks installed, you can raise the sail with the boom in any place it wants to be. I raise my main with the boom 90 degrees to the boat very often. Very easy to see what's going on that way. Lazy jacks are also the toping lift. I release the tention on the jacks after the sail is up.

[Joseph]

I cannot subscribe to cavie's practices, but if that works for both of you, so much the better!

Using the long pin while underway on sail will prevent the use of the downhaul, it will also require two trips to the mast while underway (to place it in position and to remove it when dousing sails). The lazy jacks are seldom (never?) meant to hold the boom up(*), and hoisting a mainsail with the boom perpendicular to the boat increases the friction and the chances of a snag at the mast while also causing the boom to be far from the cockpit in case you need any line to be adjusted at the boom (topping lift, reefing lines, lazy jacks, sail ties, etc). The sail will also have less angle to luff if the boat swings to a run and it may end up sailing (and even accidentally gybing) before the sail and the boom are all the way up (ouch!). If there is any wind blowing out there and the boat has any auxiliary power I would recommend sticking to the classic practice of hoisting an dousing mainsails with the bow to the wind (for single-handed sailors this may be the main reason for having an autopilot!).

(*) Harken advices against using their lazy jacks for holding the boom up: "To avoid snagging the mainsail on the Lazy Jacks when raising sail, the boat must be equipped with a topping lift or vang that holds boom lifted." (http://www.harken.com/pdf/4060.pdf).

J.

[oddduck]

Just thought I'd throw this in the ring - I use a block of canning wax (can be purchased at most grocery stores) to lubricate the groove on the mast for the slides.  I also wax the slugs when first bending on the sail.  I think that any liquid grease or oil will attract dirt/dust and soon be counterproductive.  I might also mention that I have never had a problem with the gaff coming down although it sounds like I might be the only one.  I wonder - is it the wax, good clean livin', or just dumb luck? 

Dennis

[Joseph]

Steve, whatever works... once, in a jiffy, I applied lanoline for the same purpose (which is great for preventing oxidation but not so great as a lubricant...) and it worked. However, purists may tell you that the best stuff for that purpose would be something like Sailkote dry lubricant or a marine lubricant with teflon.

J.

[capt_nemo]

Dennis,

Tried your canning wax sometime back to no avail. No lubricant seems to work well enough to send that pesky gaff down with halyards released. Consider yourself darn lucky not requiring a downhaul - one less control line to worry about!

Consequently, I rely on my gaff downhaul to tame the gaff when dousing sail, assisted by my Lazy Jacks, of course.

capt_nemo

[cavie]

I cannot subscribe to cavie's practices, but if that works for both of you, so much the better!

Using the long pin while underway on sail will prevent the use of the downhaul, it will also require two trips to the mast while underway (to place it in position and to remove it when dousing sails). The lazy jacks are seldom (never?) meant to hold the boom up(*), and hoisting a mainsail with the boom perpendicular to the boat increases the friction and the chances of a snag at the mast while also causing the boom to be far from the cockpit in case you need any line to be adjusted at the boom (topping lift, reefing lines, lazy jacks, sail ties, etc). The sail will also have less angle to luff if the boat swings to a run and it may end up sailing (and even accidentally gybing) before the sail and the boom are all the way up (ouch!). If there is any wind blowing out there and the boat has any auxiliary power I would recommend sticking to the classic practice of hoisting an dousing mainsails with the bow to the wind (for single-handed sailors this may be the main reason for having an autopilot!).

(*) Harken advices against using their lazy jacks for holding the boom up: "To avoid snagging the mainsail on the Lazy Jacks when raising sail, the boat must be equipped with a topping lift or vang that holds boom lifted." (http://www.harken.com/pdf/4060.pdf).
J.

I install the long pin after standing the mast while on the trailer and remove it on the trailer before lowering the mast. I never leave the cockpit while sailing. The PO removed the downhaul and I use the block and spinloc for my lazyjacks which old up the boom very well. End of the gaft and the end of the battens extend past the back lazy jack line and cannot get cought on the line while going up. I subscribe to the KISS method of cause I'm a lazy Suncatter like Tom Ray.

[Joseph]

Cavie, as I said, whatever works for you. I place the long pin in position only when snugging down for the day and leave it in place when the mast gets lowered to the gallows. I remove it and leave it hanging from the casing of the hinge when getting ready to hoist the sail and it stays there while underway.

In strong winds I strongly recommend hoisting and dousing sails with the bow to the wind and the boom inside the boat, same as if this was the mainsail in a sloop. However, it is true that if there is no wind or it is very light, the sail can be hoisted in any point of sail.

You are lucky to not to need a downhaul for the gaff. In my boat it is crucial to being able to douse the sail fast.

Although I can still do it, I try to limit stepping forward to the bow and mast to those circumstances that absolutely require it (i.e., the odd snag when hoisting or dousing the sail, dealing with the anchor, and of course for getting the mast up or down). Since I sail mostly alone I have flat jack-lines running along both toe-rails, but jack-lines or no jack-lines, I've long decided that the day I hesitate to step to the bow it will a sign to stop cruising alone.

J.