Minifish halyard attachment site

MinifishC

New Member
I bought a Minifish that seems to have not-original mast and booms. The mast is 10' and the spars about 12'6.
I've been experimenting with where to attach the halyard on the upper--either its too low for easy clearance on coming about, or in heavy winds the surrounding sails clips open and the mast ends up (after flipping) between the sail and the upper boom. This makes it impossible to lower the sail of course, among other problems (and potential damages) Any advice on how to find the right spot? Thank you.
 
The mast should be 9-feet tall.

If you cut it, I'd use a band saw to make a clean cut. A manual pipe-cutter bends the cut edge inwards, making the insertion of the mast cap (or base cap) very difficult.
 
You can keep the 10' mast. Set the bronze gooseneck about 17" back from the front of he lower boom and then just experiment with the attachment point of the halyard on the upper boom to get the desired lower boom height of the deck.. The lower the attachment point, the higher the boom will be and visa versa.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
Thank you. I have been moving the attachment point around. I'm looking for a low attachment point, and as I go lower I'm having this issue that the mast ends up getting threaded between the sail and the upper boom (and the two adjacent sail clips open up) if i flip over. Is there some trick to tying this that I am missing, or does this just mean I can't go with that low of an attachment point for the halyard.
 
Thank you. I have been moving the attachment point around. I'm looking for a low attachment point, and as I go lower I'm having this issue that the mast ends up getting threaded between the sail and the upper boom (and the two adjacent sail clips open up) if i flip over. Is there some trick to tying this that I am missing, or does this just mean I can't go with that low of an attachment point for the halyard.
You need to be sure that whatever attachment point that you use the sail is fully hoisted right to the top when you cleat the halyard. What is happening is you have some droop at the top so the upper boom isn’t tight to the mast. So when the boat flips the mast can snag the rig as is happening to you.
 
You can keep the 10' mast. Set the bronze gooseneck about 17" back from the front of he lower boom and then just experiment with the attachment point of the halyard on the upper boom to get the desired lower boom height of the deck.. The lower the attachment point, the higher the boom will be and visa versa.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY


This was a big help--I hadn't noticed it, the gooseneck had been sliding around. I have it tightened at 19" now, and had a good sail this afternoon.
I'd like to take it back a little further, i think these are sunfish spars. My concern had been putting too much stress on the boat with the higher sail, and the mast threading between the sail and spars only began when i started moving the halyard around. Any rules of thumb for where the gooseneck should be, I'm adjusting it so the sail is pretty centered/extended across the hull.
 
You need to be sure that whatever attachment point that you use the sail is fully hoisted right to the top when you cleat the halyard. What is happening is you have some droop at the top so the upper boom isn’t tight to the mast. So when the boat flips the mast can snag the rig as is happening to you.

Thanks, don't think that's it though. Only started having this problem when I bought a new halyard (the boat came with washline line serving that purpose). Have been pretty careful about having it fully hoisted, but I definitely can see how this would cause the problem I'm having.
 
Next time this happens look carefully and see if the rig is sagging. As far as I can determine the only way this can happen is if the rig is not fully up.
 
You can keep the 10' mast. Set the bronze gooseneck about 17" back from the front of he lower boom and then just experiment with the attachment point of the halyard on the upper boom to get the desired lower boom height of the deck.. The lower the attachment point, the higher the boom will be and visa versa.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY

An easy knot to secure the halyard on the spar is the "thrice-through bowline"; moreover, it's tight when raised, yet easily slid along the spar when the sail is lowered.

 

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