Mast puller: a very simple one can be set up with just a piece of low-stretch 5 or 6 mm rope with a relatively hard cover, and a small (short!) Clamcleat. The cleat should be mounted as far back as possible on the mast gate (starboard side is standard for some reason), and the other end of the line can be simply deadended through a hole on the opposite side. A big bowline can be tied to the free end as a handle. Tried it and it works for club-level/recreational purposes.
(Have you looked for any possibly existing chocks yet? They usually hide at the bottom of a sail bag)
(Also note the blue chock in front of the mast!)
The hook block is, the cleat block is fixed (although with a piece of wire).That purchase system looks pretty nice. I can build up one of those. Both of those blocks are free-floating, correct?
It's attached most likely to the mast step, yes, or to some place lower on the mast. Your mast has that mystery fitting above the vang attachment which may have been used, and might again be used for this purpose.What is the metal cable, that is affixed to the bottom block/cleat, attached to below, something on the the mast step, perhaps?
The hook block is a 16 mm Harken 408, which has a safe working load of more than 300 kg, so it should be strong enough. The cleat block is a 29 mm Harken 347, which is even stronger. Carbo blocks would be somewhat out of style for your boat, thoughWhat size blocks do you suppose those are? They look pretty little.
Well... no. The main and jib halyards have fundamentally different functions. The main halyard is not an adjustment. It just gets the main up where it belongs, keeps it there, and that's it. You don't need to tension it and it doesn't tension anything else. That's why just a hook is sufficient.Pehaps I should make a lesser system for tensioning the main halyard as well?
No, it's a wrap-around chafe plate riveted to the mast.Are the black things that seem to be hugging the mast also part of the chock?
Who knows. It's been possibly used for the downhaul or its elastic takeup. It's more likely though that the downhaul was led aft to the cockpit, through one of the blocks in front of the mast step.I noticed this little block up under the mast brace. Is this used for the spinnaker up/downhaul mechanism?
All you need is a good hook, two lengths of thin low-stretch rope, and a piece of elastic. Pretty simple. I think that the uphaul is intended to be external, and run through the pictured block on the mast and then through the smaller fairlead. Is there a block up the mast, just above the spreaders maybe?That mechanism is something I also have to rig up from scratch-none presently exists on the boat.
Didn't we already go through that? Although David suggested that those are spinnaker halyard cleats, I am pretty sure that they're for the centreboard uphaul. The line that goes through the fairlead eye runs along the port side of the centreboard case and comes up through the exit block at the front end of the case.Wondering about these blocks and the fairlead at the rear of the centerboard trunk as well.
Very un-1970-ish... but very practical. At the time, almost all suitable rope was white. When I was setting up my first 470, I wanted the jibsheet to be easily visible, so I chose a red line for that. The mainsheet already happened to be blue, and the colour system developed from thereI want to have a different color pattern for each purpose in the boat. The thing is going to look like a christmas tree.
I have no idea! Could you give a link?Looking at Harken blocks at different places and I notice that many of the blocks (like the 408 that I want to use for the vang) come in an "F" version. "F" for "fishing". Are these significantly different from the non-F versions, do you know?
Harken 408F"F" for "fishing".
I think I have a set like that somewhere... they're too narrow for a Lightning, but if they're good for a 420 mast and gate, they should work on a 470, too. If you go down the chock route, you can even make them yourself out of nylon or some similar material. And then there's this guy in Connecticut if you want to spend some money.
The original Swedish-language spelling has one letter "ö" lessLots of "umlauts"!
The hook block probably wants to turn clockwise (viewed from above) from that position. You have to test it on the boat, try different ways and choose what works best.Here's my mockup of the system
At this point, you should check the mast foot position, because it's going to affect everything you might attach to the mast step.I'll get my wire for the bottom made up later today and try it on the boat.
You already have a neat way, the Laser vang key. Did you buy something that it doesn't fit? If you got the 340 which Harken recommends (for some unknown reason; the swivel is totally useless), then just add another shackle, or the 093 adaptor.The vang is next. I'll have to find a neat way to attach the upper block to the boom.
I believe the cheek block on the port side of the mast is intended for that, as well as the port side Clamcleat on top of the centreboard case. Once on the water, you will notice that you want a lead block behind it (it can be quite close to the traveller), and a cleat that has a fairlead and isn't at an angle to the centreline. And is made of metalAfter that I guess I should think about setting up a cunningham rig.
You already have a neat way, the Laser vang key. Did you buy something that it doesn't fit? If you got the 340 which Harken recommends (for some unknown reason; the swivel is totally useless), then just add another shackle, or the 093 adaptor.
That means that the vang line is supposed to run via the mast step
At this point, you should check the mast foot position, because it's going to affect everything you might attach to the mast step.
I meant that the secondary vang line should run first from the boom to the mast, then down to the mast step. It will hit the centreboard case (the forward "lip" of it) if you lead it back directly from the mast. As I also said, the aft exit blocks are at an angle that doesn't point directly to the mast fitting. Are there by any chance any existing blocks or fairleads between the mast step and the exit blocks, possibly in the vicinity of the thwart? (That would explain a couple of things. Post pictures if you find anything.)I think the vang is supposed to run off of the metal strap on the lower, rear of the mast (the one that the inadequate vang is hooked into in the pictures). Connecting the vang at the mast step allows it to interfere with the front centerboard trunk.
I've been thinking that ever since I noticed that fitting. As your cleat block has a swivel, an additional shackle is all you need to attach it there.I'm going to try setting up the new jib purchase system to the existing I hook on the mast, rather than to the mast step.
It remains to be seen if this setup will allow enough room for proper tensioning of the jib, however.
For the spinnaker sheet, anything 6 mm thick that has a Dyneema core and isn't awfully stiff. The jibsheet could be a 6 or 7 mm polyester rope, but as your jib cleats are on the windward side (and you have to hand-hold the sheet a lot), some very soft 8 mm might work better.What do you recommend for line for my jib sheets (both type and diameter) and the same for my spinnaker sheets?
After seeing that, I will stick with my Laser/ILCA Dinghy...
I've been looking for good layout pictures for a while, and of course some of the best are to be found on this very forum
But as stated before, your problem at the mast end of the vang is that the eyestrap on the mast is above the level of the centreboard case top. You absolutely need to lead the line also via the mast step, and/or attach a second eyestrap on the mast below the original.