First Time Setting up the Rigging = Miserable Failure

Josh_Hayes

New Member
Well I finished fixing up my boat and proceeded to rig the boat. I had a bag full of ropes and my two sails (Jib and Main). I looked at the users manual and it was very vague on details about how the lines and sheets should be rigged and the model pictured had a roller furler. I was able to step the mast by myself with little effort (woohoo). My manual is a Third Edition which is copyrighted in 1997, but my boat is an '86. I tried to follow it as much as possible but ended up giving up after trying to figure it out for over an hour. Is there a better guide with pictures on how to rig this boat? Where do I start? I have a couple of lines with shackles and a couple with snap hooks, and several with nothing on the ends of the lines. It doesn't show in the manual how the halyards are run down the mast and what goes through the block and pad eye on the front of the mast. Can someone teach a newbie how to run his lines and rig his sails? Do they have videos for this? My local stores had nothing in the way of 14.2 materials.

Please help!
 
Here! Here! I tried stepping my mast this weekend for the first time ever, and ran into pretty mush the same problems. Granted, I did not have the C14 Association Handbook with me when I tried this...I'm sure that would have helped a lot.

I need to go back and read the posts about single handed mast raising. I never was successful in getting the mast up. But then, the boat wasn't strapped down to the trailer, and I was pretty sure that my rather large frame would have tipped the whole thing over....so I didn't actually climb into the boat.

Can someone post some actual photographs of how they have everything rigged? That would help me a lot.
 
Rigging

Guys, I'm going to spend some time this weekend taking pictures of how I do it. I can rig my whole boat in about 15 minutes when I get to the launch.

1. Make sure the boat is secure on the trailer. I use two motorcycle tie downs that I got at the auto parts store. They have a nice rubber covered hook on each end, and kind of a cam cleat in the middle. Hook one end on each side of the barney post, over the rail of the boat and down to the trailer.

2. Lay the mast down on the centerline of the boat with the foot towards the bow. Move the mast as far aft as it will go with out falling out of the boat, make sure the slot side is down. Remove the mast foot bolt from the bracket on the deck.

3. Attach the shrouds to the "chain plates" on the deck. You should have an adjuster plate on each shroud and forestay. Make sure that the fore stay is nice clear of any snags. Move all of your stuff (rudder, life vests, coolers, etc) aft, also remove the pin from the forestay adjuster plate before you go on to the next step, trust me on this.

4. Get in the boat. I weigh 210 lbs and I haven't put the trailer bunks through the hull yet. Stand just forward of the barney post, grab on to the mast and make that thing vertical, it's not that heavy. Put the foot of the mast into the bracket. You want to kind of lean forward against the mast making the shrouds tight. Put the bolt in through the bracket and the mast.

5. Find the forestay. Walk up on to the fore deck, I kind of hang on the forestay to keep the mast from falling backward. Walk all the way to the front of the boat and attach the fore stay to the deck plate. I've been putting mine in the middle hole.

I suppose you could attach the foot of the mast to the deck bracket and rotate it on that bolt. I didn't have a lot of luck with that method, the way I describe it above works best for me and only takes a couple of minutes.

I don't remember anything in the handbook about mast raising, but there is a really nice section in there about tuning the rig. If you don't already have that book, GET ONE! It's worth it's weight in gold and tells you just how to rig your boat. You can get them on this site.
 
I did manage to raise the mast on my first attempt, but have no idea about the sails, lines, or sheets... I laid the mast down on the transom, attached the the two side stays, and slid it back until the foot of the mast was at the mounting post. Inserted the lockdown bolt and got inside the boat (I weigh 275Lbs, no problems or creaking, just walk carefully and slowly, distribute your weight evenly). I then went up to the mast mount and pulled the mast up with one hand while pulling the forestay down and towards the bow to keep tension. I would feel very uncomfortable having to move to the back of the boat while trailered and "stepping" it up. I also weighted the front of the trailer with a couple of spare trailer tires (not much weight, but some counter balance).
 
Rigging

Getting the mast up is the hardes't part. As for the rest, deinetly get the hand book. It will answer alot of questions about where lines and blocks go, how long they should be, and how to set it all up. I was sailing my boat for about 6 months and had somethings rigged completely wrong.
 
As for the block on the front of the mast, I think you're talking about the jib halyard block, it's right under the forestay. One end of your jib halyard attaches to the head of your jib, it probably has a shackle on it. the other end goes through the block and down to one of the cleats near the base of the mast. In the hand book it shows that there is a 2:1 block system for the jib halyard that I don't really understand, does anybody have this system?

The main halyard goes through the shive (pully) at the top of the mast. Again, this probably has a shackle on one end. Attach the shackle to the head of the sail, the other end goes through the back side of the mast and the end that comes out the front goes down to the other cleat at the base of the mast.

I'm attaching a picture of my boat to show you the centerboard set up. The black and white line on the board is a length of bungee. Also don't pay attention to the jib cars, they are on backwards, the guy who had it before me said they worked better that way......what ever, I've spun them around since.

As for setting up the rig, follow the link to quantum sails on this site, they have a guide on rig tuning for the 14.2. Good luck.
 

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see post by Bill Ewing 09/26/03. several recommendations regarding stepping the mast. The way that I step mine is there, however I do not crawl out on the bow any more. I would be more concerned about going out on the bow while the boat is on the trailer then the rear. My boat rests on one snmall roller in the front of the hull and at a point where the hull is flat. The rear of the boat rests on the "boards" (can't remember the correct term for these). The PSI for the one roller on the flat section is much higher than the PSI on the bunk boards.

If you do a search I know that there is a thred regarding the rigging of the sheets.

Art
 
Re: Easy trick for stepping the mast

All -

I rig & sail my Capri Omega 14 single-handed, and I've developed a neat trick to step the mast (I'm sure I'm not the first to figure this out ;) ) ...

1) Keep boat on trailer.

2) Attach shrouds to chainplates on either side.

3) Seat mast foot in deck bracket. The masthead should now be a foot or so above the transom (back of the boat).

4) Here's the trick: Unroll a decent amount of strap/rope from the trailer winch. Using a small caribiner, link the forestay to the hook on the trailer winch strap/rope. Using the winch, hoist the mast until its nearly vertical ... then slide the pin through the chainplate and VOILA! Mast is stepped without alot of sweating and cursing!

5) When I get ready to unstep the mast, I just reverse the procedure.

- Greg :cool:
 
I must be asking the wrong questions as I keep getting advice on raising the mast...

What is the sailing term for routing/running all the ropes and raising the sails? I am having problems figuring out where all the lines go and how to set everything up correctly for my first time out.

What goes through the black Pad Eye on the front of the mast? Is this only used for spinnaker poles?

What is the purpose of the cheek block and clam cleat on the side of the boom? Could this be for reefing the main? I thought there where no reefing lines on the original sails. What type of lines are needed in the sail reef points in order to hold down the foot of the sail when reefed?
 
Josh,

If the padeye is down low on the mast then, yes, it is for the whisker pole.

Anyone else,

I just got my whisker pole yesterday. Can someone give me a dimension from the foot of the mast to where the padeye should be mounted?

Thanks,

Dave
 
Whisker Pole

The Hand book says 36" from mast foot to center of the Whisker Pole Eye.

Also, If some one has a whisker pole they would like to get rid of, I maybe interested. Email me and tell me what you want for it.
 
You gotta get the C14 manual. It’s a great resource. But, while you wait for it to come, I’m going to take a shot at your rigging questions. This is based on my boat, a Mod 1, but hopefully it will help. First, get the mast up and the boom in place. Starting with the mainsheet, find a block at the end of the boom (on the bottom). The block should have a place on the bottom to attach the mainsheet. I think that’s called a becket. Now, you should have a traveler (1/4� line), about 6’ long running through holes at each end of the transom and tied with knots. This traveler should have two blocks attached to one another. The traveler runs through one block and the other is free. Run the unattached end of your mainsheet through this free block and then back up and through the block on the boom where you first attached the mainsheet. Look for another block about halfway up the boom, again on the bottom. Run your mainsheet through it and down to the block on the barney post in the middle of the deck. Guide the mainsheet through the block and through the cam cleats. Now just tie a figure-8 knot at the need of your mainsheet and your done. Further forward on the boom (bottom), look for an eye strap and look for another one toward the bottom of the mast. Your boom vang will attach between these points. The vang can have a small (6-8�) wire section attached to a set of blocks with maybe 4-6’ of line running between them. Attach the wire end to the mast and the blocks end to the boom. You may need to pull the blocks apart a bit if it doesn’t reach. The free end of the line is what you pull to tighten the boom vang. Now attach your mainsail. I generally start by pushing the foot of the sail through the slot on top of the boom. A thin 6’ line ties to the end (clew) of your sail and then goes through a small block on top of the boom and then to a cleat on the left (port) side of the boom. That’s your outhaul I then connect the tack of the sail with that angled bolt on the gooseneck of the boom. Now I just connect the head of the sail to the halyard (using a shackle) and raise it just enough to get the sail started in the slot on the mast. The halyard goes all the way to the top of the mast, through the wheel up there and back down to the cleat on the right side. I’ll actually raise the sail once the boat is in the water. Next the jib, the tack is shackled at bow of the boat, connect your attachments to the forestay and the head of the sail to the jib halyard (another shackle). The halyard then goes through a block about 2/3s up the mast and down to a cleat on the left side. You're then ready to raise your jib. The C14 manual uses a more complicated system, but this should get you started. The jib sheet is a long one, about 35’, although some boats use two 17’ lines. If it’s one line, find the middle and push it through the clew of the jib forming a small loop and then run your ends through that loop and tighten. Then run the ends of the jib sheets around the outside of your shrouds, through the holes in the jib leads and then through the cam cleats. Again, tie an figure-8 knot on each end. Now you should be ready to sail.

I’m not set up for reefing, so can’t address the reefing questions.

One note: I use velcro ties on my halyards and keep the shackles in reach when I raise the mast. I’ve had the halyards run and raise the shackles out of reach , then I have to lower the mast to get them.

All you guys: Please feel free to correct and clarify where necessary. I am by no means an expert and welcome your discussion.
 
Rudy,
Thumbs up on the description!

In reference to Greg's
"I rig & sail my Capri Omega 14 single-handed, and I've developed a neat trick to step the mast (I'm sure I'm not the first to figure this out ) ..."

See my post above that points to a thread from September that describes my method of single handed mast raising. I have never really sweated or cursed while raising the mast.

With the 14.2 the mast rests directly on the transom when you connect it to the mast bracket (foot) unless you have a mast crutch. With my trailer this puts the mast lower at the rear than at the bow. So to winch from that position would be impossible.

I also would have a concern that the mast would be somewhat free to rock side to side until the shrouds become taught.

I recommend the use of a mast crutch (see picture earlier in this thread). This not only protects the transom, creates a good peak to drape a tarp over for storage, but it also makes raising the mast easier.

To raise the mast I walk the mast back until I can put the mast foot bolt in. The rear of the mast (at about the spreaders) rests in the crutch. I attach a caribeaner to the trailer winch. I then attach a line to my furler roller with a "hang man's" noose. the free end of the line runs through the caribeaner and then through one of the jib sheet cleats. I then hop into the boat and with the free end onf the line in my hand, I start at the barney post, lift the mast and get directly under it and quickly walk forward and raise the mast to tighten the shrouds. I then pull on the temporary line and cleat it. This holds the mast up while I hop off and insert the pin at the bow at the bottom of the furler roller.

This method could be modifiefd slightly to work with a straight forestay (no furler).

The mast really is not heavy, but watch out for obstacles!

I also leave the shroud lines attached so there is less to do to get sailing.

Art
 

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