Hiking strap adjuster

A

altair

Member
Over the past month I have seen two people at local regattas install a home made device on the aft part of the hiking strap on their SF. It appears to be a metal fitting through the aft loop which is attached to some sort of webbing with eyelets. A line is then past through the eye strap on the rear cockpit and back through the eyelets. This is done two or three times to create a purchase system which is easily adjusted. I was told it is legal? Does anyone out there use this kind of system? If so where do you find the parts to make it? I have gone to Home Depot and Lowes but just cannot find the right material.
 
Good question. The rules are pretty vague. They say you can use shock cords in the attachment system, but they don't even say anything about rope!! So under the guidelines that if it is not specifically mentioned, it is not allowed, the rule seems to say you can use a hiking strap and shock cords. It implies you cannot use rope, any small fittings like you mention, any screws, eyestraps, etc. Therefore I think we can conclude the rule is vague and open to interpretation. BB
 
altair said:
If so where do you find the parts to make it? I have gone to Home Depot and Lowes but just cannot find the right material.
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Also, I'd try APS or a boat store for sailing parts. Lowe's and Home Depot don't carry much in the way of sailing gear. BB
 
I bet it looks like the hiking strap like this one on this website:

http://www.sunfishracing.com/

Oh, and lots of Laser sailors tie their hiking straps so that they can adjust them. On a Laser there are two eyes on the back of the cockpit that allows you to do this.
 
I have a hiking strap made by Fabricraft that has the two grommet eyes built into it. However, at the World Championship I used a piece exactly that is exactly as described in this forum. To the best of my knowledge, there is no other way to make a good adjustable hiking strap on stock equipment.

Last summer I had 10-15 of them made by Fabricraft and distributed them to a few people that I knew were interested in a similar piece.

In terms of the legality, I actually question whether it is allowed. It clearly is not specifically allowed in the rules. However, I could name a ton of things sailors do that are not specifically allowed, so obviously there is some interpretation of rules. With that said, I know this has been used at major international events (Worlds, NAs, Pan Ams) by top sailors for years, and in a few cases by people that have won the events.
 
I'm the producer/editor of Back to Basics for Sunfish World Championship Speed featuring David Loring. There is a section where we cover his adjustable hiking strap, because it's really cool.

I've had questions about the strap, so I made a short video that goes into pretty extensive detail about the strap.

There's one part of the design that I'm not totally sure about... the thing I call the Hiking Strap Attachment Device. If you know what this is or where to find it, please let me know.

enjoy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T1zaPK8aDI
 
3.1.6 A hiking strap making one traverse of the cockpit may be installed. The strap may be padded for comfort with any material and shock cords may be used in the attachment system.

It does not exclude rope, grommets, the "hiking strap attachment device", etc.

This strap, and others of similar design are legal. Often doors are left open in the rules for innovation and minor experimentation.
 
The "attachment device" is a shackle. The size you need to use depends on the width / size of your hiking strap and the extension piece. Ultimately, I eliminated the metal shackle in favor of rope because my foot hit the shackle and got seriously cut up. The rope is more of a hassle to attach, but I would rather have the reduced risk of injury.

In terms of the rules, it is supposed to be the case that if it is not specifically allowed in the rules, you cannot do it. Obviously we all know that does not apply in practice and their are several interpretations that are allowed on various parts of the boat.

I still question the legality of this rigging system and would love to hear the opinion of our measurer. It could be argued that if you can do this, which clearly includes extra hardware, you should be able to tie a cleat into the rope and use that instead of friction to adjust the hiking strap. There are cleats designed for this purpose in rope.
 
chucktowncolie said:
3.1.6 A hiking strap making one traverse of the cockpit may be installed. The strap may be padded for comfort with any material and shock cords may be used in the attachment system.

It does not exclude rope, grommets, the "hiking strap attachment device", etc.

This strap, and others of similar design are legal. Often doors are left open in the rules for innovation and minor experimentation.
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Chuck, the objective of the Sunfish Class has been to NOT leave doors open for innovation. The rule as written does not allow use of rope. That is obviously an error, but I don't think it means "anything goes." The question is what do the rules permit when you "install" your hiking strap.

BB
 
I don't have mine set up like this (yet). I have to use rope to attach my strap to the eye anyway, this is just a different way of using the rope. I don't think the rope is up for debate, otherwise hiking straps couldn't be attached to the boat. This hasn't been thrown out of the worlds or the midwinters.

I'm glad this opened up some form of debate of legality on this site, but I'll stand by my original statement. - It conforms to the rules as they are written. The strap is legal because it is not excluded from the rules. The design does not effect the "sunfishyness" of the boat. The hull, rig, blades, and everything else that makes it a sunfish are still there.
 
DJ, I agree with the use of the rope over the shackle. I've been having a hard time finding that particular shackle, so the rope is a great idea.

As for the knots to hold friction, there should be no penalty for knot tying innovation.

Where can I find one of those cleats you were talking about?

I'd love to hear the measurer's opinion on this as well.

I'm new to the Sunfish (bought a boat from the World's in 06, picked it up at the venue) and have nothing but love for the boat. I love seeing the various ways people rig their boats within the confines of a set of well written rules.
 
I do not think there is anything wrong with using the ropes to create friction, which allows for the adjustment. I question the legality of the piece that contains the grommets because it is NOT part of the hiking strap. If the grommets were actually part of the hiking strap, I would think it is OK.

I am not sure if using the cleat is legal. I know a former class measurer (Joel Furman) specifically made an interpretation that they were illegal in the hiking strap because it was additional hardware. That is part of the reason why I question this.

Regardless, the cleats that are on rope are here:
http://www.clamcleat.com/cleats/cleats.asp?menuid=9

There are a few choices.
 
beldar boathead said:
"...The rules are pretty vague. They say you can use shock cords in the attachment system, but they don't even say anything about rope...!!
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When development forced the teardown of a wood aircraft hanger nearby, I retrieved a piece of NOS shock cord from the trash bin. It's not quite ½" in diameter, but stretches less than rope! :eek:

It's possible this particular shock cord was used in the landing gear of the older biplanes and other aircraft that once flew here, and should be still available online.

One way to be compliant with the rules is to make a small loop of this very tough shock cord, and secure the two cord ends with wire.

:)

(NOS="New Old Stock")
 
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