Carey:I was wondering if anyone has any insight into the install of camcleats for outhauls on the Sunfish boom?
I want to install one for outhaul and one for boom vang or dawnhaul. need to know if I should use rivets or screws and how to orient the cleat.
Thank you.
Hi, I don't think I have ever seen camcleats used on Sunfish booms. Everyone uses clamcleats as they are compact and have no moving parts to worry about.I was wondering if anyone has any insight into the install of camcleats for outhauls on the Sunfish boom?
I want to install one for outhaul and one for boom vang or dawnhaul. need to know if I should use rivets or screws and how to orient the cleat.
Thank you.
Hi Carey Seven,
I use cam cleats for adjusting the two outhauls. I think of the top boom as more of a luff tension device and will refer to it that way here.
I stressed out about location for weeks, I hate drilling holes, and finally decided on:
1. The bottom outhaul cam cleat in front of the forward boom block and mounted at a three o'clock if you look at the end of the boom from behind. The rationale being that you would release the outhaul going into/around the weather mark and that in most cases you would be rounding on starboard tack. The three o'clock position allows you to do that. You also usually start on starboard, so it helps there as well.
2. I top outhaul cam cleat I mounted forward to the bottom cleat. I think about 8 inches. This allows the luff tension to be adjusted on either tack. I don't know that it makes all the much difference unless you are racing, but I tighten it up in flat water and a breeze.
I used screws as I had some handy, but I am sure rivets would work as well. These cleats don't take much of a load, and what load there is is a shear load. You will also be using multiple purchases so the load is reduced even further. In my opinion I would not worry about the strength part of the equation.
I will take a picture tomorrow and post it here.
As it happens I will be transferring the cleats to a new boom in the next couple of weeks as the old ones are corroded to the point that one of them now has a hole in it.
Good luck!
I call it the aft mainsheet duct-tape.Picture 5: The outhaul runs along the boom, and I led it through the aft mainsheet carrier, or whatever people call it. I tried running through the forward one as well, but the angle didn't work well. Regardless, the outhaul line never sags all that much, so you could probably do without it, but on the other hand the mainsheet does, so it was an easy call to go ahead with this.
The block installed at the tack of the sail for the cunningham is not legal for racing
See the above race caveat in paragraph 2.Picture 2: This is the arrangement I used at the tack to pull the cunningham. The line is tied around the eye bolt on the upper boom. I am sure people tie it through the eye bolt, but I did not. My thought was that the line would get pinched. I used a harken micro block tied on with spectra. Both are overkill, but I had these things lying around, and so why not? The tack is tied to the eye bolts which is hat the racing community apparently does.
I don't race the boat, but I didn't like the S-hook. You will also see a piece of red wool that I used for a telltale. I have a different tell tale now, but I never took this one off. For it to work better it, it should be taped to the bottom. As it is, it gets tangled just like you see.
I used some plastic mini clam cleats I bought at West marine for $7.00. They worked well except for having to trim the flange on one of the pop-rivets a little. I believe they were Ronstan Fairlead V mini cleats.I call it the aft mainsheet duct-tape.
What I was referring to previously—as a one-piece S/S jam cleat:
At West Marine, they're now $17—double what I paid for one a few years ago.
The block installed at the tack of the sail for the cunningham is not legal for racing.
I've had both, and the racing sail definitely has a resting "blouse affect" at the foot. Perhaps the Intensity can be "coaxed" into an acceptable shape by selective ties, rather than using the factory's supplied clips exclusively. (Tighter in the middle of the foot).The sail I show in the pictures is from Intensity, which is described as a having a racing cut. I don't have another sail, so without measuring it I'm just taking their word.
With three Sunfish, I'm sure to try longitudinals out on one of them.The stringers are inside the boat and minimize hull flex. It's highly doubtful that anyone is ever going to race a 1971 hull seriously, and that modification/fix really put some life back into the boat. If you want/need more information, let me know, and I will open a separate thread.
thank you so muchI used 3/16 aluminium pop rivets. 3/16 stainless are the strongest, but they can be hard to find and they can only be removed with a cobalt drill bit. The aluminium has been fine for me.
got it thank you! however my deck cleat is pulling up and out even after rescrewing with #10 deck screws and 5200. I might need to look at the block underneath.Carey:
To prevent confusion, the vang doesn't need a new cleat. We use the halyard for that and it is tied to the cleat on the deck.
The 'downhaul' for the luff of the sail (usually referred to as Cunningham) is tied to a cleat on the boom that is not standard on older boats.
And yes, use the photos on the Starboard Passage site (see above) for clarification.
See also
http://www.laserperformance.global/product_images/pdf/Sunfish Rigging Guide.pdf
yes I just purchased a used racing sail North sailsCarey - do you have a racing sail? The standard sails I would not bother with cleats. The racing sails are fuller cut and the cleats allow for better shaping of the sail for different sailing conditions.
Carey,
Take one screw out of the deck cleat and loosen the other and rotate. Put some epoxy (fiberglass) in the hole and when dry, redrill and put the cleat back in place and tighten. Then repeat for the other screw.
Very good idea, but I've found placing a cam cleat next to the cockpit eases hoisting—with no unsteady kneeling on the deck needed. The tension at the cam cleat (and the factory fairlead) is "in shear", and there's no evidence of damage from tension. Except for the necessary effort in releasing the halyard, a cheaper clam cleat would work just as easily.I would add the mast cleat no matter what. it's a much more direct connection structurally, and takes almost the entire halyard tension off the fiberglass deck.
Very good idea, but I've found placing a cam cleat next to the cockpit eases hoisting—with no unsteady kneeling on the deck needed. The tension at the cam cleat (and the factory fairlead) is "in shear", and there's no evidence of damage from tension. Except for the necessary effort in releasing the halyard, a cheaper clam cleat would work just as easily.
I'd like to add a proper vang block and line, leading the line through the Sunfish deck cleat to a cam cleat near the cockpit. (To join the halyard cam cleat that is already in place).Hi lvw,
I use a mast cleat for the reasons tag mentions, but I also like it because I can use the loose end of the halyard as a boom vang. With the halyard tied to the mast, I can have the vang as loose or as tight as I want without worrying about halyard tension. Do you use a boom can't with your arrangement, and if so can you tell us how it works?
Thanks.