Roller furling

nriggio

New Member
Hello All, Just purchased a 1987 Capri 14.2, and am figuring out some things. It's my second sailboat of about this size. The first was a Rinker 16 with main and jib. That was fourteen years ago. First question. What is the cunningham for? There is a hole at the top of the boom where it slides into the mast, and at the bottom as well. Is the top one for the cunningham? What's the other one for at the bottom? Is it only the tension of the mainsail that supports the boom at the mast. (Can't be!) I do have the line running from the top of the mast to the outboard end of the boom. I'm most interested in making this a safe sail. I ordered the Jiffy reef kit from sailrite, and want to get a roller furler for the jib. Does the roller furler operate electrically, or coiled spring? I also need to take up some slack in the shrouds to tune the mast to the proper rake and tighten things up. The shrouds have these white sleeves over them at the base to protect against abrasion of the jib leads, and the crew. Do these slide up? I've given it a token try, but don't like to force things if I don't know what I'm doing. And whoever owned the boat before me stuffed some wood shims just in the forepeak at the joint of the centerboard trunk. Ever hear of someone doing this? And for what? I called the guy, but don't get an answer on his cell. He moved to Canada. Also, what about putting some hardware on the hull for tying off and/or dropping an anchor. What do I do, just screw into the fibreglass with a wood screw after I pre-drill, or go through with a toggle bolt? (I know, it sounds kind of stupid, but there it is.) Glad to get back on the water? Nick
 
Nick,
I am not the most experienced on this forum, but I will give it a go.

The cunnigham is used to adjust the tightness of the Luff (front edge) of the Main sail.

I am not sure what "holes" you are talking about and I have a 1996 mod 3 so it may be slightly different. Here is how it is setup on my boat.

There should be a hole on the bottom of the gooseneck that fits into the mast grove
Tie a figure eight knot in a piece of line about two and a half feet long.
Thread the line through the hole in the gooseneck
Thread the line through the hole above the tack in your sail
Now draw the line tight just enough to take the wrinkles out of the leading edge of the sail
Cleat the line in the jam cleat on the side of the mast
The rule is, the more wind the tighter you set the cunningham, it flattens the sail. Flat sails are good sails in high winds.

Boom support. The boom has a gooseneck that slides into the mast. Yes it it needs support. This comes in two varieties (besides the main sail) a lift line (not sure if that is what they call it) as you describe on your boat or a boom kicker which supports the boom with flexible rods (approx 2.5 feet long) that run from the mast below the boom to about 2 feet out on the bottom of athe boom. The boom sits in sort of a sling between the two rods. I am sure that you could do a search for boom kicker to see more info. I have this and I am happy with it.

I also wonder from your questions if you have "found" the boom vang. This runs from the pad eye on the bottom of the boom about 2 feet from the mast to the mast about 2 feet below the boom. There will be a section of cable about ten inches long then some line and a block then a line that connects to the mast. This is used to keep the tension down on the boom when the main sheets are eased.

Furler. I have a Harken Furler. I doubt that you would want an electric powered furler. If you do a search on this forum for furler and you find some good info. basically there is a small line wraped around a spool at the bow connector of the JIB. (I believe that you need to modify the original Jib) If you unfurl the Jib the line is wrapped onto the spool. When you want to furl just pull on the line while easing the jib sheets. You must tie off the end of the line. Currently I use the Jib Car adjust screw. It's not the best, but it works.


Shroud covers...Not sure but I imagine these are just plastic "tubes"and were pressed over the shroud adjusters. If you can't pull them off, maybe cut them off.

Not sure about the wood shims except that I have seen mention here that there are some centerboards that are too narrow and maybe this was a fix.

Cleats... Do a search for cleats...I think you will find a thread. Someone (sorry I do not remember who) has cleats installed at the bow and towards the rear. Holes were drilled through the deck OUTSIDE of the hull! Look under the edge of the boat and you will see that there is about an inch between the lip and the side of the hull. Round brass stock (1/2 inch diameter I think) with two holes matching the Cleat holes was used under the lip to distribute the load.


Finally, Nick I would suggest that you order the handbook from this site to supoport the site and get some valuable info.


Art
 
Here is the cleats post by Art Porter

Art Porter
Junior Member

Registered: Sep 2003
Location:
Posts: 28
Cleats
Art J
My C14 had cleats near both bow and stern when I got it. The cleats are 5 inchs long.
The centers of the cleats are 15" from the bow and 8" from the stern. The holes are drilled to enter the center of the cove where the fiberglas wraps to join the deck to the hull. 3/8" diameter brass rods with two holes drilled through each are positioned in the inside radius of the joint. The screws pass through the rods to distribute the loads. The cleats are secured with stainless steel machine screws and locking nuts. Couldn't have done a better job myself.
Art
 

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