Sunfish proper placement of halyard on upper boom

Judge

New Member
I am new to this forum and have what I hope is a simple question. Where is the proper place on the upper boom to attach the halyard line that comes off of the top of the mast. I guess it is so many inches or plastic rings back from the peak, but I don't know how many. Thanks for your help.
 
I am new to sailing so the experts on the forum will have an answer. But I recently had the same question and found the following in my research. 54" from the top for racing and 74" for recreational, then I supposed anywhere in between depending upon wind and preference. I am interested in other answers as well.
 
I am new to sailing so the experts on the forum will have an answer...I am interested in other answers as well.

I'm not an expert in this, but I do have three Sunfish. I use a knot that looks like the attached photo. Though each knot is a bit different from one other—each has only tightened, and none has "unknotted".

To keep the knot from sliding, I wrapped the spar with duct tape, then tightened a plastic cable-tie around the lower end of the duct tape. To be really secure, the very end was dipped in epoxy.
 

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I'm not an expert either... I just read a lot of stuff about Sunfish and sailing.

Per the latest Rigging Guide from Laser Performance (see .pdf file), they recommend using a clove hitch knot, and set it between the 9th and 10th clip, counting up from the tack of the sail. If you don't have a window, moving the knot lower down (towards the tack) will raise the sail, and make it easier on your neck.

Depending on how serious you want to get, you can also see the Sunfish Tuning Guide for Racers, there is a table there with (4) different settings.

Or, see tips from Eduardo Cordero at Starboard Passage: How to Rig a Sunfish.
106"-107" measured upwards on the upper spar starting at the point where the black cap meets the upper spar on the bottom. Lowering halyard location raises the height of the boom above the deck. This adds power to the sail. Increasing the distance from the bottom to the halyard location will do the opposite. Make sure the line does not slip. Apply electrical tape on top of it.
Or, see Windline Sails: Sunfish Bending On and Tuning Guide.
Halyard: From the top of the gaff I mark 2 positions. The first is the standard racing positions which is 54" below the top of the gaff. The second is for either rigging a Jens in heavy weather or for day sailing where you might want the boom off the deck and it is at 74". Lighter sailors who use a "short Jens" may want to mark a 3rd position mid-way between the 2. I then add half a dozen wraps of white electrical tape at these marks. It is important that you use white electrical tape. Black, coloured tapes or duct tape will get hot in the sun and slide leaving a sticky mess on the spar and halyard.
Probably more than you wanted to know... but just in case.

Cheers,
Thad
 
Here's a picture of mine - I actually have the halyard knot between the 10th and 11th clip, but with a window, I prefer the sail to set kind of low to the deck.

Img0207_012.jpg

I also measured it out in my garage - I have a small tick mark with a black sharpie marker at 106" from the tack of the sail. I move the halyard a few inches lower if I am bringing someone with me while sailing, to bring the sail up just a bit.

Cheers,
Thad
 

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