Hi All,
I figured out a solution that allows the squaretop main to automatically pull the head of the sail to the mast. Normally I would have to pull the head of the sail to the headboard car and insert a pin. Since I have a harken battcar system the battcar stack is so high (and I am short!) that I have to stand on a small ladder to insert and remove the pin. There are very expensive solutions to this problem such as the Doyle anomaly headboard. There are also very complicated solutions such as the one used on Lagoon Catamarans. I figured out a simple cheap solution that works well.
I fix a large ring to the headboard car and pass my double ended halyard through it with a tylaska H8 shackle on it.
See Picture
The shackle slides in the ring and holds the head of the sail surprisingly well.
BTW the double main halyard is a blessing!!! I now use a cheap ryobi right angle drill to easily raise the main.
Michael Belanich
Dolcetto F38
I like the solution you came up with, very elegant, simple and cheap. Well done.
happy sailing
Jim D
Regarding the Ryobi right angle drill…
I have loads of Ryobi batteries and tools. The only right-angle Ryobi drill I’ve seen’ is too small a chuck for the 1/2" end of the ‘star’ that fits our winches.
What’s your set up and does that Ryobi drill have enough torque to get the sail an appreciable distance up the mast?
You are correct that the Ryobi 3/8 chuck will not fit so I used a grinder to grind down the flats on the star bit to make it fit. Since I have a 2:1 halyard the Ryobi has plenty of torque to raise the sail and tighten the halyard. I first use the drill counter clockwise until it bogs down then I switch to clockwise for the rest of the way up. You might break the setscrew and have to replace it if something jams the line while running counter clockwise (happened to me once). Its not as fast as me grinding with someone tailing but its fast enough and no sweat!
Here is a better view of the halyard and the model number of the drill. Note that when the halyard is taut it will make the shackle more vertical and pull the sail toward the mast.
Ryobi Right Angle Drill Brushless PSBRA02B
Thanks for the reply. I thought to have a deep socket in the dimensions of the ‘star’ as an adapter. Your method is less janky. However, yours will be my method of last resort, as it obviously changes the tool permanently.
Much appreciated.