Reefing Blocks in Boom

[jlodolce]

My outhaul is is comprised of a cable from clew, thru one of the four pulley's at the aft end of my boom, into the mast to a block (the block is at least 2/3 of the way forward). There is a short 3/8" line that goes thru the forward end of the cable block and is tied to a chock on the starboard side of the mast. So I have not had any need to change that line (I have changed every other line of my rigging except this one). My outhaul cable does not get in the way of the 2 sets of reef lines and butterfly blocks. The reef lines used to commonly get twisted and tangled up in the outhaul cable, but , this seemed to go away with the new Sampson XLS reef line. The XLS reef line I used is very smooth and, I think that solved a lot of my issues raising the big main on the 40/40.

[midnightsailor]

I have removed all my running rigging in order to clean, repair, and replace each line as needed. I still have not ADDRESSED THE outhaul lines as I believe they are set up by a shackel from the clew to a cable that runs over the blockset at the aft end of the boom and in to the boom (not the mast as jlodolce describes on his F40/40). I bel;ieve this cabl then terminates on a block inside the boom from which a 1/4 double braid line runs and then exits from the side of the boom through a combination fairlead/clamcleat. Given this, I believe it will require me to remove the endcap and block set at the aft end of the boom in order to withdraw the internall block and line. I am trying to visualize how this arrangement must look... ie: how does th 1/4" braid penant attach or termijnate on the block. I imagine it must run over the block and then one end must be anchored inside the boom somewhere up towards the mast end, with the freeend passing AROUND THE BLOCK AND OUT THE SIDE OF THE BOOM. ?? iF ANYONE KNOWS HOW THIS IS ARRANGED AND CAN FURTHURE CLARIFY AND ILLUMINATE THIS FOR ME i WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATIVE. I probably will need to remove the boom in order to do this work...no? Or is it fgairly easy or possible to do this with the boom in place?.....Rick

[jlodolce]

Rick,

"There is a short 3/8" line that goes thru the forward end of the cable block and is tied to a chock on the starboard side of the mast."

The above was a typo. I meant to state that it is tied to a chock on the starboard side of the boom, not the mast.

I will look at the setup more closely the next time I am up there (probably in a couple months since she is covered up for the winter). I'll post a reply the next time I am there. What you describe sounds similar the way I recall mine is set up.

[bad]

I would recommend taking booth end caps off to get at best at everything, but taking the mast end (tack end) off will always work, though taking the clew end can sometimes work depending on your purchase setup.

If you are taking the tack end boom cap off.... the process involves cutting the outhaul wire at the schackle/swage so that it will be able to go through the pulley at the clew end. Then tape a messenger line on that is the length of the boom plus a couple of feet. Tie the free end of the messenger line to the clew end of the boom (around the boom works). You likely want to tape a messenger line to the rope end of the outhaul, too. Then when you remove the tack end cap of the boom you can pull all the internals out.

This is one version of what your outhaul may look like - it is for a cascading 6x1 purchase, drawing courtesy of the Shark fleet. As you can see, for the purchases to work, one end needs to be fixed. The first 2x1 attaches at "A" at the mast end of the boom. Then the second 3x1 attaches separately at B, also at the mast end (the 2x3 gives you a 6x1). This cascades will more freely and take of less space than a single 6x1 purchase.

You may have something more simple than the above, a single 3x1 or 4x1. is a 4x1. Note that if you don't have a line terminating on the mast end cap (either directly or on a becket block that is attached to the mast end cap) you can get all the internals out from the aft end of the boom. You just need an extra long messenger line on the line end of the outhaul ( 3 or 4 times the length of the boom depending on the amount of purchase).

If you Google "internal outhaul" there is a fair amount of info on the net.

Erik & Evi
F40CC Raven

[midnightsailor]

Thanks for the nicely comprehensive description of the internal outhaul setup. Yes, it is much as I had imagined and now I am confidant that when I go to change out that penant , will know what to expect. I will likely wait to do this until spring as my boat is also under cover and of course, this is only one of many tasks that I am trying to tackle. thanks for replying to my question and for your help, Rick

[mdmatthews]

I just replaced all the running rigging on my Freedom 30 and I did have the single line reefing that uses the butterfly blocks. Right away I noticed that the old rigging was wrapped around the block and causing a lot of friction for my first reef point. I have everything running smoothly now and it works great at the dock but it will be interesting to see how it does this spring where SF Bay sailing requires constant reefing maneuvers.

I did find that using the liens attached to the leech of the main I could pull the butterfly blocks all the way to the end of the mast. The blocks fit through the stern of the boom so I was able to pull the block out with all the lines attached to inspect it. This made it very easy to re-rig the leech reef lines.

Michael Matthews
1987 Freedom 30 "Dawn Marie"

[jlodolce]

I can pull mine out the end of the boom as well. The key to that is having long enough lines on the mast side of the blocks so you can pull the blocks far enough aft to get at them. As I posted above, try replacing the reef lines with new line and it may run more smoothly. I found that the new lines untwisted inside the blocks without twisting the whole block aparatus, whereas the old line did not untwist inside the blocks and therefore twisted the entire block, creating a mess of twisted lines and blocks inside the boom. Also, keeping the blocks lubricated helped me. Having done this, I can raise the main without touching lines once I open the clutch. Of course, I have never forgotten to open the clutch when raising the sail....

Hope this is helpful.

[Ereiss]

Well I removed the reefing blocks from within the boom and couldn't be happier. Have not had even the smallest snag, so nice to not have to worry about whether I can get a reef in when it is blowing. Have seen no downside from the removal other than needing a couple of really long reefing lines to replace what I had.

FWIW

[GeoffSchultz]

Ed, what line lengths did you use?

-- Geoff

[midnightsailor]

For what its worth, the reefing lines for my main mast are 1st reef: 85 feet(the rig line list for the boat staers 75') 2nd reef 90'( rig line list says 75') For my Mizzen mast the 1st reef is 60'(rig line liust says 55') 2nd reef 70'( rig line list 55') These are all 3/8 and I am using VPC. These are for my Freedom33 Cat Ketch with tall rig/deep keel and standard booms.