Asymmetrical spin turning block mount

[shawnmce]

I am planning to mount a Sea Dog Eye Plate on each stern quarter of my CD26 so that I have the ability to install turning blocks for my asymmetrical spinnaker. I have been reading about different techniques of drilling the deck prior to installing and am questioning what I may run into as far as the deck core (balsa core vs plywood vs solid glass). I am thinking of mounting the eye pad as far aft and as far outboard as possible without getting too close to the teak. This approximate area would be aft of the docking cleat. Anyone have experiences drilling the deck in this particular spot and what I might expect to find?

[Russell]

I know on the CD36, and likely all CDs, near the edges of the deck, a couple inches before hitting the hull/deck joint, its always solid glass. I suspect the location you are considering you will find that to be the case. If not however, the standard methods for sealing off the deck core are easy to do and perfectly fine.

[Steve Laume]

I did exactly what you are talking about. I used 4" bronze eyes with a diamond bolt pattern. I think you will find that the inner bolts will be in a cored deck area. Fill the core areas and you should be fine. The backing plate was more of a challenge because it falls right over the deck joint. I made mine of 3/4" plywood and ground in the shape before bedding them in.

I use mine for the turning blocks but also for my jack line and the life sling. It is nice to have the stern cleats free for the dinghy or dock lines, Steve.

[SurryMark]

Last year, the first year using an asym, I lashed blocks near the bottom of the stern pulpit post. It worked fine. I may put a fitting on the deck, against the possibility of bigger waves and fluky wind collapsing and refilling the asym, but the pulpit is strong, and I'll probably have the sail furled under those conditions. Thinking about it now, I'm wondering about a strap from the stern cleat to the block.

[Steve Laume]

The stern pulpit is strong for it's intended purpose. The loads from the life lines are well distributed to the entire structure.

I would worry about placing that much load directly on one welded base. The material is thin and there is not much surface for the weld. It might hold up okay but I know there was a tread on here a while ago about fixing sheared or cracked base welds.

Before mounting the dedicated eyes, I used a loop of webbing with a snatch block tied to the stern cleat with a larks head. You could pull the boat around with that attachment point and that is pretty much what the sail is doing. The only down side is that there is a bunch of stuff competing for that spot if you are towing a dinghy and have jack lines rigged, Steve.

[kerlandsen]

I would suggest just using the stern cleat and save drilling holes. On my now sold TyS i made a small loop of spectra on the block and then led it thru the cleat and hitched back around itself. Very easy. Easy to remove, etc.

[shawnmce]

I have used the stern docking cleats for the past year along with a climbing runner from REI to attach the block. The problem is the spin sheet interferes with the stern rail. Those constant lateral pressures on the stern rail will eventually lead to problems down the road with it's attachment point on the deck. A few drilled holes to add a proper fitting for the turning block with no interference will help me sleep better. The unknown is the construction of the deck at the proposed mounting area. If it is solid glass, I suppose drilling, backing and sealing with 4200/Life Seal would work without the need for overdrilling the hole and recoring the deck with epoxy.

[shawnmce]

Today I had the opportunity to travel to the boat and was able to inspect the underside of the deck. It seems that I have a choice of mounting the eye pad in four locations, all structurally different.

My first choice is to mount close to the side wooden toerail directly on the deck which is still part of the overlap of the hull/deck joint. My thinking is that this would be the strongest part of the deck which is extra thick and all glass.

Another option is to mount directly on top of the wooden toerail similiar to the genoa tracks and drill through the hull/deck joint.

Third choice is to move the mounting point further inboard a few inches, more like the mounting point of the docking cleat but much further aft. This would be through the cored portion of the deck and would require the over drilling and recoring process.

Fourth option is the small area between the hull/deck joint and the cored deck. It seems the Schaeffer backing plate I will be using is the exact width of this area but using additional plywood backing would require a skilled hand at shaping it to fit the contours.

Anyone have any optinions? If I decide to mount on my first choice, should I do more than just drill and seal the deck with LifeSeal or 4200?

[seadog6532]

We put a snach block on the aft cleat and it works just fine. We sailed most of the way across the Gulf of Mexico in very light air last year like this and had no problems. We always try to KISS.

[John Ring]

I would suggest just using the stern cleat and save drilling holes. On my now sold TyS i made a small loop of spectra on the block and then led it thru the cleat and hitched back around itself. Very easy. Easy to remove, etc.

I'm not a big fan of drilling new holes, or permanently fixing seldom used hardware either. I run an asymmetrical spinnaker on my CD28 by simply running the sheet through the stern cleat itself as a turning block. The chute flies fine, and the boat still looks neat, clean, & classic back on the mooring.

John