Night on a CD 22

[sampson57]

A week or two ago, I spent the night on our CD 22, Gezellig, with two of my grandchildren. We turned the lights out at 10:00 pm. The boys were up in the bow, and I was in the port berth in the main cabin. They went to sleep fairly quickly, but I was never able to fall asleep. To begin with, the berth was a little tight, so I wasn't completely comfortable. Plus the hatches were all closed and it was a little claustrophobic in there, to be honest. I have since found screens for the hatches that will help with this. But the big problem was the noise. Of course the halyards were rapping against the mast, but that is too be expected. The noise that kept me awake was a loud twanging noise, like a giant guitar string being plucked. I'd say it happened at least once or twice a minute, maybe more. I figure it had to have something to do with the shrouds, but I'm not sure.

Does anybody have any thoughts on this? It was a very windy night, if that makes a difference. Thanks!

Chris Sampson
Marion MA

[Jim Walsh]

Tie your halyards off with a shock cord to minimize, or ideally, eliminate them rapping against the mast. The “twanging” sound likely was caused by the topping lift touching the back stay but that is a guess on my part. Just take the slack out of your topping lift to eliminate that. When it comes to your halyards they should always be tied off when not in actual use. You will be able to get a good nights sleep and any neighboring boats will appreciate it.

[Carl Thunberg]

Aside from loud obnoxious people, halyard slap is the single most annoying issue in a lot of anchorages. Before I went rogue and bought a CD28 power, I would run the halyards out around the spreader and back to the mast. That keeps the halyards way off the mast. Jim's theory about the topping lift hitting the backstay is as good as any. Another possibility is that your shrouds may be slightly slack. You say it was windy. Did the boat rock at all? The sound could be the sound of your shrouds tightening alternately on port and starboard. Just brainstorming possibilities. Tracking noises down can be a trial and error process, but it's worth the effort.

[Jeff D]

Chris,

I made a pair of halyard hooks that go over my spreaders. The main halyard and topping lift are hooked outboard when the boat is put away. I cut them on a bandsaw from a scrap of mahogany that I had. They have worked better than most of my ideas.

Jeff

[John Stone]

That’s great you were out on your CD 22 with the kids. Future sailors there. Awesome. Great questions too.

Ventilation—I have a small canvas awning I rig over the foredeck between the headstay and the mast. It’s shaped kind of like a pie wedge. There are grommets along the side I tie the lifelines. In the middle there is a canvas loop sewn to the center I tie to a halyard to lift it. It allows me to keep the hatch open even in the rain unless it’s blowing stink. Wind socks are great too. Makes a huge difference in air flow. Also a small pram hood—I made the hood I used on the Far Reach the first five years of sailing her—allows you to keep the boat open and ventilated in the rain as long as the boat is laying head to wind.

Shrouds. I have seven halyards on the Far Reach. I don’t use shock cord or wrap them around the spreaders to secure them. I use 3/16” stay set double braid line. I tie the outboard end to the cap shroud with a rolling hitch about 6.5 ft above the cabin top. I tie the inboard end to the half the halyards. I pass the line around the halyards and pull very snug and secure it with a clove hitch with a quick release.

I have two of these frapping lines, one on the port side and the other on the starboard side to “frap” the halyards. It works great. I use them while I am sailing as well. Always always frap those halyards or you will be unloved by your neighbors….

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[sampson57]

Thanks for all the good suggestions! Very much appreciated.

Chris