"New Boom" single line reefing

[tjr818]

Jim,
When I go up to the boat this Wednesday I will take some better profile pictures and post.
This picture also shows another modification I made the first year I had the boat. I had both Halyards taken inside or internal in the mast... This gave me the option of adding two additional halyards because of the arrangements inside the mast. I re-ran (replaced) all the wiring as well (in conduit), which was part of the motivation. I now have a spare Genoa halyard forward and using the other spare main halyard as a topping lift with a small block to adjust at the end near the end of the boom (previous picture).
I will also take a better picture of this arrangement as well this weekend.

That is a project I have scheduled for the next time we pull the mast. i would love to hear more about that. How did you cut the slots in the mast and where did you get that good looking slot fairlead?

[Jim Walsh]

Jim,
When I go up to the boat this Wednesday I will take some better profile pictures and post.
This picture also shows another modification I made the first year I had the boat. I had both Halyards taken inside or internal in the mast... This gave me the option of adding two additional halyards because of the arrangements inside the mast. I re-ran (replaced) all the wiring as well (in conduit), which was part of the motivation. I now have a spare Genoa halyard forward and using the other spare main halyard as a topping lift with a small block to adjust at the end near the end of the boom (previous picture).
I will also take a better picture of this arrangement as well this weekend.

That is a project I have scheduled for the next time we pull the mast. i would love to hear more about that. How did you cut the slots in the mast and where did you get that good looking slot fairlead?

That's a Ronstan exit plate. Easiest way to cut a slot is to drill two holes and join them using a Dremel.

[tjr818]

Thanks Jim,
Is there anything to be concerned about as for the location of the slots? Are they directly opposite each other, or staggered? I know that the mast is considered a compression member not a bending member, but I am hesitant to start cutting on the mast. Any good reference articles you can recommend?

[Jim Walsh]

Thanks Jim,
Is there anything to be concerned about as for the location of the slots? Are they directly opposite each other, or staggered? I know that the mast is considered a compression member not a bending member, but I am hesitant to start cutting on the mast. Any good reference articles you can recommend?

This is an excerpt from a forum posting by Brian Toss.
"staggering the exits and keeping sharp bits away from the halyards are the keys. We like to see at least a foot of vertical clearance between any two halyards. Sometimes on stout masts you can have exits at roughly the same height, on opposite sides of the mast, but never on the same side."