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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Cunningham Explained

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weluvlife
Navigator

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166 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/18/2003 : 03:56:34

Hello,

I am about to rig up a cunningham, but am not quite clear on the exact use.

I think it is used to help flatten the main. I am slightly confuses with this, because I tighten the halyard when the wind picks up. The cunningham further tightens the luff? Should I loose the main halyard a bit, then take up on the cunningham?

As a child, I used to race with my father, and vaguely remember the cunningham. My main is old, and I need all the flattening I can muster, when the wind picks up.

Thanks,

Mark Eichman
Lake Don Pedro,CA
www.lakedonpedrosailingclub.org
'86 c25 TR, SK

Edited by - on

osmepneo
Past Commodore

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USA
1420 Posts

Response Posted - 11/18/2003 : 07:18:02

Mike,

Cunningham tensions the luff, which allows you to flatten the main, or make the sail fuller. Its advantage is control and ease of adjusting. If you want the sail full for an off wind sailing, you uncleat and its done. Also with a moveable gooseneck raisinr the main will also raise the boom, unless the boom is fixed in place. Net effect could be zero.

Making the sail fuller with the main also has risk. If you loose control of the main the sail could start to c0ome down.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/18/2003 : 08:00:11

There is a presumption that your headboard is always at the top. Most racers would never consider fixing their boom at a lower point and leaving room at the top to adjust luff tension with the main halyard. If you do that then your boom stop had better be a good one or you will pop the stop and then need to go to the mast and reset the boom stop and retension the halyard. In a blow, (where a cunningham is used) that would be a drag. It is just better to pull against the main halyard with the cunningham. I am leading mine back this winter and adding a purchase to it.

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Steve Kostanich
1st Mate

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88 Posts

Response Posted - 11/18/2003 : 11:27:32

I am going to speculate that cunninghams came about from one-design classes that require "black banding" on the mast to delinate the position and maximum length of a mainsail luff. The sail's luff can not be stretched beyond the bands, and racers like maximun size sails, so to tension the luff without going beyond the bands, the cunningham works great and keeps everything legal. This is the way it was when I raced a Cat-22 in the '70's. The class rules spelled things out pertty clearly, and when your boat was measured, the band spacing was part of it as well as the main's luff length.

Steve Kostanich C-25 1119 Equinox sr/sk

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weluvlife
Navigator

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166 Posts

Response Posted - 11/18/2003 : 13:19:11

Thank you for the replies.

I have my gooseneck fixed and have been using only the halyard for tension. No downhaul.

Unless concerned with the "black banding" and racing, what would be the difference between tensioning the halyard or tensioning a cunningham?

I'd love to see a photo of someones multi-purchase cunningham system, ran back to the cockpit.

Please excuse all of my earlier posting's typos :)

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 11/18/2003 : 14:11:28

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Unless concerned with the "black banding" and racing, what would be the difference between tensioning the halyard or tensioning a cunningham?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

One reason to use the cunningham to tension the luff instead of the main halyard is to keep the load off of the gooseneck, which is about the weakest link on the entire rig.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/18/2003 : 15:03:52

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by dlucier
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Unless concerned with the "black banding" and racing, what would be the difference between tensioning the halyard or tensioning a cunningham?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

One reason to use the cunningham to tension the luff instead of the main halyard is to keep the load off of the gooseneck, which is about the weakest link on the entire rig.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
You really nailed that! I have not seen the fixed ones, maybe they are better.

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DougA
1st Mate

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USA
73 Posts

Response Posted - 11/18/2003 : 15:40:50

I have a book "Origins of Sea Terms" by John G. Rogers and this is his definition.

Cunningham An adjustment device or a cringle and lace-line above the tack of a fore-and-aft sail, to “fine-tune” its shape. It is modern device, mostly for racing boats, and is named for its inventor Briggs Cunningham, a well-known sailor.

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Steve Kostanich
1st Mate

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88 Posts

Response Posted - 11/18/2003 : 17:28:27

I don't have a photo of my cunningham, but is simply a stainless hook on a double bullet block that hooks in the cummingham cringle and reaves to another double bullet block with a becket on an eye at the foot of the mast, with the tail turned back thru leads to a clam cleat on the starboard cabin top. Don't know if that all makes sense, but it works pretty good.
Steve Kostanich C-25 1119 Equinox sr/sk

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