Association Forum - Cunningham and Downhaul

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Cunningham and Downhaul

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

mfasis
Navigator

Member Avatar

114 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/09/2005 : 10:41:25

Does anyone have and pictures of how they have rigged both a Cunningham and a Downhaul?

Mark Britton
Huntington, NY
'82 C25 FK/SR #3202
"Good News"

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
5913 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2005 : 12:52:09

I don't have a photo, but can describe them, and provide a hyperlink to a drawing that will help somewhat. If I remember correctly, downhauls on the mainsail were standard equipment on the C25, and cunninghams were optional.

The downhaul consisted of a short piece of line tied to the hole in the bottom of the gooseneck. The other end of the line was cleated to a cleat in the mainsail track at the base of the mast (see part # 6 on the following drawing).

The cunningham consisted of a small pad eye affixed to the port side of the mast about a foot below the boom. A piece of line was tied to the pad eye, and fed through the cunningham grommet of the mainsail, and then it was cleated to a small cleat that was attached to the starboard side of the mast, about a foot below the boom (see drawing).

Click on the following hyperlink to see a drawing of the cunningham and downhaul hardware:

http://catalina25-250.org/manbro/pictures/pc16.gif

Edited by - on

Bill Holcomb
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
769 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2005 : 15:56:34

Hi Mark,

Here's a link to the brochure's section of the website and the page that shows the boom assembly (page 16)
http://www.catalina25-250.org/manbro/pictures/pc16.gif
This picture shows the cunningham line rigged through the cunningham cringle and leading to a cleat on the mast. The other end of the cunningham line is secured to a SS padeye on the port side of the mast.

The boom downhaul line is not shown. However it is secured to the hole in the gooseneck slide and leads to the cleat (#6) in the mast slot.

Bill Holcomb - C25 Snickerdoodle #4839

Edited by - on

Ed Montague
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
499 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2005 : 16:51:37

This photo doesn't show the downhaul very clearly, but maybe it will help. I have a double block attached to the gooseneck and to the mast base to get 4 to 1 purchase. The line is then lead over to a deck organizer and then back to a triple cam cleat near the cockpit. I have never felt the need for a cunningham with the adjustable gooseneck although I am sure that somebody will point out some use for the redundancy.

The downhaul is the red line on the back of the mast.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2005 : 17:00:40

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ed Montague

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Do you use a club footed jib?

Edited by - on

Ed Montague
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
499 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2005 : 19:09:55

Frank, My boat originally was kept on the San Fransico Bay Delta. Very heavy wind most of the time. Many of the boats from that area have this setup as you don't need more then a 90% headsail and there is alot of tacking. It is a very nice setup for heavy air. I need a larger sail for the light air we get occasionly here in the Sierra Foothills so I removed most of the gear (it is safely stored away) and now have a 150 on a CDI furler. The traveller and blocks are still on the boat. There is a thru bolt-eye in the middle of my foredeck that I have been wondering if I could setup another headsail up for a cutter rig.

It would be fun to try. Or even better yet, how about using the eye to fasten a stay sail for heavy air.

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2005 : 12:20:03

Ed,
I have both the boom down haul and the cunningham and seldom use either. Once my dodger is set up and the boom adjusted to it, that's how I sail(not race). It's my understanding that when one has both the boom downhaul and the cunningham the cunnhingham is used to reduce the ammount of excess footage of the sail to comply with sail measurements for racing. Also if one has a fixed boom/mast configuration then the cunningham is used to take excess slack out of the sail's luff after it has been raised to it's max.

Val on Calista # 3936

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
5913 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2005 : 12:48:16

I use both the downhaul and cunningham. I put just enough tension on the downhaul to smooth the wrinkles out of the sail and to give it a full shape for sailing downwind and in light air. Then, when the wind gusts, and when we're sailing to windward, I use the cunningham to flatten the sail and move the pocket forward.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2005 : 19:32:37

My boom is at a fixed position (due to my bimini) as is my cunningham, with the main halyard being the only control line that is used to adjust luff tension.

My cunningham consists of a short line that is first tied off to a starboard side mast cleat. From there it is led up through the cunningham cringle and then tied off to a port side mast cleat. The length of this line is set so it only has tension on it when I put tension on the main halyard.

When the wind pipes up, this fixed cunningham setup lessens the forces exerted on the gooseneck, which is the weakest link in the entire rig, and reduces the number of luff tension control lines to just the main halyard.

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.