CAN 8050 Rigging Project

Article written by Henry Pedro

Background

Albacore CAN8050 started life out as a community-club issue Albacore. Like any new Albacore these days that was built for racing, it was delivered at minimum weight, with remote sail controls, tapered mast and cored hull. It has proven to be quick and nimble when handled properly, having carried its skipper and crew to a second-place finish at the Canadian Albacore Championships and a top-ten finish at the North American Albacore Championships. Not bad for a production line model.

Having sailed this boat for a season I became frustrated with a few things and decided that a winter project was in order. CAN8050 came equipped with three sail controls remote-led to the side rails. These controls were jib halyard tension, vang and cunningham. Each remote line ended in a figure-eight stopper knot.

This led to some problems: firstly, when sailing in anything over moderate conditions where the crew and skipper were always sitting out hiking, the remote halyard tension and vang tension ropes were constantly being adjusted one one side more than the other. This makes sense in that many beats favour one tack over another, and planing reaches are always sailed on the same tack. Too many times when rounding the windward mark and needing to let out vang tension there seemed to always be not enough line to let out! Sure enough, looking down to the leeward side of the boat there would invariably be three metres of remote line! Anyone who has sent his or her crew diving to the opposite side of the boat to "even out the remotes" knows what I'm talking about. Try this in 20 knots of wind!

The solution to this problem is to make the remote lines continuous. A simple concept - just make the remote tails really long and splice them together, but how does one keep things neat and simple? For this we went looking and eventually ended up in North American Albacore Champion Barney Harris's workshop. He has come up with some nifty packaging solutions that I have re-created, adapted, and in rare cases, improved upon for CAN8050.

Continuous Triple Cascaded Jib Halyard Tensioner

Almost everyone is familiar with the ubiquitous Harken Magic Box(tm). Simply put, it is a compact 8 inch or 12 inch long self contained pulley system that is rigged for eight-to-one purchase. That is, pulling on the free end of the magic box with one pound of force should produce eight pounds of force on the business end. This is rarely the case because of the small and numerous (7) pulleys. There is a huge amount of friction generated in these boxes, which makes them very inefficient.

The first thing we did on CAN8050 was replace this magic box system with a cascaded multi-purchase system. this consisted of a 3:1 first stage, a 2:1 second stage and a 2:1 third stage with a total purchase of 12:1. The disadvantage here is that this system operates in the entire length of the cockpit! The advantage is much less friction, hence greater efficiency. Besides it is packaged in such a way that it does not get in the way of the skipper or crew in normal operation of the boat.

Note: this modification was done by Ontario Yachts prior to delivery. The winter project involved re-strining the lines and adding the take-up systems for continuous line.

In order to do this, I removed all the "stuff" from the inside of the transom, including the hiking straps. I needed a clean slate to work with.

Next I built the first stage of the cascade: the 3:1 system. I used 1/8" Vectrus-12 rope, a high-load single "bullet" block with a becket, a high load cheek block riveted to the side of the mast base, and a high load single bullet block attached to the mast step with an eye strap. Because I decided to use a cheek block on the mast itself rather than on the step, I made the becket on the first bullet block removable so that I can un-reeve the line when I want to remove the mast. The first stage terminates at another thimble attached to a final high-load bullet block. The end point of the first stage is around the centreboard pivot bolt on the port side of the centreboard trunk. Try to be imaginative and see a mast rather than a 2 x 4 in this picture.

Rather than tying any knots in the rope (which reduce the lead carrying capability of the rope), I inserted a wire thimble and back-spliced wherever a knot would have been. (Click here for a step-by-step guide to splicing) Vectrus-12 is a fairly new product which has a very high breaking strength: try 2000 pounds for a 1/8" diameter rope! And to boot, it diesn't stretch or creep, it is low friction running through blocks, and doesn't cost much more than other lesser ropes on the market.

The second stage of the halyard cascade is a simple 2:1 system that dead-ends on the transom (with a back-spliced thimble) and runs through the terminal bullet block on the first stage. The second stage also terminates in its own block, in this case a lightweight 40mm carbon airblock. The end point is right up near the centreboard pivot bolt. I did this so that the two end blocks in stages 1 and 2 run into each other with the rig tension fully off. The rope used was the same as in stage 1: 1/8" Vectrus-12.

The third stage is a bit more complex. I had two options. I could simply rig the third stage and terminate the lines at the remote control boards on the gunwales at the thwart, or I could rig them so that the third stage would be continuous with a shock cord take-up. I chose the latter so that I could eliminate the line tails that always ended up in the bottom of the cockpit, or were too short on one side when I wanted to let rig tension out. There is no real good way to explain it, but take a look at the pictures, and the line diagram. The third stage ropes are 5/32" Marlow Super Pre-Stretch

Finished install: Transom layout of halyard cascade, third stage. Note the detail of the installation on the transom.

Continuous 16:1 Triple Cascade Vang

I did not have to do too many modifications to the vang. Ontario Yachts produces racing Albacores with 16:1 vang systems that are terminated at the side control boards. I kept the same basic layout with some improvements. First, I replaced stages 1 and 2 with small high load bullet blocks and 1/8" Vectrus-12 line. This gave me a low friction super strong stages 1 and 2 where it is needed most. Stage 3 is similar to the stock factory issue, except that I used thinner 5/32" Marlow Super-Prestretch line than runs more smoothly through the blocks, and allowed me to splice the ends together and let the splice run through the blocks. Plus I added a slick shock-cord takeup system that pulls up the slack in the line tails. This also makes the third stage continuous, allowing you to pull vang on one side, and let it out on the other side without having to worry about running out of line. Ths shock cord is attached to the chainplate via a sister-clip which lets you release the shock cord when you're not sailing (to extend the life of the shock cord) and in light air when you do not want any tension at all in the vang. The schematic shows how the layout of the vang third stage is arranged.

Notice how the blocks and cleats are mounted (remember, measure twice and drill once!)

Port Side, 17" forward of transom

Port Side Control Board (note mounting of cheek block) (blue = vang; red = halyard tension; white = cunningham)

I rigged the first and second stage of the vang such that when the vang is completely off, all three blocks (see 1, 2, & 3 below) hit each other at the attachment point of the boom. This ensures maximum travel in the vang, which is important. When you're sailing upwind in 25 - 30 knots of wind you want a lot of vang on, so it has to have a large range.

In older boats this was not a problem, because they were only two stage systems: a 3:1 first stage with a 4:1 second stage. This system is triply-cascaded (stage 1 = 2:1; stage 2 = 2:1; stage 3 = 4:1) so careful measurements have to be made as to how each stage interacts with the other.

I made the attachment point on the boom 26" aft of the gooseneck. This was a good compromise between crew space and leverage. I also decided to leave the triple block intact at the mast step, although there are alternately rigged systems which replace this triple with two swiveling single blocks, and a third bullet block at the "existing mast fitting" (see below). It is said that this setup allows the vang to operate more smoothly when reaching, although you do lose some range in vang travel. I will investigate this setup in the future and report its relative benefits.

Note that stages 1 and 2 both dead-end at the "existing mast fitting". In fact, these are not two pieces of rope, but rather the same continuous piece of rope with a thimble spliced in. This is less work because it involves one less back-splice, but requires more accurate measurement.

With the thin 1/8" rope used in stages 1 and 2 along with the relatively thin 5/32" line used for the third stage, the vang is now super smooth, and easy to pull.

4:1 Cunningham

I went with this particular 4:1 system for two reasons: Firstly I wanted both minute control of the mainsail luff tension in medium airs and high power in heavy air. The long pull of a 4:1 system allowed me to have razor sharp control of the luff tension in medium winds, and I can really wail on the cunningham for heavy air, since 4:1 give me significant mechanical advantage.

Secondly, I wanted a cunningham system that did not use the mainsail's cunningham hole as a purchase point. ie: I did not want the rope to "run" through the hole. This system is ingenious in that it pulls equally on both sides of the mainsail.

It is not a new idea. Tornado sailors have been using this type of system for years, a variation of this setup is drawn out in detail in the back of the Harken catalogue, and Toronto Friday Night Series champion Kevin Smith first showed it to me.

Notice the third bullet block that is rigged "sideways" in the mast step. The two pink lines run all the way up to the cunningham hole in the mainsail. The port side pink line is terminated as a loop. The starboard side pink line is terminated in a plastic ball. When I hook the cunningham up, I pass the loop through the cunningham hole, put it around the ball and tug down on it gently. Easy to rig, easy to derig, and this system really works. Try it!

2:1 Remote Barber-Hauler

Lately, if you ordered barber haulers on your new Ontario Yachts boat you would get a basic system that consisted of a plastic ring tied to a line that led through the deck at the bulkhead. This line then went under the deck across to the opposite side of the boat and terminated at a "clam-cleat" on the aft side of the deck.

I found this system quite silly, because by the time you really need barber-haulers, you are already planing. This means the crew is up on the side, sitting aft in the boat. It really didn't make sense to send the crew up to the front of the boat, disturbing the boat's balance, causing it to fall out of plane. This necessitated a remote system, but how to go about installing it in an already crowded control board? Put the cleat underneath the control board! I first tried this on CAN7700 the boat that I crewed in for the 1999 Albacore Worlds with Chris Gorton. Spending a full week in that boat meant that it had to be crew friedly, so we tried that system and it worked beautifully.

Next, I wanted the barber hauler to be a 2:1 system, so that the crew would not have to release the jib to set the barber hauler. In high winds, the tension in the jib sheet is high, which makes setting a 1:1 barber hauler difficult to impossible. Not so with this system.

My barber hauler (which is a variation on the system that Chris Gorton developed) uses the stock position for the through-deck fitting, and instead of the high friction routing, I installed a 16mm double airblock in the bulkhead. I also used 12mm micro ball bearing blocks for turning and purchase, and plain 1/8" cored polyester pre-stretch lines. OK, so I made them pink for high visibility.

The finishing touch was to use 28mm bullet blocks instead of plastic rings at the terminus of the barber hauler (the part that you feed the jib sheet through) Although this requires the use of thinner 1/4" jib sheets, they run much more smoothly through the barber hauler which makes jib trim a breeze in heavy air. It does however, require the use of gloves.

Double airblock mounted on the bulkhead under the deck for turning.

Starboard Barber hauler led to the port side 12 mm micro ball bearing block for a 2:1 system.

Starboard barber hauler. Another micro ball bearing block mounted on a shackle under the deck for turning.

Detail. Notice to the left is the through-deck fitting for the port-side barber hauler.

The finished control board. Notice how the barber hauler (pink) runs underneath the control board through a cleat mounted upside-down under the board.

Adding a Centerboard Downhaul

Last season I modified CAN8050 with advanced control systems. Having spent a full season with this setup I can say that it is a big improvement over the stock setup in terms of ease of use, line organization and system performance. I especially like the lightweight thin high tech lines for the vang. This line has proven durable and relatively friction free compared to the clunky lines that were in place before.

Now that these systems are in place, one area that I found lacking in refinement was the centreboard. Like most Albacores, 8050's board is held in place by a restrictor line or pennant which is tied to the horn of the board and cleated at the thwart. This has proven troublesome for me and my crews since adjustments on reaching legs.

Have you ever ventured into shallow water and realized just a little too late with an ominous scraping or crunching of your centreboard hitting bottom? Ever damaged the leading edge of the centreboard on a rock? I sure have and the price to pay later is a gel coating session followed by painstaking grinding sanding and polishing to get that board back to race condition.

This has always been a problem, especially at community clubs where boats are sailed often by many different people including novices. At my club, Westwood Sailing Club, we have tried using centreboard rope pennants which have thin covers that shred when the board hits ground. This worked semi-successfully, but the source of that type of line has dried up.

For a time the best solution was a pennant-less centreboard that was inserted and held by its own friction in the centreboard trunk. I used this type of board a few years ago and I enjoyed the fact that it was easy to raise and lower, would stay in place on reaches and I did not have to worry about running aground with it.

Recently I tried out a system that I saw implemented on a friend’s boat – a centreboard that used a purchase system to pull it down and held in place with the rope’s friction. Best of all it eliminated the pennant cleat.

This system I built is an implementation of that system. It was written and illustrated by Barney Harris and published in the Albacourier the US Albacore Association newsletter.

It uses a 2:1 purchase system to lower the board remotely, and features a shock cord take-up to clean up the slack. It also features a sharp angle turn of the rope through a fairlead eye which combined with the tension in the shock cord, keeps the centreboard from self-raising when I am on a reach with the board half way up.

The “downhaul” line starts at the thwart where I dead-ended it (figure eight knot) through a hole drilled in the thwart. It then passes through a cheek block attached to the centreboard “horn” and then back through a “bullet” block strapped to the centreboard cap just aft of the thwart. Then the line passes through a fairlead eye installed as a funny angle on the side of the control board such that the line turns aft through a floating bullet block and then dead ends back at the control board.

The "floating" block is attached to a piece of shock cord that runs aft under the side deck to an eye strap located under the side deck about four feet from the transom. The shock cord is led back forward and dead ended the side control board. I made this extra turn to keep the system’s overall length down while increasing the length of the sock cord itself. The shock cord has to be long so that is won't over or under-stretch.

Having this floating block pulled by the shock cord reduces the travel of the take up system keeping the shock cord always tense so that it has some pull on the downhaul rope at all times. I tried attaching the downhaul rope directly to the shock cord (without the floating block) and found that it traveled too much and the shock cord would go slack when the centreboard was all the way down.

Preliminary tests of this system show lots of promise. It holds in place nicely on reaches, and is easy to lower with a simple tug on the downhaul penant that runs alongside the thwart. Plus I’ve found it extremely useful during races when I approach the leeward mark in traffic and the crew is busy taking the whisker pole down and trimming the jib. A quick tug on the pennant (It’s rigged on the port side of the boat since most races are buoys-to-port) and the centreboard is down instantly! I’m quite happy with this system.

Conclusion

Well that is stage 1 of the winter project. Hopefully all these systems will add to the pleasure of sailing, and allow me to make sail adjustments without having to think about what I am doing. Because all the system are now logically laid out, with a definite place for each one, I can make adjustments without having to take my eyes off the water. It will help me keep my head out of the boat and in the race longer. I'll see how well they work!

Questions or comments? email me at can7700 [at] gmail [dot] com

Special thanks to Chris Gorton, Barney Harris, Kevin Smith for letting me steal your ideas.