Due to the placement of the gaff batten, which is permanently attached to the mast at the 2nd top car, it can be difficult to attach the head of the sail to the top batten car before hoisting. You need to be able to pull the head close enough to the top batten car to shackle it on, and that means going to the mast and trying to reach it and pull by hand. Leaving it attached is not practical as too much of the sail would stick out of the lazy bag when the sail is down. As a result each time you hoist the main “someone” (usually Keith) has to go up to the mast as the main is being hoisted and perform the tricky manouevre of bringing the ring on the head of the sail close enough to the car to attach it. Even at the towering height of 5’ 10” this is close to impossible and can be dangerous in rough conditions.
FP can supply a ‘Karver’ hook fitting at a cost of around €1,000! While this will solve the issue (as money often does) There are a couple of much cheaper DIY options available to make this easier.
On our Lipari (FP 41’) Keith attached a short length of 3mm Spectra to the top batten car that he threaded through the ring in the head of the sail and back to the top batten car to enable him to pull the sail close enough to attach the snap shackle by hand. In itself quite a challenge particularly in a bit of swell. On the Helia (FP 44’) this was not really an option as the main had to be hoisted too high before the head and the car could be brought close enough to attach the shackle, making it near impossible for a normal height human to reach.
Thanks to Cote Mar, active and knowledgeable contributor to the FP Owners FP group, and guru of all things Helia, for his suggestion which we have implemented. This solution means the main hoist can be done competely from the helm station. While we still have the challenge of keeping the head and battens from getting caught in the jackstays on the way up, at least no one needs to go to the mast.
So to set up the permanent “hoist aid” we use a 6mm spectra line that is attached (tied) to the gaff batten car, run through the snap shackle on the top batten car, through the ring at the head of the main, and attached (tied) back to snap shackle on the top car (Picture 1) The length of the cord is important to get right. It needs to be the length of the distance between the 2 top batten cars plus a bit extra for the knots (picture 2). You will probably need to play around with it and adjust it: too long and the sail will not get close enough to the mast and fall away at the head, too short and you will lose luff tension.
The beauty of this solution is its simplicity. As the sail is hoisted and the luff tightens, the cord pulls the head closer and closer to the top car and the mast. Note that it does not attach the main to the car, but the tension will be sufficient to keep it in place, close enough in. As the main comes down of course the reverse happens. How cool is that!
Not something you would do on a race yacht, but works perfectly fine for cruising. Note that when the main is down we keep the main halyard attached to the head of the sail permanently.
The photos will hopefully make this a whole lot clearer.
FP can supply a ‘Karver’ hook fitting at a cost of around €1,000! While this will solve the issue (as money often does) There are a couple of much cheaper DIY options available to make this easier.
On our Lipari (FP 41’) Keith attached a short length of 3mm Spectra to the top batten car that he threaded through the ring in the head of the sail and back to the top batten car to enable him to pull the sail close enough to attach the snap shackle by hand. In itself quite a challenge particularly in a bit of swell. On the Helia (FP 44’) this was not really an option as the main had to be hoisted too high before the head and the car could be brought close enough to attach the shackle, making it near impossible for a normal height human to reach.
Thanks to Cote Mar, active and knowledgeable contributor to the FP Owners FP group, and guru of all things Helia, for his suggestion which we have implemented. This solution means the main hoist can be done competely from the helm station. While we still have the challenge of keeping the head and battens from getting caught in the jackstays on the way up, at least no one needs to go to the mast.
So to set up the permanent “hoist aid” we use a 6mm spectra line that is attached (tied) to the gaff batten car, run through the snap shackle on the top batten car, through the ring at the head of the main, and attached (tied) back to snap shackle on the top car (Picture 1) The length of the cord is important to get right. It needs to be the length of the distance between the 2 top batten cars plus a bit extra for the knots (picture 2). You will probably need to play around with it and adjust it: too long and the sail will not get close enough to the mast and fall away at the head, too short and you will lose luff tension.
The beauty of this solution is its simplicity. As the sail is hoisted and the luff tightens, the cord pulls the head closer and closer to the top car and the mast. Note that it does not attach the main to the car, but the tension will be sufficient to keep it in place, close enough in. As the main comes down of course the reverse happens. How cool is that!
Not something you would do on a race yacht, but works perfectly fine for cruising. Note that when the main is down we keep the main halyard attached to the head of the sail permanently.
The photos will hopefully make this a whole lot clearer.
