Redesigning Running Rigging for a Redwing

[dennisvetter]

Hello,

First, what a great forum with tons of information and lots of helpful sailors. My question may already have been answered somewhere on the forum (and I'll continue searching) so my apologies if it has.

I have a 30' 1970 C&C Redwing which I purchased 2 years ago. I'm on a bit of a budget and love to do things myself if I can. It's my first boat of this size and, although she's ready to sail, her running rigging is a bit of a mess as nothing much appears to have been done with it over the years. For instance, there are no control blocks on the traveler ... the car is just tied off to the center of the cockpit (i.e. I effectively have no traveler).

I'd like to make some enhancements to the entire running rigging setup. I'd like to rig it for cruising with my wife and myself and, ultimately, single handing. Although I'll need to tackle this a piece at a time, I'd love to have an overall plan in mind so that I don't end up reworking things as I work my way down that loooong list.

So here's my question: Can you can point me to some resources for ideas on how to best redesign (books, examples, articles, anything) running rigging.

The best resource I've found so far is the Harken catalog as it has some good examples but it doesn't give you a lot of pros-cons and how-tos. I have the "Rigger's Apprentice" and it's of no help on this topic. I also found a website for a guy who "tricked out" his Redwing for racing but have never been able to reach him via phone or email (Pegasus is the name of his boat).

Many thanks in advance for your advice!

[paulk]

The Optimum Sailboat - Racing the Cruiser and Cruising the Racerby Ronald Florence; Harper & Row New York 1986 might be helpful if you can find a copy. Florence goes through the entire process of determining the kind of sailing you want to do, the kind of boat you have, the rig, and how it can be adjusted, then shows you different solutions, according to the different variables. He also helps you figure out what some of the forces involved are, so that you don't end up with winches four sizes too small that you have to end up unloading at a tag sale - or so if you come across some winches at a tag sale, you'll know if they're big enough, and worth getting. Looking around for ideas is the right approach. Have fun!

[sailingdog]

Dennis-

You might want to check out this thread—LINK

[Sailormann]

If you go to this website and click on C&C Brochures you can find one for the Redwing. If you scroll through the pages of the brchure you will see a picture of the boat, and if you read the list of Standard Equipment you will get a lot of information regarding the sizes of winches, etc.

These boats were designed and rigged for performance, so if you stick with the original plan - you'll end up with a rig that the boat was designed to handle. Unless you're going to race a lot, I wouldn't suggest adding too many of the esoteric go-fasters that a lot of rigging shops will try to sell you.

The equipment is all pretty pricey, so you might want to think about doing one piece a season. The traveller will probably give you the most bang for your buck. You should be able to get a car, track and blocks for under $500.00.



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