Pearson P33 Singlehand modification

[Archis]

I'm considering moving my main halyard winch on my 73 P33 from the mast to a location on top of the house to the right of the companion way sliding hatch.

Has anyone done something similar with their boat? Can the house of a solid fiberglass deal with the load necessary for the main sheet?

Thanks

[Sailormann]

It should be able to handle the load. You will use a turning block at the bottom of the mast right ?? Your cabintop is not delaminated or rotten right ??

If everything is okay with the boat structurally, it won't be an issue. A lot of boats are set up that way. Make sure you use a nice backing plate though and seal all the holes with epoxy plugs.

[Archis]

sailorman,

I will need at least one type of turning block and her hull is very solid.

I'm not familiar with the epoxy plug concept since this will be my first modifcation requiring new holes in the house. Could you elaborate on the process of sealing the holes?

Thanks for your input.

[SailorMitch]

Before proceeding I'd ask this question on the Pearson email list here on Sailnet. There are several P-33-1 owners on there who can give advice. For details on how to do almost any project on a Pearson, visit Dan Pfeiffer's site www.pearsoninfo.net. He has a long list of projects listed for his former P-26 and for his current P-10M, including his steps for creating new holes in the deck, or for repairing leaks when you rebed deck hardware.

[sailingdog]

A couple of things...

1) Pot any fastener holes for the winch and the turning block by drilling them oversized and filling with thickened epoxy... this is to protect the deck's core from water intrusion. I generally will countersink the top of each hole slightly, as this allows the bedding sealant to form a small o-ring and makes leaks less likely.

2) You probably want to leave the winches on the mast and get a larger winch for the cabin top. The reason for this is that the system will have a fair bit more friction, as you'll probably have the halyard going through a turning block, a deck organizer and a line clutch. Also, this means you can still make adjustments from the mast in an emergency. Also, if you have a larger winch for the halyards, it can often substitute in for a broken genoa sheet winch in an emergency.

You will need a turning block for each halyard or line you want to lead back. A deck organizer or two to accommodate all the lines being led back, and line clutches for all the lines. Generally, if you're going to lead the main halyard back, it would make sense to lead the topping lift, reefing lines, boomvang and cunningham back as well. This would allow you to reef the mainsail from the cockpit, rather than having to go foward to do so.

If you lead the reefing lines back, I would recommend you use a two-line reefing setup, as it is more efficient and helps you shape the sail better than a one-line reefing system. If you want to know more about the difference between one-line and two-line reefing setups, see this website.

All the deck hardware in this type of setup should be properly installed with potted fastener holes and through bolted with backing blocks.

[CalypsoP35]

The PO of my P35 made a similar modification on my boat. After trying it a few times, I no longer use it. When raising the main I find the dodger gets in the way of my seeing if the main is getting caught in my lazy jacks. When I lower the sail from the cockpit the sail would usually get caught in the track and either not come down without a pull or not flake properly, so I had to go to the mast any way. The fact that I have a fully battened main may contribute to the difficulty of lowering it from the cockpit, so it may work better if you don't have a battened main. In addition, I would still have to get out of the cockpit to secure my reefing lines which come out of the middle of my boom.

I single hand my boat a lot and I find it much easier to put the boat on autopilot and power into the wind and go to the mast to lower the main.
When I'm single handing in heavy seas I will use my jack lines and harness when I go to the mast to lower my main.

[Sailormann]

The process of sealing the holes is:

a) Mark your holes carefully

b) Drill a small guidehole in the center of the hole. Drill this guidehole all the way through the deck (top layer, core and underlayer). Use a very thin bit if you are drilling into non-skid, as a thicker bit will tend to skate a little on an uneven surface. You don't want to end up with holes that are slightly off , as this will create unecessary shear on the structure.

c) Now drill a hole that is sized for your bolt completely through the deck.

d) Now take a drill bit that is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch larger than the bolt you are using and VERY CAREFULLY drill through the top layer and the core. Don't drill through the bottom layer of fibreglass. Make sure that the hole is going to be completely covered by the fitting that you are adding.

e) Seal the bottom of the holes with duct tape or something similar. You are going to pour liquid epoxy into the holes so make sure that there is nowhere that it can leak. The tape needs to be put on there really well.

f) At this point, I like to dig around under the top layer and chew the core up a little bit, so that the epoxy penetrates and bonds well. Some others don't do this. I do it because in the past, I have found that the epoxy can pop out with the bolt when the fitting is removed.

g) Now mix up a little bit of low viscosity epoxy and fill the hole that you have drilled and sealed. Be really careful and patient so that you don't get any on the deck. If you are filling a large hole, do it in stages, as epoxy heats up when it cures. If you have too much in there, it could generate enough heat to disslolve the adhesive on the tape, and the resulting leak will be a PITA to clean up.

h) When your epoxy has hardened, redrill the hole with the drill bit that is sized for your bolt. You now have a hole through your deck that is sealed, hence your core is much less likely to get wet and rot.

i) As SD mentioned, you can countersink the top of the plug a little to allow the bedding compound to make a good seal. I have never done this but it sounds like a good idea.

Good Luck !

[sailingdog]

One thing... use thickened (high viscosity not low) epoxy... stuff thickened to the consistency of mayo or peanut butter, with a high-density filler, like collodial silica. If you're using unthickened epoxy it will tend to do things like pull out as a solid plug... thickened epoxy doesn't tend to do so, and also, when drilling epoxy, non-thickened epoxy tends to chip rather than drill cleanly.

Also, epoxy with out a filler tends to not be as strong against compressive loads.

Finally, if you follow sailormann's drilling instructions, do the last hole with a forstner bit if you've got one. That will leave the bottom section of laminate with a clean flat surface... personally, I prefer to drill through with the full size bit...and then seal the hole with thickened epoxy as it is generally easier and faster... The bit about reaming out a bit of the core is particularly useful if the core is not going to absorb the epoxy, as some of the foam-based cores will tend to do... but with balsa, it generally absorbs enough of the epoxy to be okay.

[Archis]

Thanks to everyone for the advice, as I have said before you all are a great resource.

[Archis]

I just thought of a little complication, my halyards are wire. I guess this would be the time to do a rope conversion.

Any ideas on how much this would cost? Is this a job for a rigger?