Checkstay Purchase system help

[lahso]

I recently purchased a boat and had her decommissioned, moved on a truck and now I'm getting ready to put her back together. One of the recommendations the rigger that decommissioned her made was to change my fixed checkstays to a purchase system with a set of block so I can release the checkstay on the leeward side when running to open up the boom some more.

Any ideas on what this system should actually look like and what hardware is needed? Particularly how should cleat off the loose end of the line on the blocks?

Currently, the checkstays are wire to sta-loc terminals. I was also considering going with amsteel instead of the wire. Any thoughts on that too?

Thanks,

~mt

[Faster]

What boat? How many cockpit winches are available? How many crew are you likely to have? Fractional or Masthead?

Answers to these would make it easier to consider what you'd actually need/want......

Edit: assuming the cat in your avatar......

[lahso]

The boat is a Sailcraft Cherokee Cat. Crew of two. Masthead rigged.

Running the lines aft isn't very practical, although not impossible. My secondary winch (Lewmar 45) is mounted on the transom and the only other cockpit winch is the primary (lewmar 40) on the starboard side of the cockpit. Main and Headsail halyard winches (Lewmar 40 and wire reel, respectively) are mounted to the mast.

Here's a pic, it doesn't show the rigging very well, but maybe it will help.



~mt

[Faster]

Assuming your talking about what looks like an aft shroud attached just above the central portlight on the cabintop....I can just make out it's terminated some distance above the spreaders...

Something like that could probably be 'sweated up' with a small 4 or 6:1 tackle, led aft to a new cam cleat on the coaming, or if you're OK with going forward to adjust them as needed, simply using a cam cleat fiddle block at the chainplate. You'd need enough line in the tackle to allow the stay to fall forward as far as the shrouds, but could set it up to be nearly block-to-block when tightened so as to minimize the amount of line to keep tidy. The original stay would need to be shortened, no biggie if you've got the sta-lock fittings already.

Alternately I think an Dyneema/Amsteel checkstay would be just find here too, lighter and easier on the anodizing of the boom. You could put the same tackle at the bottom. You'd likely need to replace it periodically due to UV exposure (I've had a Dyneema backstay on now for a full season, can let you know how long it lasts when we find out!)

[paulk]

The running backstays on our fractionally rigged 36' keelboat are set up with tackle like a boom vang, cleating off in a cam that's part of the block at one end. I think it's 4:1. If we need additional power we can take the tail to any available winch. The cleat and line are pretty hefty. There's no point in having separate dedicated winches & cleats P&S for running backs. It's heavy, takes a lot of room, and adds to the spaghetti factor. If you can't get tackle tightened fast enough when they're easy to pull in, you're either tacking too fast or don't have enough crew. Tacking too fast on a catamaran would be something to see. It would seem that a tackle would be the best solution for you.

[sailingdog]

The Cherokee is built by the same company that made the smaller Iroquois and designed by the same designer IIRC. The checkstay that the OP is talking about I believe is the one that terminates above the rectangular port in the cabin top.

Setting it up as a block and tackle, using a 4:1 fiddle block setup, and using a dyneema/spectra line for the standing part of the checkstay would make it pretty simple to setup as Faster describes.

If you need more leverage, you could terminate the standing part of the checkstay that goes up to the mast in a block and use a 4:1 tackle attached to a dyneema/spectra line coming up from the deck, through the block and down to the tackle, which would give you 8:1 leverage, while minimizing the amount of line you'd need.

I'd point out that any dyneema/spectra type line is heavy enough to not creep in this application shouldn't be affected by UV significantly for at least four or five years, since dyneema/spectra have fairly high UV tolerances.