Hi Catamaran community,
I have a Prindle 19. When I tack, the slack on the jib line gets caught under the mast and prevents the jib from swinging to the other side of the boat.
What this looks like: The mast sits on a spherical plastic piece on which it also rotates. This plastic piece is mounted to the perpendicular aluminum cross beam. When tacking, I loosen the jib sheet and the jib starts to swing over, but the jib line gets caught between the very bottom of the mast, the part which makes contact with the spherical plastic piece, and the crossbeam. In fact, theres a mechanism on the mast there that's used to help take the mast down, if you need to, that catches the jib line. This is located at the bottom of the mast and really can hook onto that jib line.
If there's crew on the coat with me, they can reach up and untangle the jib line, though it's a pain in the ass. If I'm by myself, I have to leave the stern of the boat, let go of the tiller, untangle the jib and go back. I got into an accident like this recently.
Can someone recommend a modification to the jib rigging? The jib is not self-furling. It's the type with a zipper.
Or, will someone recommend a self tacking jib system that I can rig up to the Prindle 19?
Thanks!
Very common issue on cats with overlapping jibs. Simple mod is tie a 3/16” diameter bungee cord from the junction of the bridle wires straight back to the mast (about 1-2 feet up from the mast base). You may need to rivet an eyestrap to the mast to tie off the bungee if there’s no other hardware in the area to tie off to.
The bungee will keep the jib sheets from drooping down in front of the mast and hanging up.
The other option is to run the bungee from one side of the front crossbar, up the mast about 1-2 feet, and then back to the other side of the crossbar. Either method works quite effectively.
sm
Steve M.
+1 to Dogboy’s response
Had the same issue with my Supercat and this forum gave me that same advise and it works very well.
No need to drill holes and add a padeye, just tie the bungie to the bottom of the diamond wires
wlrottge wrote: No need to drill holes and add a padeye, just tie the bungie to the bottom of the diamond wires
+1
MN3
Thanks guys - that's been hassling me as well, and basically I've been too busy learning to worry about that finer detail.
So simple.
And, another reason I like these forums so much.
wlrottge wrote: No need to drill holes and add a padeye, just tie the bungie to the bottom of the diamond wires
That works, but keep it cleaner. Use a single piece of bungee. Tie one end to the DS support strap, near the hull. Run the bungee inside one diamond wire, around front of mast, inside the other diamond, then down to the other end of the DS support strap & tie off.
You only need light/med tension on the bungee. Sorry, I thought I had a photo, but can’t find it.
E C Hilliard
Nacra 5.7
Bombardier Invitation
I'll post a pic of my setup
Here is the setup, as per the Nacra manual, the Prindle is the same
https://www.thebeachcats.com/index.php?module=pictures&g2_itemId=35332
Here’s a photo from a 5.2 rebuild. You can see the thin black line is the preventer. It goes from where I described above, up to the mast & then down to the opposite side of the front beam.
You may already have a fitting on the mast, used to hold the halyard from flogging.
E C Hilliard
Nacra 5.7
Bombardier Invitation
Search using the word 'preventer'.
EdChris177 wrote: Tie one end to the DS support strap, near the hull. Run the bungee inside one diamond wire, around front of mast, inside the other diamond, then down to the other end of the DS support strap & tie off.
rendertimes5858, your Prindle came with a bungee for this exact fix from the factory. It's cheap and works well.
Edchris177 wrote: [quote=wlrottge]No need to drill holes and add a padeye, just tie the bungie to the bottom of the diamond wires
That works, but keep it cleaner. Use a single piece of bungee. Tie one end to the DS support strap, near the hull. Run the bungee inside one diamond wire, around front of mast, inside the other diamond, then down to the other end of the DS support strap & tie off.
That's exactly how I do it on the H18, saves a lot of frustration. I use that bungee to wrap up the down haul and other stray lines against the mast when trailering so it is available next sail.
____________
Damon Linkous