Submitted on February 24, 2006 by Jeremy Fox

Question: Hi, hopefully you can help me with two issues I'm having. I recently
purchased a 1974 Irwin 37' CC, sloop rig with incomplete running rigging.

The first issue is the main sail reefing system: While the clew reef lines appear rigged correctly (more or less), they do not appear to hold the foot very tight. How tight must the foot be and is there any reason why I cannot transfer the outhaul to the reef cringle to apply more tension to the foot (if needed)? With regard to the reef tacks, there are no tack horns and it is not a single line system. Is it a common practice to simply lash the reef tacks to the mast and boom??? Also, the boom is strange in that it is geared with a crank at the gooseneck and will rotate when cranked, wraping the sail around it. However, the boomvang, topping lift, and main sheet must all be removed to keep them from getting tangled and twisted up and only the topping lift and main sheet can be reatached. Is this an early form of main
sail furling or simply intended for sail storage?

The second issue is the head sails: The boat came with a 150% genoa and a
working jib, both hanked on. While the genoa sets beautifully when the sheets are run to the tracks port and starboard of the cockpit, the jib is somewhat baffeling. I will attempt to explain: when the sheets are run to the same tracks, the cars cannot be moved far enough forward to give the sheet the correct angle (down and aft) on the clew. All I can get is pull aft. Also, when rigged this way, I must remove the sheet and relocate it inboard of the shrouds to sheet in far enough to sail upwind. So, this
clearly cannot be correct. In addition there is a single sheet run through a fiddle block and two stand up blocks located on the cabin top, about two feet port and starboard of the mast and then led aft to the cabin. This would be perfect for a staysail on a cutter rig but my boat is sloop rigged and since it will really only pull down the the jib's clew, it can't be intended to be the jib sheet. . . but what is it for then?

I cannot contact the previous owner of the boat and I am obviously missing some pieces of the puzzle. Your help in this would be greatly appreciated since I cannot buy a new set of sails (badly needed) until I can get the rigging figured out!

Sincerely,
Jeremy Fox

Answer: Hi Jeremy,

It sounds like your boat was originally equipped with a roller furling boom and a club footed jib. The previous owner did about half the work to bring it to a more conventional rig with slab reefing and a jib without a boom.

In order to get adequate tension on the reefed mainsail foot, you need to secure the tack to the mast and make sure that the reefing line has the deadend lashed around the boom, directly below the reef grommet. The line should then pass through the reef grommet and run to a turning block or sheave aft of the reef grommet position. The tack can be lashed around the mast to hold it forward and then you could use a cunningham tackle to hold it down. Another simple arrangement is to put a padeye on one side of the mast and clip or lash into that.

It sounds like you need a second set of jib tracks just aft of the mast and on the deck as close as possible to the cabin house, or on top of the cabin house.

Best Regards,
Dan Neri

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