On 03/19/2019 10:23 AM, Gerry Lempicki via montgomery_boats wrote:
...And what holds the back of the boom up with the sail down or reefed? Was there originally a topping lift to the masthead?
No idea if originally was one,but described my setup in last mail. Topping lift is usually only for sail down/halyard slack. When you reef the sail holds the boom up same as when not reefed and you want your topping lift slacked off.
The aft end of my boom has a short piece of line that is long enough to reach the ring in the backstay arrangement; maybe they tied it there?
Mine has that too, with a small clip on the end. For hanging the aft end of boom on the backstay ring when the boat is 'asleep' and moored or in a slip etc.
The gooseneck appears to have a spot for the tack, a reefing hook, and an eyelet on the bottom.
Sounds like same hardware as mine, which came with reefing hooks on both sides. There was a thread a while back about tack reefing setups...lines being preferred by most as I recall. I have been using the hooks because I have no mast gate, and use a stop to keep slugs from spilling out of track when lowering main. I need to make a mast gate as it makes it quicker/easier to reef either way (hooks or tack lines). Fussing with track stop and slugs takes more time than the whole rest of reefing.
My mainsail has slugs/slides on the luff, and a boltrope on the foot. I've read of people having trouble with the slugs coming out of the opening in it's stock position, and I'm wondering if there is a better spot to have the opening machined.
If they can set you up with a mast gate right from the start that would take care of this issue. Any time you lower the main, any slugs that lower to the gate will come out of the gate, unless you have a track stop above the gate. Which is then a pain for reefing, see above...
I want to get new standing rigging too, so this would be the time to make any changes.
I have had good service and good prices from Rigging Only: https://www.riggingandhardware.com/ Small personalized company, I would take them over Worst Marine any day. They really know what questions to ask so that you get the right pieces on the ends of the wire. That said, there is no rigging shop anywhere near here that I could go to in person so if you can go in person, check that out first.
My rigging seems to be the original style with oval swage sleeves. I might stay with that style unless there is a good reason to change it all over.
If by oval swage sleeves you mean Nicopress or similar - where a loop is put in the wire, usually around a stainless thimble, and the loop is fixed by the swaged sleeve, to make an end to fasten something to - that is what I had on all of my standing rigging when I got her. But I think mine was not original - the previous owner said they had some rigging work done. The swaged loops hang up on everything, catch or jam crooked on the U-shaped connectors that connect them to mast or turnbuckles, catch lines, etc. I would get rid of them entirely if you are getting new standing rigging. Get swaged eyes or forks (with toggles if needed) to suit the connections aloft, and swaged studs (to turnbuckles at bottom). I have replaced my forestay (had to, to install a furler) and backstay (had to, because original forestay was a bit too short so new forestay required new backstay). So nice to have the right hardware at both ends. cheers, John -- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com