[C320-list] Figuring out the dutchman....part 2

[T. Scott Thompson]

The most important thing, bar none, is to make sure that any lines 
inside the boom can run free.  When I first bought my boat the reef 
lines would barely budge.  It was due to dirt and birds nests inside the 
boom.  You can't imagine the mess when I started fishing it out with a 
coat hanger taped to the end of a batten.  Since then the inside of my 
boom gets flushed every year, including the shuttle block inside, and 
then it gets a fresh piece of duct tape across the opening at the end to 
keep the birds out.  I've had no problems since, and have felt no need 
to put blocks on my sails.  I recommend the "alternative" setup 
described on the c320 website, except that I take the forward line 
through the luff cringle and back down to the gooseneck.   The 
alternative setup is here:  
http://www.catalina320.com/gallery/Alternative-Route/IMG_0226.  This 
method is superior to the one in my owners manual from Catalina, which 
makes no sense at all, because the shuttle block inside the boom doesn't 
do anything useful in that setup.

Washing the line might help too.

There should be no twists in lines between blocks, if you mean that 
lines are twisted around each other or something else.  A certain amount 
of twisting of the line itself is normal, but this shouldn't cause any 
troubles.  If it's twisting badly then either the line is shot or 
something is rigged incorrectly.

Scott

Tim wrote:
> Thanks for the support on this topic prior....using all the great advice this weekend, what I have noticed is that the single reefing line even with the clutch is fully open seems to hang up and hold my main sail down....so the question I have after looking at the set up is does anyone have a diagram of how this line should go so that I can check to make sure mine is correctly installed. I had this set up by the brokering marina and some of the lines don't quite seem right but then I'm not quite the expert. By right I mean twists in the lines be between blocks.
>    
>   Thanks !!
>
> 			
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