Bought my first boat, need help.

[Transporter2112]

Hello all,

I just purchased a North American Spirit 6.5 as a practice boat before buying a liveaboard in 7 years. It was missing a few bits and pieces that I have been fixing. The main problem i am facing now is that all of the main sheet system is missing. No blocks, pulleys, rope, nothing. So I will need to build a complete main sheet system from scratch. The boat is a 21 foot with no traveller, just a center mounted yoke on the transom over the tiller. Can anyone suggest a system or what to buy to be able to build one? Also the boom vang is missing, but I can sail without that. I suppose I could buy 2 boom vang systems and use one as the main sheet. Would that work or not?

Thanks!!
Stephen

[Reefmagnet]

These links might help. They list all the part #'s to allow you to put together your own system to suit your boat.

Mainsheets:
Harken

Ronstan Sailboat Hardware World - Mainsheet Systems

Vangs:
Harken

Ronstan Marine Division - TEMPLATE

[ssanzone]

it is a bit tuff to tell from the pics available on google...

looks like u can put a short traveler pretty far aft which will reduce the risk of getting caught up in lines while ducking under the boom.

in reality, a traveler isnt gonna gain you very much on this boat.

a single block will do...

i am not familiar with your boat but i might put a single block aft in the cockpit with the lines running up to a pair of blocks at the end of the boom.

then down to a pair of blocks at the mast and down to the deck / cabintop and out to another pair of blocks at the rails sending the lines back to the main winches in the cockpit.

idk... i cant work out in my brain which is simpler.

gl.

-s

[jeremiason]

I would suggest that you look to Garhauer Marine in Southern California... They have great running rigging at half the cost of Harkin or Schaefer. They do direct mail order and will actually talk to you on the phone to discuss applications.

Catalina uses Garhauer on all their new boats and several other manufactures are suing them as well.

Garhauer Marine Hardware -6918208

[JPA Cate]

You will want to have some kind of a preventer for the boom when sailing downwind. Nothing can have you overboard unconscious as fast as an out of control boom or spinnaker pole, if you get between where they are and where they are about to be.

And, you're right, you want a mainsheet; obviously something rigged from the end of the main to a strong point astern could do the trick. I think I'd go look at a few similar sized boats and see how they've done it. Like are they getting by with say, a 2 part tackle, or are they using a 4 or 5 part one? What size of line? Do they have a winch for it, or unnecessary? I'd suggest the research first, then the trf of money from pocket to seller.

[Suijin]

I would certainly talk with a few other Spirit 6.5 owners about their rig. You have the opportunity to rig it essentially however you please since you're working from scratch.

Looking at pictures of the boat, it's clear that from a leverage perspective two block tackle will be more than adequate, rigging luff (one return of the sheet through the block) or double (two returns). I would not buy a pre-made system from Harken or similar as you'll pay through the nose. This is simple enough to put together yourself a la carte. You can probably find what you need on craigslist or ebay for pennies on the dollar from buying it new.

[Transporter2112]

For the time being I have 3 pulleys from lowes doing a 3 to 1 system to the stern, then over to the main winches. I don't really like it but I will do for now, and only $15 worth I pulleys.

[Tx J]

Originally Posted by Transporter2112

Hello all,

I just purchased a North American Spirit 6.5 as a practice boat before buying a liveaboard in 7 years. It was missing a few bits and pieces that I have been fixing. The main problem i am facing now is that all of the main sheet system is missing. No blocks, pulleys, rope, nothing. So I will need to build a complete main sheet system from scratch. The boat is a 21 foot with no traveller, just a center mounted yoke on the transom over the tiller. Can anyone suggest a system or what to buy to be able to build one? Also the boom vang is missing, but I can sail without that. I suppose I could buy 2 boom vang systems and use one as the main sheet. Would that work or not?

Thanks!!
Stephen

I have a pdf copy of the manual (~21Mb, found somewhere on a web page) for the Spirit 6.5 and 23.
Also one bmp (~800Kb) port side pic (below) of the 23 (?, or maybe 6.5, both have the same main sheeting layout; the 28 has a traveler on the rear of the cabin top).
Shows something back there but can't make it out with Irfan zooming.
Also have some captured craigslist pages (mht) for Spirits.

Could forward them to you if you want.

I looked at a couple Spirits once, nice looking boats, made by Glastron in Austin.

I'll caution you on the cabin deck stepped mast, neglected one I looked at was about to lose the mast due to the cabintop being rotten (core delam by water leak).

[Transporter2112]

Originally Posted by Tx J

I have a pdf copy of the manual (~21Mb, found somewhere on a web page) for the Spirit 6.5 and 23.
Also one bmp (~800Kb) port side pic (below) of the 23 (?, or maybe 6.5, both have the same main sheeting layout; the 28 has a traveler on the rear of the cabin top).
Shows something back there but can't make it out with Irfan zooming.
Also have some captured craigslist pages (mht) for Spirits.

Could forward them to you if you want.

I looked at a couple Spirits once, nice looking boats, made by Glastron in Austin.

I'll caution you on the cabin deck stepped mast, neglected one I looked at was about to lose the mast due to the cabintop being rotten (core delam by water leak).

I would Love a copy of the 6.5 manual. I saw one for the 23 but not the 6.5. The Main sheets are a little different. Looking at the pics for the 23 they seem to have a rope system on the transom, with the main sheet attached to a pulley that will maintain equal pressure on the 2 attachment points on the transom. The 6.5 seems to have a steel cable with a clamped eye that the mainsheet block attaches to. The weird thing is that when the boom is reaching to one side or the other there is only tension on one side of the steel cable, so all the pressure from the main sail is transferred to the transom through 2 little screws. Seems odd. Thats how I have mine set up and i found a website with a 6.5 and there is a picture that shows the mainsheet block hooked to the same wire that i have mine hooked to.

In the 7th picture you can see the cable Im talking about over the guys shoulder. It comes over the tiller so that you can steer and provides an attachment point in the center of the boat for the bottom block of the mainsheet.
Karma in Little America's Cup 2006 (Gallery)

[Tx J]

Originally Posted by Transporter2112

I would Love a copy of the 6.5 manual. I saw one for the 23 but not the 6.5. The Main sheets are a little different. Looking at the pics for the 23 they seem to have a rope system on the transom, with the main sheet attached to a pulley that will maintain equal pressure on the 2 attachment points on the transom. The 6.5 seems to have a steel cable with a clamped eye that the mainsheet block attaches to. The weird thing is that when the boom is reaching to one side or the other there is only tension on one side of the steel cable, so all the pressure from the main sail is transferred to the transom through 2 little screws. Seems odd. Thats how I have mine set up and i found a website with a 6.5 and there is a picture that shows the mainsheet block hooked to the same wire that i have mine hooked to.

In the 7th picture you can see the cable Im talking about over the guys shoulder. It comes over the tiller so that you can steer and provides an attachment point in the center of the boat for the bottom block of the mainsheet.
Karma in Little America's Cup 2006 (Gallery)

Like somebody remarked, Garhauer makes good cost effective stuff, along with Harken, Shaefer, Ronstan, et al. Pull down some web pages and catalogs, and study the hardware available. Draw out what you want on paper; then shell out the clams, errr, boat bucks.

A single (or double) block with cam and becket like Marine Single Blocks With Cam And Becket on Sale (manual calls for one with a fiddle too), upside down, for the bottom blocking (the fixed end of the mainsheet is tied to the becket, then goes up to the boom block, back down to lower block and camcleat, split transom wires attached to the blocks' shackle).
And a plain single (or double) block shackled to the boom would work and give you a 2:1, 3:1, or even 4:1 purchase.
Blocks are sized to the mainsheet line diameter, and loads applied.

Agree that those two screws into transom top are a bit light sounding, a heavy gybe might pull them out. They had better be in there deep, or glassed in/backed.
As far as only one wire bearing the load at a time, it has to be that way without a floating pulley riding on one V'ed wire.
Each boat model may have used either 'non-traveler' arrangement, both work.
Not a problem, the main develops a fair amount of force, but it's a fairly small boat. Having two wires offset from centerline allows the boom to be centered on either tack.
A traveler is primarily a sail tuning and shaping device (sets mainsail angle of attack relative to centerline course mostly). You could add one back there, just depends on your boatbucks piggybank...(from the pictures there's no way to add it on the cabintop, too close to the mast for any leverage).

On your link, the third picture (starboard side view), zoomed in, shows the layout pretty well, except can't tell the purchase on the mainsheet. From the seventh pic it looks to be a single block, just 2:1 purchase then, you could rig it with more.

The manual is dated 1979, ToC lists both 6.5 and 2- 23's, a centerboard and a keel underbody, plus the 28' model.
It doesn't show any rigging diagrams, rigging dimensions, etc., or much detail; mostly just basic specs and how-tos. PM an email address and I'll eventually get it over.
Tried to C&P the mainsheet rigging info from the pdf manual, page 11, here, but CF said too many characters(?).

[Tx J]

Originally Posted by Transporter2112

I would Love a copy of the 6.5 manual. I saw one for the 23 but not the 6.5. The Main sheets are a little different. Looking at the pics for the 23 they seem to have a rope system on the transom, with the main sheet attached to a pulley that will maintain equal pressure on the 2 attachment points on the transom. The 6.5 seems to have a steel cable with a clamped eye that the mainsheet block attaches to. The weird thing is that when the boom is reaching to one side or the other there is only tension on one side of the steel cable, so all the pressure from the main sail is transferred to the transom through 2 little screws. Seems odd. Thats how I have mine set up and i found a website with a 6.5 and there is a picture that shows the mainsheet block hooked to the same wire that i have mine hooked to.

In the 7th picture you can see the cable Im talking about over the guys shoulder. It comes over the tiller so that you can steer and provides an attachment point in the center of the boat for the bottom block of the mainsheet.
Karma in Little America's Cup 2006 (Gallery)

Email with attachments sent (1979 Spirit models pdf manual, etc.).
If you don't see it, check your email spam traps; it might have been held up.