New Sailor Needs Advice On Rigging a Downhaul, Please

[Whisper2Me]

Hi

I'm new here & having taken some courses a few years ago have recently joined the local sailing club & have been crewing on various boats on race nights. Well one thing led to another & I'm now the proud owner of Whisper - a 22' Viking - which I'm sailing single-handed.

I tried sailing her in a race at the club on the weekend for the first time but didn't finish as the winds were too high for my comfort zone (apparent reading was 20 knots plus off one of the other boats).

Anyway my main problem was that I knew I'd need the jib later so I'd rigged it and left it on the deck. Unfortunately the wind kept catching it so rather than get it wet I decided to raise it - I'd also been going nowhere without it as we were needing to be on a close haul to get up river.

Once up I was over powered for my abilities currently but couldn't get enough heel off to go up front to bring it down without turning round - which I did.

I'm sure there are lots of things I could have done differently (& I welcome all advice) but the one thing I would like to know is how do I rig a jib downhaul that will keep the job on the deck? I don't have any safety rails etc up front.

Thanks in advance

Nikki

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Nikki.

[zeehag]

welcome to cf.

[capt.bobfm]

You can run a piece of very small line thru your hanks and tied to the head of your jib.Then you can pull the "Downhaul"from the bottom of the sail or even run it back to a convienient spot on the boat.This will only hold down the luff of the sail.For the bulk of the sail,you might try lacing it up with the sheets and tie the clew end to the mast,like they used to do it in the old days.

[S/V Alchemy]

Same as above except put a small block at the tack and run it back to the mast if you cleat off the halyard there or at the cockpit if the main halyard goes to a block and then through a line stopper.

Basically, you want the jib downhaul and the halyard end in the same spot, so you can control the jib in two directions. Threading the downhaul line, which can be on your jib as light as 1/8" or a Dyneema "thread", through a couple of hanks is a good idea as well.

The Viking 22 is a hot little boat you can really learn in. I have a Viking 33 in Toronto.

[Whisper2Me]

Many thanks :-)

[FSMike]

You might also Google the "Gerr downhaul", invented by Dave Gerr. Bundles up the sail as well as hauling it down. Can take some fiddling to get it to work smoothly but it's worth it.
If you can't find it send me a PM.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here.
kind regards,

[severn81]

Hi. Are you still working on a downhaul system, I also sail a Viking 22....Great Boat!

The system that I use for a headsail downhaul is simple and works well. I fasten a light line to the third hank from the top. This pulls the headsail down just below the spinnaker during the downwind and is also reasonable for minimal windage while docking.

The line goes straight down to a twisted clevis at the tack. (Going through more than one hank will bind.) The line is guided through the centre of my bow deck cleat, through a loose guide at the mast step and then cleated on the upper deck.

Prior to lowering the headsail I luff-up and use a short boat hook to grab the headsail sheet and pull the foot of the sail tight against the mast and cleat the sheet. Dousing the halyard and downhauling keeps the sail lowered and centred on deck if it is windy.

I did try using the downhaul through a centre hank to bring the clew in but gave up due to awkwardness, binding and windage issues.

The Gerr Downhaul that was suggested looks very interesting as it uses the two loose rings to allow a kind of "jackstay" on either side of the sail to keep it centred. I would imagine it would work well in light to medium air although may cause excessive windage and possibly wrap dangerously around the forestay if the wind built up?

As far as overpowering the V22 I have found the following so far:
- Headsail only - can work - more difficult to point.
- Mainsail only - can work - more difficult to tack.
- Full Genoa up to 15kts..18kts max - the main flogs.
- Genoa / reefed main can work 16kts to 22kts.
- Jib and full main work well 12kts to about 24kts.
- Jib and reefed main 24kts-30kts is exhilarating!
- Over 30kts - Read Gary Jobson!


Hope this helps a little...Good Luck!

Don

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Don.
Thanks for your useful input.

[rtbates]

At the head of the sail terminate your downhaul to a metal ring that sits above your top hank with the headstay running through the middle. If attached to the top hank it will twist the hank and you get lots of friction..

[severn81]

Good point about the downhaul ring reducing friction. There's nothing worse than really needing a sail down that will not come down!

Don

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by rtbates

At the head of the sail terminate your downhaul to a metal ring that sits above your top hank with the headstay running through the middle. If attached to the top hank it will twist the hank and you get lots of friction..

Good point. Make sure this is reinforced in the direction of pull (parallel to the stay.

[BumbleB]

Originally Posted by severn81

Hi. Are you still working on a downhaul system, I also sail a Viking 22....Great Boat!

The system that I use for a headsail downhaul is simple and works well. I fasten a light line to the third hank from the top. This pulls the headsail down just below the spinnaker during the downwind and is also reasonable for minimal windage while docking.

The line goes straight down to a twisted clevis at the tack. (Going through more than one hank will bind.) The line is guided through the centre of my bow deck cleat, through a loose guide at the mast step and then cleated on the upper deck.

Prior to lowering the headsail I luff-up and use a short boat hook to grab the headsail sheet and pull the foot of the sail tight against the mast and cleat the sheet. Dousing the halyard and downhauling keeps the sail lowered and centred on deck if it is windy.

I did try using the downhaul through a centre hank to bring the clew in but gave up due to awkwardness, binding and windage issues.

The Gerr Downhaul that was suggested looks very interesting as it uses the two loose rings to allow a kind of "jackstay" on either side of the sail to keep it centred. I would imagine it would work well in light to medium air although may cause excessive windage and possibly wrap dangerously around the forestay if the wind built up?

As far as overpowering the V22 I have found the following so far:
- Headsail only - can work - more difficult to point.
- Mainsail only - can work - more difficult to tack.
- Full Genoa up to 15kts..18kts max - the main flogs.
- Genoa / reefed main can work 16kts to 22kts.
- Jib and full main work well 12kts to about 24kts.
- Jib and reefed main 24kts-30kts is exhilarating!
- Over 30kts - Read Gary Jobson!


Hope this helps a little...Good Luck!

Don

Hi Don,

Stumbled across your article after some googling about the Viking 22 that's new to me. I'll be sailing her on Huron this coming season, and started furiously scribling your sail configuration chart when I came across it. Thanks for the detail.

A few quick questions... What size outboard have you on yours (if any), and what luck have you had rigging yours with a spinnaker/gennaker (if any)?

Thanks,
BumbleB

[roverhi]

Tried running the downhaul through the hanks. It lasted about 12 hours before the line parted from chafe. Seized a couple of thimbles to the sail to contain the line and all was fine. Without running the halyard and downhaul lines back to the cockpit, you'll still have to go forward to lower the sail. It does make it quicker to douse the sail as all you have to do is pull it down and cleat the downhaul, pull the skirt of the sail inboard and pull the sheet tight.