Help with Leading Lines Aft, Pearson Triton

[mikeroddy]

Hi Cruisers Forum,

Thanks for existing and for providing a plethora of answers and wisdom to those a bit newer to the passion of sailing.

Anyway, I bought my first boat about three months ago - a 1959 Pearson Triton and I love it. The previous owner made a variety of updates and restorations, some a little hokey.

This thread is specifically about the lines he chose to lead aft and the method in which he did it. The current situation is totally bonkers. The main halyard and topping lift go back to the cockpit but with way too much friction and chafe potential. Both lines rub against the hatch and the main halyard is lead through a shackle at one point rather than a block. The block that leads both lines is tied to the mast.

I've done some reading and learned about a variety of different strategies for getting this kind of setup right. I'm looking for some guidance on a couple of different points. My boat also has a raised cabin roof which further complicates things.

1) Mast-mounted blocks or deck-mounted?
Mast-Mounted:
The benefit I see from mast mount is installing block(s) at the height of the cabin roof allows for one less corner the line will need to navigate. (Turning block on mast, deck organizer on cabin roof, cam cleat to finish.)

However, the topping lift runs on the aft side of the mast. There's a turning block riveted to the mast already but it's below the height of the cabin roof and doesn't seem useful. I'm nervous about putting more holes into the mast in this area.

Deck Mounted:
Will blocks be close enough to enough to where they need to be given the boot and mast step? Can an over-the-top block on the cabin roof edge also accommodate moving the line laterally? The lines need to head aft, but also make some sideways progress to port in order to eliminate the chafe against the hatch cover.

I'm a bit confused as to how to go forward at the moment and would definitely appreciate any guidance. My finances also tend more to the nautical flea market side of things versus the buy-it-new at West Marine strategy if you'd like additional challenge in providing in any advice.

Here's photos of the current setup:









I'm also thinking about lazy jacks in the near future as one more line to head back to the cockpit. Apologies for any misuse of terms and thanks for reading.

[daddle]

Who knows? But I've some tips from years of shorthanded sailing.

Don't lead them aft if you really need to be at the mast anyway. Like halyards.

You must use ball bearing blocks. Not those of schaffers. All blocks must be 7 times the line diameter. Make the line smaller if you can to save $$ and use gloves.

The only lines I lead back are furling and sheets.

[marshmat]

I'm not much of a sailor, but I do tend to agree with Daddle that you should consider having these lines at the mast. With them in the cockpit, tucking in a reef will involve a lot of back-and-forth when you're single-handing (lower the halyard, go to the mast to fiddle with the reefing lines, go back to the cockpit to tighten the halyard, find something's slipped out of place, go forward again....).

If you really do want these lines in the cockpit, then everything has to come back- all the reefing lines, outhaul, etc. as well. You might be able to do this with mast-mounted blocks for the halyard and topping lift, set higher up than the current ones, but I'm not sure you can get them high enough to clear the hatch without interfering with the vang. Perhaps a couple of turning blocks to port of the hatch would bring them far enough out to have a clear run?

[um saudade]

Everybody needs to figure out what works for them, as each and every boat is different as are sailing conditions and crew.

I agree with the other posters as to leaving most of the mainsail lines on the mast. You may consider running the topping lift off the transom as an alternative to going forward with it or running it back with blocks. I have the topping lift run in to the cockpit of the base of the mast but as I have an Offshore vang that acts to hold the boom up, my topping lift is redundant.

Is there another winch pad on the mast? If you move the halyard to the mast you will need a winch mounted on either the mast or the coach roof at the base of the mast so you may be drilling holes no matter which way you go on this. I like the straight down pull on the halyards though I don’t have enough winches on the mast to handle all the halyards at times.

Go wander around the marina and look at the other boats. It’s cheap and gives you ideas. Don’t hesitate to ask other owners how they like their set-up too. You may never get away in some cases, but will learn a lot!

Um saudade

[Ziggy]

If your mast is keel stepped, deck mounted turning blocks will tend to lift the deck up, unless you have a tie rod or some other way to hold it down.

[mikeroddy]

Thanks for the responses. I had a sneaking suspicion that a popular reply was going to be something to the tune of: "put it back the way it was."

I've definitely considered that, and I may end up doing that - but I like the idea of leading the lines back. I just haven't figured out a good way to do it yet.

There is no winch on the mast and no leftover pad that would indicate where one was mounted.

The mast is deck stepped.