Mizzen rigging a yawl

[Steely Dancer]

Hi y’all!

We’ve spent the last four years doing a total refit of our 1968 Cheoy Lee Offshore 40 yawl and it’s time to re-attach the mizzen boom with its new sail cover.

The problem is that we can’t find information anywhere about how it’s supposed to be rigged!

There are large handle-like rungs on the bottom of the boom toward the aft end where I understand shackles or blocks get attached in order to create a quasi-vang that runs to a fitting on the stern toe rail. But what about something like a topping lift? What is supposed to keep the boom in a horizontal position when the sail is lowered? Do we just use the halyard? We can’t even reach the end of the boom without disconnecting it at the gooseneck, and that doesn’t seem very efficient.

Explanations, diagrams, references welcome. TIA!

[chris95040]

Attempting to insert an image, let's see if it works this time.

This is the Rhodes Reliant, a very similar design your boat was based off of.

The lines of the mizzen rigging are quite faint but they are there if you follow from the tangs, etc. I used it to decode that puzzle many years ago before committing it to memory.

Edit: Just re-read and saw you are talking about running rigging, not standing rigging.

Re: topping lift, I have a topping lift from the masthead - it terminates at the masthead and is therefore adjusted at the aft end of the boom. It runs through a block there forward so that you can adjust it without hanging over the transom.

Re: main sheet (mizzen sheet?) you use 3 blocks, 2 hung from the boom and 1 attached to a short line off a pad eye that is attached to the transom, centered on the toe rail there IIRC. I think the line terminates on top of the lower block, goes from there up into one of the boom blocks, down and through the transom block, then up into one of the second boom blocks, and you trim it by tying it off to a cleat on the boom. This results in a 3:1 purchase.

[chris95040]

This is the sheet routing if i recall correctly.

[Bellinghamster]

Gotta have a topping lift - the halyard won't be available while you're raising or lowering the sail. As stated above, lead it from the masthead through a block on the end of the boom forward to a cleat so you can adjust from near the mast.

[rls8r]

I'm not sure how the Cheoy Lees were rigged, but Chris has it right - for the mizzen sheet - for all of the yawls that I've seen. Both Chris and Bellinghamster have it right for the topping lift.

Here are some photos of the running rigging on my mizzen. The photo showing the port side of the boom is labeled. It's difficult to see the second turning block since it's under a pile of line - but it's on a bale like the aft one. You can see it better on the starboard view of the boom. I run my mizzen sheet to a winch - but much of the time that's overkill. I've found that the 'forces' on the mizzen sheet often can be handled without a winch - but it's there, so I use it (unless I don't - see below).

The snatch block on the very end of the boom (see starboard-side photo) is where I attach the mizzen staysail sheet when I rig that sail. I'll run the mizzen staysail sheet forward to the cleat on the starboard side of the boom - or perhaps to a second turning block at the gooseneck and then down to the winch I usually use for the mizzen sheet (in which case I'll tie off the mizzen sheet to the starboard boom cleat) - it just depends on the wind and what mood I'm in.

P.S. Sorry that I don't have close-up photo of the mizzen gooseneck. It looks like a typical gooseneck, but it has a wire fitting (a bale divided into two sides) that allows me to hang two small turning blocks - one for the mizzen sheet (usually) and one for the mizzen staysail sheet (occasionally).

P.P.S. Please excuse the poor shape that the lines are in - I've replaced them.

[Steely Dancer]

This is amazing and so helpful, everyone. I hope you all realize that this may be the only place on the Internet where this is explained in any useful way. Thank you.

I’m going to process this information. I’ll probably have some follow up questions, as well as questions about how you deal with mizzen sail covers when the boom extends more than a foot or two aft of the pushpit railing and its end is out of reach.

[psk125]

Originally Posted by Bellinghamster

Gotta have a topping lift - the halyard won't be available while you're raising or lowering the sail. As stated above, lead it from the masthead through a block on the end of the boom forward to a cleat so you can adjust from near the mast.

The photo on the listing here https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/of...-40-cheoy-lee/ shows the topping lift on the mizzen. Putting a spring-loaded vang on the mizzen boom to hold it up would make moving around in the cockpit a real challenge. A topping lift set up the way Bellinghamster suggests would be effective and simple to use.

[chris in SG]

This was my Cheoy Lee OS40 mizzen rigging from 15 years ago. Mizzen topping lift goes to a cleat on the boom - no need for a winch.

[chris in SG]

Another view, showing single wire down to a pulley 1ft above boom, then to a line through a fixed pulley each side of the boom.

[razamataz]

maybe you could use this? although I didn't on my Contest ketch and did a mainsheet block in the centerline led back via block to boom gooseneck

But Can I add a question I didnt find an answer too?
Does a Mizzen also require a boom vang/kicker? what prevent the mizzen boom going up?

[razamataz]

Nobody knows if a mizzen boom require a boom vang?

[12 sail away]

Originally Posted by chris in SG

Another view, showing single wire down to a pulley 1ft above boom, then to a line through a fixed pulley each side of the boom.

What a beauty ! Unfortunately we don't see them a lot a Europe.

[chris in SG]

Originally Posted by 12 sail away

What a beauty ! Unfortunately we don't see them a lot a Europe.

Spent 20 years varnishing, then decided it's time to go sailing..

As for the question "Nobody knows if a mizzen boom require a boom vang?", the original design had no boom vang for main or mizzen. In fact the original main had roller reefing around the boom which would preclude a boom vang. Also, the spruce boom was very heavy and a vang to hold it down when reaching/ running was unnecessary. A mizzen vang could be rigged temporarily but I doubt anyone bothered because the drive from the mizzen was minimal.

I see from other photos in this thread that later 'sisterships' had alloy spars but I doubt Cheoy Lee changed the rigging, except to change roller reefing to slab reefing.

[MicHughV]

My first boat was ketch rigged.

At the time, I didn't know a ketch rig from a stick in the ground, but having two mast just looked "cool" to me and I had to have this.

Over time, I did learn how to use twin masts to advantage, and grew to love the ketch rig's versatility. I imagine a yawl rig is much the same.

My mizzen never had a vang of any sort, but neither did the main. The split rig caused both main and mizzen to have reduced sail area, and the vang was not deemed a " must have" feature. The main sheet did have a traveler, but the mizzen did not, being led to a single point amidship, with the mizzen sheet brought forward to the cockpit.

The ketch rig can hardly be termed a " race boat" where a vang and other such accouterment's might be deemed to be be necessary.

Not having a vang for either main or mizzen was never a hassle. On the few extended downwind runs, I would rig a " preventer" to stop the boom from a potential accidental jibe, but beyond that never saw much use for a vang.

[Bowdrie]

Following somewhat tongue-in-cheek;
MicHughV, But you see, powerful vangs combined with mid-boom sheeting and wafer-thin booms make it so much easier to break the boom and/or damage the gooseneck.