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SECURING THE DOWNHAUL
http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=37041		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  NOHUHU [ Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:47 pm ]
Post subject:  SECURING THE DOWNHAUL
Aloha all,

Does anyone have a picture of the "official" (or improved) way to rig the downhaul and tie it off to the sail's cleat?

I had an experience where the downhaul worked loose in high wind, and the results are not fun. You end up with a fully deployed sail, luffing like a mutha, and no way to furl it or lock it down (except to wrestle the mast by hand). :o

At first I was convinced the furling drum had come unglued, but that was not the case.

BTW, my mast and furling drum is the older 2007 style. My sail is about a year old.
Author:  KayakingBob [ Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: SECURING THE DOWNHAUL
I tie a knot in the line before I cleat it, so it jams into the cleat, then tie the loose end around both tight lines to use it up.
Image
Author:  DogsLife [ Tue Jul 26, 2011 4:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: SECURING THE DOWNHAUL
I have had a personal debate about the downhaul both on my TI and AI for some time now.

The cleat can come loose if the loose end of the line is not tied off.

On my TI I use the cleat for my jib to raise the sail. The downhaul is tied like a Spanish tackle. Small loop in the end of the line. Line runs through the sail web, down to the drum. up to the small loop at the sail web. Pull down to tighten. I believe if you count the turns you have a 3X advantage. Tie off the whole thing in the middle with half hitches wrapped around all the lines.

On the AI I had a different problem. The tension of the downhaul on the forward part of the sail caused a sail wrinkle on the lower part of the sail. I sewed a small web loop on the after part of the sail. 180 degrees from the downhaul on the opposite side of the mast. Using a smaller parachute line tied off at the aft web loop, line runs: Aft web loop to drum, back up to aft web, down to drum. Half way around the inside drum, through the front hole and up to the front loop. Then down to drum and up through the loop. Tie off with half hitches around the front lines. This system pulls the sail down evenly on both sides. The added loops increase the advantage and you can use a smaller line.
Author:  NOHUHU [ Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: SECURING THE DOWNHAUL
My new sail didn't come with a lot of extra line, so there isn't much left to make fancy knots with. Maybe I should change it out. Here's what I have now:

Image

All the tension is between the downhaul strap and the loop which goes through the mast hole. It is not on the cleat. A cinch knot holds them together and the slop is tied off to the cleat. I'd love to see picts of how Hobie and others are doing this.

One problem I noticed is that the line is too thick for this skinny plastic cleat, which really does not grip it well. So the finishing knots are important.

I have seen some people pass the line through the cleat from both the bottom and some from the top. Which is correct?

Bob, you are passing the line straight "up" through the cleat, with a keeper knot at the cleats edge and then you tie the rest off, correct?

Dog- you should photo document your downhaul mod here.
Author:  KayakingBob [ Tue Jul 26, 2011 6:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: SECURING THE DOWNHAUL
NOHUHU wrote:
My new sail didn't come with a lot of extra line, so there isn't much left to make fancy knots with. Maybe I should change it out. Here's what I have now:
If you make the loop tied to the strapping smaller, you'd have more than enough line to get into trouble with :)

NOHUHU wrote:
Bob, you are passing the line straight "up" through the cleat, with a keeper knot at the cleats edge and then you tie the rest off, correct
Yep! 8)
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