I have just purchased a well-kept 1981 Prindle 16. The only problem I see is slipping the S-hook at the head of the jib into the O-ring at the top of the forestay. Is there a trick to doing this or is there a modification a person can make? Your advice would be appreciated.

Andrew

1. make sure the ring is hanging aft of the forestay when you rig the boat.

2. Make sure the 's' has the opening to the rear when hoisting. when it goes thru the ring, just pull down to catch it.

3. When de-rigging, loosen the luff tension, and pull up the halyard slightly, the down quick to get it thru the ring. Pullin the clew to the side often helps here.



Good luck, hope this helps.

Todd hit the technical points right on the head. one addition: ensure that the jib halyard doesn't foul the ring on its way back down through the jib luff.



on the spiritual side of the operation (you'll learn that this is a BIG part of getting it to work consistently).... keep in mind that this is something you just need to develop a "feel" for, and that only happens over time.



don't get discouraged. and don't spend a half-hour squinting up into the sun, cussing and swearing on the beach because you can't get the goddamn hook to engage. give it a half-dozen tries, and if it doesn't hook, lay the boat over on it's side, hook the ring with it right in your face so you can see it happen, and then just go sailing. you'll get it next time.



once you DO finally develop a feel for it, you'll laugh at all the frustration you endured while learning.

Todd,



Thanks for your reply. Your advice sounds promising. When I bought the Prindle, both the up and down portions of the jib halyard were led THROUGH the ring. Is this the proper way to do it? It does not look so. Or should only one or none of the halyard sections be going through the ring? By the way, we had a wonderful sail on it yesterday and we really like this cat.

Regards,

Andrew

Thanks for your additional advice. In fact, we have already resorted to pulling the "little darling" down on its side for rigging the jib halyard, but the main thing is that we had a great sail afterwards.

Regards,

Andrew

Yes, both sides of the halyard line go thru, if your luff tensioner is on the forestay that is. I've seen older P16's rig the halyard to the mast, in which case you would only have one. Sounds like yours is on the forestay though.



Good luck,

Todd

Todd,

Thanks for your latest advice; it makes sense and I appreciate it.

This may be obvious, but one other thing that makes it easier to catch the ring is to ensure the bow is directly into the wind. The farther off you are when raising the sail, the trickier it is to hook.

My P-16 is a lovely little Cat.



Dave

really? I don't remember that at all. sure, the MAIN needs to be head-to-wind to hook the ring, but I always rigged the jib with the boat dry on the beach or still on the trailer, generally (by coincidence, not design) at a near-90-degree angle to the wind.

Give it a try... I've never had to tip the boat sideways to hook the jib.(only to put the main halyard wire back on the pulleys at the masthead!...UGH)



Dave