Hello All,

I'm new to the Mosquito Class and new to this forum.

i was wondering if anyone had any tips or photos on a good Mosquito setup. I've just bought a 2nd hand boat and am finding some aspects of the rigging setup have alot to be desired.!

Hence, If someone had some photos or tips of a good setup that i could try to replicate it would be fantastic!

Thanks in advance

Chris

Chris

I too am new to Mozzies. I found this on the Victorian Association Website which you may find helpful. It shows forstay setup and different mainsheet systems. If you need info other than this, i.e. downhauls/outhauls etc, you will need to be more specific so the more experienced guys can assist.

Cheers

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mosquito/tips/index.htm

Great to have new people in Mozzies. I have had my mozzie for about a year now and have looked around at nationals, states and regattas, in relation to the rigging. I have found a large diversity in the way Mozzies are rigged. 4 Stays, 3 stays, high bridles, low bridles, sheeting systems, downhauls, outhauls, traveller systems, spreaders, etc all different. When I enquired, It was suggested to me to find what worked for me and adopt that. Even though the rigging differs, racing is still very close. What part of the rigging are you unhappy with? What's the name & number of your new boat?

Thanks for the responses.

I've got Mosquito 1414...a timber hulled boat that i picked up a week or so ago.

My main area of concern relates to my boom vang....which was broken when i picked up the boat. Hence i'm looking to replace it. From memory the existing system was a 5 to one setup....but this was totally useless due to the loads on the system (and maybe because the pulleys didn't rotate.)

Given it was so hard to operate, i was interested if most guys used 6:1 systems....or if anyone went as far a 8:1 for a vang setup?

As my crew (girlfriend) will be using it, hence I don't want the system really hard to use....but also, don't want to go overboard.

The other item is the mainsail halyard. I find that after a lube the sail goes up fine, but always fails to hook onto the top of the mast...meaning i need to tip the boat everytime i want to go sailing. Generally i need to tip it again to get the main down again. Any tips?

Thanks
Chris

A boom vang isn't necessary. I haven't used one for 4 years or more. Don't bother.

Getting the hook to work right just takes a lot of patience and experimentation. There are many different ways to tie the ring on the end of the halyard and you just have to keep trying until you find the right one. Try pulling the sail up, tip the boat over and then experiment. Better still get someone else to pull on the halyard while you watch what happens at the top of the mast.

If the sail has been changed make sure that it can go high enough for the ring to get on and off. Sometimes the cut-out at the head doesn't suit the pulley/hook arrangement.

I don't run a vang either, I sail Mk1 at the moment as does Tim. I'm sure your crew would appreciate not having one either!

As for my halyard ring , I have fed the end of the halyard through the ring and tied it around the top of the shackle . I attach the halyard so the ring is aft of the halyard. After many different tries, I've found this to work quite well for me, hooking and unhooking about 95% of the time without problem.

Chris,

I still use a boom vang with a 6:1 ratio and cleated off the top pulley. I also use a wire strop from the boom to limit the amount of rope and stretch. The newer Mozzies use the mast rotation arm to limit the boom vertical movement. Am considering moving to this for next season.

I have a halyard with the rope looped up the inside of the track and a ring with a horizontal arm with 2 holes drilled into it for the rope ends; 1 for the inside of the track and 1 for the outside. When the ring gets to the top I simply pull on the inside rope and the ring goes over the hook and is secured onto the hook with a small downward pull on the sail luff. Getting it off is simply the reverse. It always works 100%. No problems with having to rotate the mast and it getting stuck. Will get some images if you like.

As already stated by others already there are some good references on the website for rigging setup. Looking at your sail No. there is probably alot of old fittings. I found that most of my original setup has been changed over time with much less clutter and much simpler.

Regards,

Peter Foulsum

Are you sure about the rotation lever being used to hold down the boom? I've never seen a rotation lever that would be strong enough to hold down the boom! It would have to be a monster!!

The only purpose I can see for the vang is to induce rotation in the mast when sailing broad. I don't find this necessary as the mast rotates anyway with pressure in the sail, and when the cat rigged boats go downwind (on the runs) the sail is stalled anyway so the rotation doesn't matter at all.

The mainsheet holds the boom down.

The most useful thing a vang can do is reduce the weight of your boat when you take it off

Hey there,

Thanks for your assistance. For the moment (perhaps cause i'm an old Laser sailor) I think i'll keep a vang on the boat....and see how i go.

A couple of people...and from my research into some standard systems, seem to recommend a cascade system of 8:1 or even 10:1. Figure I might look into the feasibility of this the next time i'm down the boat shop.

Peter.....The mast issue seems to be a biggie for me at the moment....with me having to tip the boat most times i either raise or lower the main. It would be fantastic to get some pics of your system......

Your comment on the age of the boat seems right. Most fittings seem quite old.......and easily broken

Think there will be a few replaced parts happening over the next few months. (BTW,...if anyone sees my tiller extension floating around Port Philip Bay please let me know... )

Thanks again

Chris

i use a boom vang 3-1,on a run, i uncleat it before going up wind, it holds the leach tight. but on a 2 up boat i have seen a single rope used (kicking strap) to stop the boom going to high through a jibe. other than that it is not really needed.
brooken dimond wire was from rushing and not crimping the wire right, i should have used 3mm wire, it was only 2mm.

Chris,

Self explanatory images attached I hope. Oops can't post images from here . Take 2. Now I can Note the multiple Mozzies in the background

Thanks alot.

So far I've had about a 5% success rate with my current setup.

I'll look into utilising your suggestion....would be great not to have to tip the boat each time i wanna either raise or lower the main....