For those looking for an electronic copy of the Nomad 'Owners Manual' have a look here. Torresen Marine is still hosting a copy on their site.
I have purchased a new spinnaker outhaul, so I can more easily douse the spinnaker; the original line was too short, and it was almost impossible to pack the spi without climbing to the fore deck. I plan to upgrade the jib halyard to a vectrus line to address the twisting of the halyard inside the mast. The current wire halyard imparts a twist to the halyards inside the mast -- a considerable task to correct. I also plan to upgrade the jib furling gear with high load swivels.
Update (July 3) As of my most recent experience untangling the jib halyard, I decided that I would no longer detach the t-ball connector from the mast while unrigged. Thus instead of keeping the halyard in the mast, and subject to tangling, I now leave the wire inside the mast, and coil the rope into one of the spinnaker bags. So far this has prevented the rope tangling again, but a few more days of raising & lowering the mast will let me know the real effect of this change.
Anyone else care to share their mods?
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2 comments:
Hi,
I have recently purchased a Nomad and have noticed the same problem with the jib halyard twisting. The vectrus line you mentioned I assume is designed to replace the wire. Won't this line stretch over time? I imagine this halyard takes tremendous loads both from the jib and main sheet pressure. Do you know how long this rope can last exposed to sun and salt water? Is there any tricks to getting the wire out of the mast and replacing with the vectrus? If you have any pictures of the upgrade can you share them? Thanks for all your help.
Tom Sanford
tsanford@sanfordcontracting.com
Tom, I've not done this switch yet, but speaking with other dinghy sailors this problem is common. For those boats with external halyards, it's a small inconvenience, but you know the difficulty with internal halyards ;)
I understand the Vectrus is a very low stretch line, and often used for this purpose. Since it is braided rather than twisted, it should retain its linear integrity even if it does stretch a bit. I would expect the line to have similar longevity as other man-made fibers.
I had planned to cut the current wire halyard, attach a light line to it, and pull the whole assembly out through the base of the mast, leaving the temporary line in place. Once I had reassembled the new halyard, I'd pull it back up the mast and attach as necessary.
In the meantime, I have gotten in the habit of putting a few turns on the halyard wire before I attach the jib. I'll see if that helps! If not, my frustration level will dictate when I make the change.
Finally, I got my ideas from the Annapolis Performance Sailing Website. http://www.apsltd.com/c-2691-c420-halyards.aspx
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