Rope Clutches

[pklein]

I'm planning on adding some additional rope clutches on my '89 C-34.  The port side already has two and starborad has one and a jam cleat. I have a question about attaching them to the boat.

Garhauer will be kind enough to drill out the rivets holding these clutches together so I can use long bolts(supplied by them) to gang three together on each side.  I have already added additional deck organizers at the mast and line guides under the traveler.

When removing the old clutches I discovered the following.

The two units on the port side were held down by what appear to be 1" #8 or #10 stainless screws.  The clutch on the starboard side and the jam cleat were held down by 1/4" by 1" flat head bolts that were tapped into what appears to be brass.

Does anybody know what is under the areas where the clutches are mounted and if I should plan on drilling and tapping for the new clutches?

Phill Klein
Andiamo #977
Montrose Harbor - Chicago

[dave davis]

Your set-up sounds just like my 88 model. I put three cluchs on the port and two on the starbord. When you look at the allignment on the port side, you may wish to bring them aft and slightly mid ship to get a better angle for less friction. You can fill the old holes and use 1/4 in thru bolts for four of the mounts and srews for the other two. The other two ended in the teak molding obove the head.  On the starboard side, I sure was happy to get rid of the plastic jam cleet which I found next to usless. Again, I would recommend 1/4 thru bolts :)

[Stu Jackson]

Phill,

For the mainsheet, we have replaced the silly gray clam cleat with a Spinlock XLA sheet stopper.  I saw this on a bareboat we had in the BVIs a few years ago (arrgh, it was a Beneteau!) and I like the arrangement much better.  First, it gives a great secure fairlead to the starboard mainsheet winch -- it keeps the line low and avoids having to use two hands to crank in the mainsheet -- one to keep the line down low enough to avoid overrides, and the other to crank the winch.  

Some people may be concerned about "not being able to quickly release the mainsheet" through a sheetstopper.  When sailing, I leave the sheet stopper open and use the starboard cabintop self tailing winch to keep the mainsheet set, and can release the mainsheet easily at any time.  It's probably easier to trip the mainsheet off the winch than it would be to tug it out of the darn silly gray clam cleat when it's under load.  I only close the sheet stopper when not sailing with the main, like at anchor with the mainsail finished for the day.  The new sheet stopper fit right into the same position as the old useless clam cleat, but I had to drill one more hole.  I suggest you try to do the same and minimize the number of holes you need to drill.

My experience has been when sailing (here on SF Bay with "some" wind during the summers!), that I rarely have to adjust or even "dump" the mainsheet once it is set.  If I do, sometimes it is easier to change course and take the load off and get to it when I can.  If not using the autopilot, I just lock the wheel for a second.  It's also a lot easier to just dump the traveler, since pulling the mainsheet back in is a lot harder to do than pulling the traveler back up.

I did not find any backing plates inside the cabintop, unlike the plates under the deck organizers up forward.  Drill right through and bolt 'em down, don't simply use screws.  Even though the load appears to be horizontal (in shear only), it's always better to make sure the hardware is secure.

Just use the largest bolts you can fit into the sheetstoppers, drill and seal the holes with sealant (not 5200), put them on loosely, let it sit for a day to get the sealant to seal, and then tighten them up.  Fit flat washers and lock washers to spread the loads, and acorn nuts inside below, and enjoy a new sense of freedom with your mainsheet - you can self tail without using two hands.

I visited the Catalina dealer yesterday, and noted that the new boats, of all sizes, are still coming from the factory with these silly gray clam cleats.  Geez, just when you thought they'd worked all the bugs out!

On a related note, if you haven't yet, make sure you install the long through bolts at the ends of your traveler.  Check out the Tech Notes Online for a picture of what happens if you don't through bolt the traveler.  I forget which issue of recent two or three year old Mainsheet that was in, but it showed a picture of the damage done to the fiberglass when the traveler pulled out.  (Never having an accidental jibe is as believable as never going aground in the California Delta or the ICW!) If you can't find it right away, try the IC34 website search under "traveler." Nasty.  You can get the long 9 inch 1/4 bolts from the factory.  You'll need a super long drill bit, easily obtainable at any hardware store.

Best regards,

Stu