Downhaul/rigging question

[gregcrawford]

I took my C22 out on Saturday for the 2nd time and first time by myself.

My question is about the downhaul/Cunningham device which consists of two blocks and a stainless long hook. There is a stainless ring on the bottom of the gooseneck which I assume this attaches to, but the boom was not high enough to take the slack out of the device, so I left it off. I still have about two feet of mast above the top of the sail. Do I need to raise the sail/boom higher? There is an adjustable stop in the sailtrack that the boom rests on, set by the PO I imagine.

There is a grommet about a foot or so above the foot of the sail which I thought the downhaul might hook into, but it is too high and the hook opening is not big enough to go into the grommet. There is another grommet higher up and ties which I assume to be a reef point and that grommet would hook into the reef hook on the gooseneck.

Can you provide some insight on this?

Also, I have heard of some people raising the jib via a lanyard at the tack to get it clear of the lifelines. What is your opinion of this? I realize this would raise the center of effort and induce further heel.

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[Andiron120]

Move the adjustable stop, run the sail to the top of the mast, replace the stop a little below the new boom height, or just below the boom after adjusting the down haul. Now the downhaul should work. The grommet a foot or so above the tack is for a Cunningham which as I understand it was come up with by a fellow named Cunningham to get around some racing rules regarding adjusting the tensioning of the sail while racing.

Raising the tack of the jib works well for me, in lighter air. In heavy air it does seem to have problems of its own, both increased heel and excessive weather helm.

Disclaimer, over the years I have found I am wrong as often as right so follow any advice at your own risk

[gregcrawford]

Thank you for the quick response. I can hardly wait to get back to the boat Saturday to try this.

So I was probably correct in that the down haul will hook into the ring on the bottom of the gooseneck?

At what speed does the swing keel pendant cable start to hum? I had it at that speed several times this past weekend.

Thanks again,

[Banshi]

Mine starts up as soon as I start moving pretty quickly and climbs in pitch as I speed up...probably about 3 kts or so.

As to the previous question I don't think the Cunningham is of much use on this size main when fully raised because you can easily tighten up the luff with the main halyard. I run a line through the lower grommet then through the goose-neck loop then I run another line from the goose neck to the ring at the bottom of the mast to keep the boom from sliding up when I am raising the sail or tightening up the luff as the winds come up. It would be useful when reefing the sail though.