New Chrysler Owner/New Sailor...Have a few boat questions!

PA_Sailor · Post by **PA_Sailor** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:27 pm

Hi everyone. I just bought a C-20, which I am getting ready to put on a local lake for the season. I sailed a Sunfish when I was a kid but this is my first real boat. I have the manual for the boat (downloaded online) but it is a little vague in a few areas.

Today I put the mast up in my driveway without incident. The problem I am having is with the boom. I see how it attaches but I don't see how it stays up when there is no sail attached? Do you use a stop on the mast and then attach the rear to the tail on the rear stay?

Just aft of the mast, above the winch for the keel, there is a metal fitting/grommet attached with three screws. What is this for?

My boat did not come with a vang? How necessary is it on the 20?

One last thing, the only potential problem I have with my boat is with the keel winch. It looks like this has been "repaired" in the past. There is a metal plate on both sides and the inside plate looks like it has pulled into the wood/glass a little. It seems solid now and does not move at all when used. Is this a problem area with the Chryslers and something I should further reinforce in the future?

Thank you so much for any help that you guys can provide!!!!

EmergencyExit · Post by **EmergencyExit** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:40 pm

Welcome aboard ! We have a member or two that sail C20's, and they love them..I can answer the question about the boom being held up when the sails are down. You can either drop a line from the backstay down to the end of the boom, or a line (often adjustable and called a topping lift) from the masthead to the end of the boom.

PA_Sailor · Post by **PA_Sailor** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:49 pm

EmergencyExit wrote:Welcome aboard ! We have a member or two that sail C20's, and they love them..I can answer the question about the boom being held up when the sails are down. You can either drop a line from the backstay down to the end of the boom, or a line (often adjustable and called a topping lift) from the masthead to the end of the boom.

Thanks for the quick reply! I tied a line off of the backstay to the back of the boom. When I did that though, the boom, where it attaches to the mast, ran all of the way down to the deck. How do I keep the front of the boom up on the mast without a sail on? Sorry if this is a stupid question!!

Jmckamey · Post by **Jmckamey** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:34 pm

Welcome Pa_sailor, I had a C20 for a short period of time and I think I can help you with your questions. 1) the boom is held up in place by two devices, on the aft end, a topping lift. This can be a peice of cable attatched to the aft stay with a clip, or a cable attatched to the mast head. If the latter, then there should be a small jam cleet for heigth adjustment. For the front of the boom, look for a sliding dowel in the mast sail track with a wing nut. This can be moved up or down to set the boom where you want (without the main sail hoisted) I have set mine higher from time to time for a boom tent. As a side note, the topping lift is uncliped from the boom when sailing unless it is attatched to the mast head then, you put in enough slack as not to interfer with sail shape. Should be clear as mud

2) The grommet is most likely where wires from the mast passed into the cabin, as I recall mine had a thru deck connecter in that area. 3) As for the wench mount. Yea, what can I say, mine was the same way. I always thought mine had been repaired too, but now that you have described yours, I now know they are the same.
You are going to enjoy the boat, very stable and very good in strong winds, just try not to over canvas her. I had mine out in very strong winds with several sail combinations and found her to be best with a head sail only in the really strong stuff. I wish my 22 had half the cock pit the 20 has.... Enjoy.

Almost forgot, the boom vang is mostly used when downwind sailing, keeps the boom from raising too much and helps with sail shape. Not to big of a deal to go without it, certainly wouldn't stay on the dock because I didn't have one.

lecker68 · Post by **lecker68** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:52 pm

Welcome aboard PA_Sailor I have a C-26 and love it hope you do your C-20 as well.

Andiron120 · Post by **Andiron120** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:20 pm

Welcome Aboard PA_Sailor, sounds to me like the asnweres you have gotten are right on the money. I sail a 22 and went the first season without a boom vang, nothing to keep you at the dock. Have a blast and post pictures if you get a chance.

skyking · Post by **skyking** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:20 am

Welcome aboard PA sailor..

I have attached a link for the sail track stop that was mentioned earlier..What lake will you be sailing in PA?

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... sNum=10216

mcrandall · Post by **mcrandall** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:40 am

Welcome PA Sailor!

As you can see, you've hit upon a great source of information!

Cheers!

CaptainScott · Post by **CaptainScott** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:47 am

Welcome aboard PA sailor! Glad to see ya here!
Scott

Banshi · Post by **Banshi** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:44 pm

Welcome aboard

clair hofmann · Post by **clair hofmann** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:08 pm

Welcome aboard. What part of Pa are you in?
Clair

PA_Sailor · Post by **PA_Sailor** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:15 pm

Wow guys, thanks for all of the responses and greetings! I will be keeping the boat at the marina on Lake Nockamixon (about an hour north of Philadelphia).

I actually found the stop in a box of hardware, thanks.

I have another question. I am replacing the running rigging and was thinking of replacing the sheets and halyard tails with 3/8". I know the specs call for 5/16" halyard tails, but I figured it would not really make a difference since they are only tails. Is my logic on point?

Thanks again for the numerous and quick responses!!

Alanhod · Post by **Alanhod** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:51 pm

Welcome aboard ship mate!

Hey that is a nice looking boat you have there. Does it have a name yet?

Looks like everyone has answered your first questions before I got online. These folks are like that, give them a question or an idea and we are off to the races with ideas and answers for just the right fix.

As for the 5/16 vs 3/8, I don not consider myself really qualified to answer but your logic seems sound to me. Only area I might get a little concerned about would be the cables going through any blocks that were designed to handle the 5/16. Taking the 3/8 through that block might cause wear in that block. But standing rigging and cable not running through a block sound like a good idea in my opinion.

Thanks
Alan

Bhacurly · Post by **Bhacurly** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:52 pm

Ditto the Welcome!

On the wire question,,, it probably would be fine either way,, how's that for a feel strongly both ways response! It's probably more important that the sheeves get a good clean and lube so they rotate freely than that 1/16" in cable size if that's what you have to work with right now. I would bet the groove has worn a bit, so if they lay in there nice the practical side of me would use them and move on to the next project... If they don't they may jump the groove and that would be a sucky thing to have happen...

But I would see what others say before listening to me also

Billy

Jmckamey · Post by **Jmckamey** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:25 am

All the running riggng on my boat is 3/8 and it works well. Just gets a little tight on the mast cleats for the main and head sail haylards. If you are thinking about replacing the wire portion of the haylards then I would not increase the diameter.

PA_Sailor · Post by **PA_Sailor** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:55 am

Jmckamey wrote:All the running riggng on my boat is 3/8 and it works well. Just gets a little tight on the mast cleats for the main and head sail haylards. If you are thinking about replacing the wire portion of the haylards then I would not increase the diameter.

Yeah, those small mast cleats were my only area of concern.

I am not planning on replacing the wire portion of the halyard, just the tail. As far as I can tell the tail does not actually enter into the mast so the size should not really matter? I will probably just buy the original size and call it a day. I am ordering the line online and was trying just to buy a bunch of one size.

The boat is in fairly nice shape and I got it for a great price (at least I think it was a great price!). The pic I posted is from the previous owner. It is the same marina but my slip is almost on the end of the row. My son's name is Noah, so I think we are going to name her "Noah's Ark".

clair hofmann · Post by **clair hofmann** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:54 pm

Pa Sailor
I live about 20 minutes from Nockamixon in Plumstead Twp. I've only sailed on it 2x since it was built 35 years ago. Once on my Prindle and a shakedown cruise on my M scow.

My father in law had a rural mail route in the valley that formed the lake. We drove through there while they were getting ready to start flooding. They left all the houses there.

Your boat probably came from the boat dealer that used to be on 309 where Cycle Villa is now. I drooled for weeks over a red 22 they had there back in 78 or 79.

Enjoy your boat.
Clair

Alanhod · Post by **Alanhod** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:58 pm

So "Noah's Ark" takes on another relevance as the dealership it was sold from is now permanently under water. Many layers of meaning, most excellent name! I like it a lot.

Thanks
Alan

PA_Sailor · Post by **PA_Sailor** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:40 pm

clair hofmann wrote: My father in law had a rural mail route in the valley that formed the lake. We drove through there while they were getting ready to start flooding. They left all the houses there.

Neat story. My Uncle was a LT at Graterford Prison when they were building the lake. He spent two years there with prisoners whose job it was to clear all of the trees. I actually have the topo map of the lake which shows all of the locations of the structures, previous roadways, etc. Pretty interesting!

mcrandall · Post by **mcrandall** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:47 pm

Sounds like an interesting scuba dive site!

Mizzousailor · Post by **Mizzousailor** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:54 am

Howdy PaSailor,
I've got a C-20 in Springfield, Mo., that I really enjoy. It's a bigger boat than you'd think, judging from her short length. I built a mast raising system for mine that works great, since I trailersail her, but if yours is in a slip, that's awesome. Love to see more photos from C-20 owners here. Best regards, Wes

Chrysler Sailors Forum

New Chrysler Owner/New Sailor...Have a few boat questions!

New Chrysler Owner/New Sailor...Have a few boat questions!

Good to see another C-20 owner...