@Robin 9255 wrote:
I am in the process of rigging a new pole uphaul/downhaul system on our mark II GRP. At present, I have no sheaves installed in the mast to route the uphaul internally but there is a deck eye and block at spreader height to run this externally. Does this latter method work well enough, or is an internal uphaul system ‘a must’? (we plan to club race).
There is nothing wrong with that solution. You can always add the internal outhaul later if you want. As far as I can see your biggest problem is the outside uphaul runs next to the pole eye and may interfere with your actions there.
@Robin 9255 wrote:
As far as the downhaul is concerned, there is a deck eye and cheek block at the foot of the kingpost. The Wayfarer Book suggests running a length of shockcord from the downhaul line, through a block/eye near the aft bulkhead (attached where?) and back again. Can this be routed below the floorboards in any way? I’ve also seen Uncle Al’s (CWA) method of routing the shockcord element of the downhaul inside the mast, which sounds neat but are there problems associated with this?
Any recommendations or suggestions for best set-up – all opinions welcome! 😀
The wayfarer book suggest a turning block at the aft bulkhead. However, if you use a thicker type of bungee there is no need to do that IMHO. (Or use a double [triple] bungee). Just run it aft and fix it there to what ever eye you have available. Running it below the floor boards is more or less the standard. You can’t trip over it in that position. Though, if you run it just on top of the floor board, as close as possible in the corner of the floorboard and the CB case, it is well out of the way as well. This route requires a small hole in the aft CB case-cover, in such a way that the bungee runs in a straight line to the aft bulkhead. I would then use small eye, screwed to the bulkhead or the floorboard to tie the bungee to. It is a cleaner solution then tying it to the fixture of the hiking straps.
Do not run it inside the mast. Even uncle Al runs it inside the cockpit after he broke his mast last year. The “in mast” solution suggested by the WIC pages require a sheave at deck level where the mast load is maximal. IMHO it is not a good idea to make a hole in the mast at that particular spot.
In a MK2 you can also run the bungee to the bow and back. I used a piece of 1.5″ PVC drainage pipe with a turning block fixed to one end. After the bungee and rope is run through the block and pipe, you push it all the way forward into the bow and fix the other end with a screw to the underside of the deck near the mast. This way you do not need to wiggle your way in between the deck and the buoyancy tank. The PVC pipe also prevents gear from interfering with the downhaul.
What ever solution you choose, tie the bungee to the downhaul in such a way that the knot bumps into a block or eye at maximum pole height, this is an important safety feature.