I have searched the discussion Group and only found one other request for this info due to the block breaking.
Is that the only occurrence of the main sheet block failing? Are any of you worried about possible failure??
Many thanks.
Pam
Dearie 36
Mike Quill
http://home.cogeco.ca/~mquill/the_stores.html
will probably be your best source. You can contact him by email or phone.
Helen
Nonsuch 33 #7 Sashay
Burlington ON
Pam:
I’d appreciate knowing which blocks you have used. Several years ago when we replaced our sail, we also replaced our blocks with Harken 75mm Big Boat Airblocks (http://www.harken.com/productcategory.aspx?taxid=1544) for the mainsheet. We have never had an issue with them.
Richard Fried
Melita NS36 #02
Marblehead, MA
Pam,
A lot of the members have gone with Garhauer blocks. They have a very good warranty and are less troubled by salt build up then some of the other manufacturers’ blocks. You can contact the company directly. They will be able to recommend the proper size. We used them on La Reina, I know she is not a 36, but we have been very happy with them.
Here is a link to their page on the swivel block standing block with plate and becket. Many owners have gone to the swivel block without the becket and then use a pad eye to fix the end of the sheet. This splits the load between two points.
http://garhauermarine.com/catalog_process.cfm?cid=21
Mark Powers & Nesta Davies
La Reina 26C
Burrard Civic Marina
Vancouver BC
Great advice, couldn’t have said it better myself. The folks at Garhauer will work with you to get just what you want and need and they seem to know our Nonsuch boats well enough to make the right recommendations for loads. Mark and Nesta’s comment about using a pad eye to dead end the mainsheet is a great suggestion. Splitting the load does help… we have Garhauer’s 60-series blocks for our mainsheet, may or may not be overkill but it’s impressive to see the heft of those blocks and reassuring too… I used the same size for the chocker.
Regards,
Dick (& Shirley) Darrow
“Cativa”, NS30U #496
Sodus Bay, NY USA
Great advice, couldn’t have said it better myself. The folks at Garhauer will work with you to get just what you want and need and they seem to know our Nonsuch boats well enough to make the right recommendations for loads. Mark and Nesta’s comment about using a pad eye to dead end the mainsheet is a great suggestion. Splitting the load does help… we have Garhauer’s 60-series blocks for our mainsheet, may or may not be overkill but it’s impressive to see the heft of those blocks and reassuring too… I used the same size for the chocker.
Regards,
Dick (& Shirley) Darrow
“Cativa”, NS30U #496
Sodus Bay, NY USA
I'm not clear on this alternative rigging suggestion. Is a pad eye attached to the deck or coaming somewhere? If so, where? And the mainsheet is then attached to the pad eye instead of the becket on the block, and then otherwise normally run? Does this just reduce the strain on hardware fastening the block to the coaming, or is there some other advantage?
Thanks,
Jim Cosgrove
Fate 30U #343
Galesville, MD
Sounds like a good idea. Anyone have a photo of the setup.
Mike
BIANKA
30U
I believe that the main purpose of using a pad eye to terminate the
sheet, rather than at a becket on the sheet block, is simply to split
the load. It does not change the mechanical advantage of the sheet.
Splitting the load helps when running with light wind and the sail
fills and slams forward, creating a lot of pressure on the sheet
blocks.
Placement of the eye pad would depend on where the current sheet block
is mounted. Ideally the pad eye should be aft or forward of the
block, rather than along side, so that the block and the dead end of
the sheet do not lie on top of one another when the sail is sheeted
way out. If the block is mounted behind the combing you might not
have room behind it, so it must either go on the combing or along side
the block. If the block is on the combing and you want to avoid
chafing the sheet on the eyebrow, you must choose to put the pad eye
along side the block on the combing.
Bill Spencer - LIONHEART, NS30U 52 Hyde Park, NY
Yes Jim, I’m not familiar with where the stand-up block is located on the 36 but our pad eye is fastened to the deck located close to the standup block and the mainsheet dead ends to the pad eye rather than the becket, thereby transferring much of the load to the pad eye rather than the becket. Make sure the pad eye has a backer plate under the deck for reinforcement. Garhauer has a fiddle block with an adjustable shackle and based on what the load requirements of your 36 are, ( 40-01, 50-01 or even 70-01 ) this is the block you might consider rather than one with a becket. I know a former owner of a 30U who had a fiddle block with a becket break under the pressure of an unexpected jibe and had near serious personal injury… he added the pad eye rather than replacing with another block with a becket.
Regards,
Dick (& Shirley) Darrow
“Cativa”, NS30U #496
Sodus Bay, NY USA
Thanks Dick. I have a 30 and this makes sense. I'll look at the set up and see what the space constraints are now.
Jim
In the Update publication Fall 2006, I wrote a comprehensive story of how we had jibed, the damage occurred and what could have been a fatal injury to my sweetheart wife. How we later replaced the block/becket
and a study of the welds that hold the block to the base unit.
It is good reading and very informative. To be safe all Nonsuchs should have a stand up block and a pad eye as this splits the load in half if a violent gibe occurs. I had intended to do it for years, but as we all know, we get lazy and complacent and think “Oh Well”, better to think “DO IT NOW” .
Lorie S. Simone former owner of REVELATION NS30 U #260
1203 Acadia Drive,
Kingston, Ont., K7M 8W1
613 634 7457 fax 613 634 2674
I was prompted to get rid of the stand up block and becket when it kept jabbing me in the back. The last straw occured when a pin from it managed to hook my sweater and pinned me to the seat.. I got the message and installed a pad eye for the bitter end which halved the load. It is attached to the pad eye with a snap shackle. This allows me to sail with a single mainsheet in light airs or attach it to a rope horse (traveller) when not class racing. This moves the downforces on the boom closer to the gunwale and provides an extra few feet of mainsheet as well as being a better shock absorber than the block and becket or block and pad eye. This arrangement works well on a 26.
John Newell
Mascouche 26C1
Toronto
Lorie,
I found the article and read it last night. Pretty scary experience for you both! Thank you for writing the article in the first place and for telling me to find it and read it. The installation of a pad eye is definitely now on my short list of important tasks to do this spring.
Jim Cosgrove
Fate 30U #343
Galesville, MD