Hello to all.
We are finally bringing home (Lopez Island) our 260 from Bellingham. The yard is offering to rig up the sails for us, since the boat had to be unrigged for the 300 miles over the Cascades. I am pretty handy; I built our house from scratch, so I like figuring out problems. That said, this is only our second sailboat, and the other was a West Wight Potter 19. No hurt feelings here; should I rig the sail and all? The boom is up, the lines are up, etc. Jeff, the yard foreman, offered for me to do it since yard rates are over $100/hour. Keep in mind we have to sail from Bellingham to Lopez on our first sail, about 26 miles. The engine will be in excellent shape, and it has less than 100 hours, so sailing is not essential to get hom; that said, once on Lopez, I am on my own, beside all your folks’ help.
Second question has to do with an hourmeter; is there a simpler way then connecting it to the pressure switch?
Thanks in advance for the help; I don’t know if we would have taken the jump on our boat if it was not for INA and the members.
Refer to the manual, if the yard ran the reefing and topping lift lines on the boom, the hardest part is done.
The worst you might do is run the lines thru the reefing eyes on the sail from the wrong direction(I do that frequently and its obvious first time you raise the sail and a quick fix).
Any instrument on the panel will provide a positive lead for the Hobbes meter and runs whenever the key is on.
Joe
NS26C # 156
How about this: assuming that Jeff, at the yard, is quite familiar with these boats and their rigging, what about you rigging the sail completely, following the instructions in the manual (which are clear). Then, what if Jeff CHECKS it all with you ?? Just to be safe. Likely, it would take him 1/2 hour to check it slowly with you and spend another 1/2 hour fixing your little boo-boos. That’s 100 bucks and it’ll be done right and you’ll have done it and learned how.
I think that’s way better than him doing it by his lonesome. And, as Joe mentioned, the only slightly complex part is pre-rigging the various lines on the boom before the boom even goes up (which it already has). Honestly, it is not hard, at all, to rig the entire she-bang, boom and all. It just takes a bit of time and a ladder (well-attached to your mast so it won’t fall down with you on it).
Choose a decent day, check the weather and enjoy yourselves. You’ve bought a hell of a good, safe boat. She’ll go like a locomotive.
Ernie A. in Toronto
Once again, sage advice from Ernie. It would be $100 well spent if the yard knows what they are doing.
Enjoy your wonderful Nonsuch.
Randy Gadikian
Paisley Moon,
NS26C #37
Buffalo, New York
You should definitely rig it yourself using the owner’s manual. There is not better way to learn.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
You should definitely rig it yourself using the owner’s manual. There is no better way to learn. I don’t know if you have to turn a key on to run your engine. If you do, connect the hour meter to the load side of that switch.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Richard,
The reefing lines will be the tough thing to figure on your own. Note that while the others here mention running the reefing lines “on” the boom, we have the 260, which has its reefing lines inside, and are setup for ‘single line’ reefing. It’s a tricky thing to imagine how it works without seeing it happen (since it’s hidden), but it’s ingenious. I don’t know how much was undone for the de-rigging, but I imagine it’s mostly still intact. If you want, we can do a video call (Facetime, Skype, Zoom) and I can give some guidance (while standing on my boat). Or I could do a sketch and send it to you. When are you rigging it?
Brian Berdan
“Blue September” 260 #7
Bainbridge Island, Washington
First of all, thanks for the many helpful responses. bBoth my spouse and I are so grateful for your kindnesses, folks.
Brian, I am trying to decide when I will go up to Bellingham to rig it. I have to admit I have spent very little time with our Nonsuch since it got to this side of the mountains: It is difficult to get on the ferry anymore, my paid work (teaching) keeps me swamped, even now, and the fire/aid work climbs during tourist season. So, I cannot give as many details as I want, since I know so little. For example, It took me two trips to realize that I have no anchor locker up front, finding the anchor stored under a cockpit seat.
I am trying to get away Saturday or Sunday and I will see what I can torture into place, and post any questions I have, along with photos.
Again, many thanks for your patience and kindnesses.
A sorta related question. You said you are set up for single line reefing. I think my boat was originally rigged for 2 line reefing, then at some later time changed to single line. I’m thinking to go back to 2 lines/reef to reduce friction. I have a 354 so my lines are inside the boom too. The plan is to replace the reefing lines when I drop the boom to clean and repaint it. Other that having 2 fewer lines, which seems to me not that big of an advantage, what are the pros & cons of single lines compared to 2 lines?
Barry Clark
Swan’s Wing, NS354, #71
Fredericksburg, VA
Randy -
You are making me blush (sage advice - geeez).
Richard -
You are the recipient of a LOT of sage advice. (So was I over the last nine years …) For what it’s worth, deal with the hour meter once the boat is “home” - it can wait. Brian’s offer of help is fantastic. However, you say that the boom is up and the lines are up. meaning that the reefing lines and the topping lift and the choker are all in place, one way or the other ?? So, does this mean that all you have to do is bend the sail on and run the reefing lines through the reefing tacks and clews of the sail ?
I’m just not clear on the scope of the work that has to be done.
Ernie A. in Toronto
Just stopping for a drink of water and here is more good advice waiting for me.
I am sorry I was not clearer. I also do not have the appropriate sailing vocabulary for many terms. Please understand this is all new to me, and we rarely get to go see “Berceuse”. My understanding is that all lines (TL, choker, etc.) were run; all that is left is to do is to move the sail from the cabin to its appropriate position. I have checked the manual multiple time, and all I find on p[ages 53-55 is two schematics of where the lines (Main Halyard, Reef 1, Reef 2, TL, and Choker Line) attach to the mast (That schematic is repeated on pages 53 and 55), and a schematic of the mainsheet arrangement. I cannot find any other instructions in my manual.
Found something.
Packed with the warranty was a random photocopied page (paginated “Page 68”)titled “Nonsuch 354 reefing system” that shows a schematic for said Reefing system. I will see if that matches the boat, but it appears internal as mentioned by Brian B. of Bainbridge Island.
Richard (and everyone else),
Whenever you come across a neat documentation find like this N260 / N354 reefing schematic, I really want to encourage you to email a photo or PDF of it to INA@Nonsuch.org.
We’ll try to get stuff like this posted on the website so that everyone can benefit.
Thanks,
– Bob
Robert Neches, INA Co-President
Solar Wind, Nonsuch 26C #143 (for now – in the process of buying another Nonsuch)
For what it’s worth, this reefing thread is on The Daily Cruiser and discusses how to rig reefing lines. It isn’t a Nonsuch but what is described is what I have surmised from the rigging diagram in my OM.
Barry Clark
Swan’s Wing, NS354, #71
Fredericksburg, VA
I doubt that you can achieve a satisfactory reef using a single line on a wishbone rig. You need to have the outboard reef set at exactly the right point so the sail aft of it is brought under tension by the choker otherwise it droops like an elephants trunk. The foreword reefing line has to be tensioned down to the tack to prevent the track from being pulled off and to achieve the right geometry of the sail. Best to mark the reefing lines once you have established the right positions for a good reef.
Mascouche has a single reefing pennant now that she has a standing gaff rig and a boom. Makes life much easier when sailing single handed. I just have to get the pennant taught and the reef is in. I do have four cringles for short reefing pennants to tie in under the loose footed sail on long voyages in heavy weather to even out the stress on the sail. I have only used them once in the last couple of years.
John Newell
Mascouche 26C 1
Toronto
Not only do I admire John Newell’s (and Jorgen Moller’s) new rigs and give them full points for taking the very major step of taking the time (and the bucks) to invest in it, I also completely agree with John’s point about the ineffectiveness of single-line reefing for our wishbone-rigged boats, for all of the reasons that he mentions.
The reef at the tack has to be tugged hard to sit right at the mast, just like the regular tack of the sail does. And, yes, even if more than a few inches away, from the mast, it will pull the sail track away. The reef at the clew should really, as much as possible, be pulled really tight such that the line, from the padeye (where it’s tied on the boom) to the block on the other side of the boom is as close to a straight line as possible i.e. as short as possible.
I have taken the liberty of attaching a lovely and detailed sketch to illustrate a top=down look at the clew reef point …
Ernie A. in Toronto
I spent about four hours trying to figure out how to rig the sail, and the reef lines. I am finding that that the interior is pristine nd clean as new, while most of the lines, the halyard, and the sail are filthy, dirty, even crusted over, I had to reposition the choker line, which had been put in the wrong place. I now could use some help tying to figure out if the blocks are even close to be in the right place, if the lines are running correctly, etc. I sure could use photos that show how the blocks and lines look on a properly rigged Nonsuch 260 or 26. I include a few photos of the best we could do before having to go home to my son’s.
On the better side of things, it looks like the boat is equipped with a Tide sailtrack, which I understand from the forum is a good thing, right?
I hope you folks can help me with running the lines as we are supposed to take the boat home next week.
I’m attaching a set of photos on how I rigged my Nonsuch 26 Classic. If you look at them in numeric order, they flow sequentially through the boat rigging.
This works for me. Other people have rigged differently; this is by no means the only way to do it.
If you haven’t already seen them, and are an International Nonsuch Association member, you might also want to check the rigging diagrams on the 19th, and the 23rd through 26th, pages of the Nonsuch 26C manual, which you can download at Nonsuch.org by clicking on the Members tab, selecting Manuals, and selecting the icon labelled “nonsuch 26c manual”.
I’ve never had the privilege of seeing a 260, so I can’t tell you anything about what’s the same or different though.
– Bob
Solar Wind
Nonsuch 26C #143 (for now – in the process of buying another)
I am away from the boat right now, but I went and checked manuals. None of the 26 manuals helped, but it looks like the 354 manual may work, as it shows internal reefing in the boom, and a mast collar setup that seems just right. Any 260 owners able to confirm?
Richard
Feel free to call me in the morning and if you like I can show you how my 260 is rigged.
Brian Berdan
Blue September 260 #007
Bainbridge Island WA
206-390-6824
Brian