When I go up on the cabintop (mainly when it’s time to put away the sail), I frequently find myself slipping when the lines leading back to the cockpit roll under my feet. Often my foot slides down all the way to the grabrails before I catch myself. Both a fall risk and not good to be pushing the rails sideways with 200 lbs of me.
It might help if I could pull the lines taut, but since this is when I’m tidying up the sail, it’d be premature to do so.
I’m trying to think of modifications that would improve stability and security up there, and would appreciate any suggestions folks have. I’d also appreciate feedback on the options that have occurred to me, which are:
Build some kind of cover for the lines to run under, like a number of newer boats have designed-in. Pros: would solve the problem if the covers were suitable non-skidded. Cons: hard to build solid and make look good, risk of lines tangling and inaccessible to clearing.
Run some kind of “toerail” or foot bracing on the cabintop, outboard of the lines and inboard of the grabrails to catch my feet. Pros: easy to do with spare 1" x 1" PlasTeak that I have lots of from a previous project, potentially sturdy. Cons: not very aesthetic, need to make sure they don’t trap water, may or may not be sufficient.
Improve the cabintop non-skid so my feet catch sooner. I’m not sure non-skid paints would be sufficient given the cabintop curvature. So this would probably entail putting either one of the synthetic wood deckings like Marine Dek, or installing Treadmaster. Pros: would definitely increase security, and the synthetics can look very good. Cons: expensive, add weight, and would rule out Treadmaster if I care about looks.
Seriously, you might consider something between covering the lines and leaving them open: set them in beds. If your lines run in parallel between sets of deck organizers, you could get some of that PlasTeak (sp?) and rip it into strips somewhat narrower than the distance from one line to the next and about as thick as the lines. You wouldn’t really need to pull the lines taut, just give them a little jiggly tug to get them settled in before you go out on the deck. They’d be restrained from rolling and the PlasTeak slats should be low enough that you wouldn’t peel them off like the handrails.
It’s just a thought that I had in this moment, so there is probably something wrong with it, but there it is.
Hobnail boots is one suggestion!! Or, you might consider long battens about the thickness of the lines. Although that means more holes in the cabin top.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Chancy was refinished years ago with Kiwi Grip. It badly needs to be redone but I still find the traction on the cabin top remarkably good. Mike Parfett, NS30, Beyond redid his last year and it looks great. Maybe Mike can comment about the traction.
I too dislike climbing around on the cabin top for all the obvious reasons.
What I find works well to cover the sail on a 26 is the following
Release the main sheet to a point the aft end of the boom is over the aft corner of the push pit. It needs to be all the way over.
Toss the sail cover over the sail as best you can from the front deck
The sail cover clips will then be reachable from the side deck and removes the need to climb on the cabin top.
Some clips at the aft end need to be fastened from the cockpit.
One caveat is I am 6 foot 1… and the sail cover has clips underneath the sail. The sail cover should not be too tight and longer sail clips are big help. Stack packs may not be as easy to reach …
As for deck covering, Kiwi Grip seems to be very well regarded.
I have no trouble with rolling lines.. On the port side where I walk to pack my sail away I have only three lines. The halyard (outside) is pulled hard tight, shackled to the pulpit. The second line is the first leach reef and is slack but the inner one is the first luff reef and is also hard tight. There is only one spot where I step on them even with the boom secured a little to the port side as I do and they don’t give me any trouble at all.
Bob,
Maybe it’s an idea to put a cable bridge where the lines run. I know most bridges are ugly but perhaps the looks can be improved with a can of paint. You could temporarily secure the bridge to the cabintop to see if it solves your problem.
Cable bridges come in all shapes and sizes, with or without a lid. Some of them are just ugly and some probably don’t look that bad once painted. The one made of soft rubber might suit your needs, they’ll probably follow the contours of the cabintop best. Once your weight is off, they pop back into shape.
I found that if I prevent the boom from swaying and pushing me around the cabin top, I don’t step on the lines. Especially if it is off to one side. That allows me to stand at or near the center of the cabin top.
The safest way for us was to tie it off to one stern corner (port, away from the winch). I have a snap shackle on a lightweight block and tackle. We raise the topping lift to keep it off the dodger/bimini. Then we turn into the wind and drop the sail. Then clip it on the boom and tighten the sheet. That forms a triangle from the block, to the boom, to the main sheet block and keeps it pretty still.
If I am alone, I set the autopilot to stay into the wind.
The 26 has more camber on the cabin top than larger Nonsuches to provide 6’ headroom on a 26’ yacht without compromising the aesthetics of the design. Ellis is to be congratulated on achieving the near impossible.
I find that if I swing the boom to one side or the other, I have sufficient room to walk on the nearly flat centre line that is clear of the 6 lines on the cabin top. It helps to have good deck shoes with sufficient tread and a non-skid surface in good condition.
At this time in the winter, I can recommend practicing standing on one foot to improve one’s balance ready for the next sailing season. It was a tip by a sports medicine doctor that trick works for me. I find it convenient to do this exercise while having a shower. It really does help to maintain one’s balance afloat or on shore. Hopefully it will extend my sailing days into my 90’s.
I know this is a tangent to the original post, but I’ll second John’s suggestion that exercise can add to sailing enjoyment. A little goes a long way. I helped me.
In my mid-50’s I began having back and shoulder pain. Sailing was one of the activities that would lead to pain. After a fair amount of suffering I saw a physical therapist that specializes in sports injuries, luckily my pain wasn’t from serious injury.
For me, the solution was establishing and maintaining adequate core strength and good posture for doing the things I wanted to keep doing as I aged. (like sailing)
In a few months, I was pain free, and have continued doing a maintenance program that has kept pain free ( I’m now 65 ). My routine emphasizes balance and core strength exercises.
For me, preventative has worked better than curative. Happy sailing !
Good advice Rob,
But since you are one of the youngsters here, I’ll give you a bit of advise that my doctor gave me. He said; the 70s is when you prepare for the 80s, if you don’t prepare you are not going to like the 80s. A small amount of exercise is always a good idea,but it does little to keep those lines from rolling around under your feet. A solution would be nice to have for this all too common problem.
Tim in STL
White O’morn NS e26U #216
Harbor Point Yacht Club
West Alton, MO
Tim,
Thanks for the perspective, it’s what I like most about INA.
Indeed, the road map for my 70’s is a work in progress, my 60’s are going OK so far. Some challenges, but the fun along the way keeps me optimistic.
This thread caught my eye because downsizing my home and boat is a reasonable plan and the 26’ is a popular choice for boat downsizing. The slope of the cabin top is not something I had considered, and is worth some thought. Looking forward to hearing from '26 owners if offsetting wishbone to expose the center of the cabin top for walking helps.
The cabin top on Soave is flat and wide enough that I wouldn’t have given it any thought to the fall risk till Bob N. posted his question.
Rob Cohen
s/v SOAVE
NS33 #009
Cedar Point Yacht Club
Westport, CT
Having sailed on N36s in addition to my own N26’s, I concur with John Newell that the 26 has more cabintop camber than the larger boats. I find the 26 a wonderful and convenient choice for those who want to combine the pleasures of the bigger ones with the benefits of less hull to wax and bottom to paint.
I also strongly support the advice about the importance of stretching, core strength building, good shoes, diet, exercise, and angling the boom to the side.
However, I have the MRIs to show that the first five of those are necessary, they aren’t necessarily sufficient if Father Time is out to get you.
And angling the boom is not sufficient to avoid having to work around the dodger to get the sail tidy and my top-zipping sail cover zipped up.
Square lines would probably go well with my block head. I certainly have noticed that superstitious people have an irritating tendency to say, “Knock wood,” while tapping me on the noggin. But I haven’t yet been able to find a reliable source to buy those lines.
So, I’m still working the problem. I appreciate Mark’s suggestion about cable bridges. I’ll continue to look into that and the alternatives I’m already thinking about. I’ll report back if/when I come up with a satisfactory solution. In the meantime, any other ideas folks might care to offer remain of interest.
