When we purchased Summer Dance, the standing rigging was one system that I knew I would need to replace right away. The upper shrouds had been replaced recently with well made cables, probably from that popular online Catalina parts retailer. The backstay and forestay were in satisfactory condition but were original from 1981. The lower…
Category: Rigging
Single Line Jiffy Reefing Made Easy
Your ability to reef your mainsail is one of the most important sailing skills that you can learn. Your reefing rigging plays an important part in that. You can do it with just a few short lengths of rope but it will be more time consuming and difficult than it needs to be. That method…
Lead All Lines to the Cockpit for Safer Sailing
The factory running rigging on most small sailboats, including the Catalina 22, is minimal to keep the price low. That is, the halyards and any other control lines are only long enough to fasten them to nearby cleats. Convenience and trimming for performance are a luxury reserved for larger, more expensive sailboats. It works okay, but…
How to Raise Your Foresail with a Pendant
If you regularly sail in a busy bay with other boaters, personal watercraft, kite boards, SUP boards, kayaks, and the like, it can get downright dangerous. Would you like to see forward under your foresail better to avoid a collision? A foresail pendant will help you out. It’s a simple little thing to add to…
Headsail Furlers For the Trailer Sailor
I used to be a little envious of skippers with headsail furlers. They can just pull a line to roll up their headsail at the end of the day. Their headsail stays crisper longer because it doesn’t get folded up and stowed away. To set sail, they can just pull the sheets aft to unfurl…
How To Measure Standing Rigging Tension
Whether or not you’ve replaced your standing rigging, you may be wondering how to adjust it. How tight should the rig be? How can you measure it? After all, what good is great rigging if it isn’t tensioned properly to perform its best?
Choose Your Running Rigging Colors Logically
When we purchased Summer Dance, she had an odd assortment of line colors, mostly the original equipment, run of the mill white with blue tracer. But the main sheet was white with a red tracer, the jib sheet too, and the genoa sheet was white with a black tracer. None of the colors gave you…
Control Your Mainsail Shape Better With a Boom Vang
A boom vang is a useful control for your mainsail, especially if the mainsail is older and acting its age. That is, if it’s getting baggy and is difficult to flatten, particularly when you’re pointed off the wind. For better performance and safety, you need to be able to pull excess twist out of the mainsail…
Upgrade Your Rig With a DIY Adjustable Backstay
At some point when you get serious about sail trim, whether for racing or just high performance cruising, you’re going to want an adjustable backstay. Most C-22s and similar daysailers were rigged at the factory with fixed length backstays that are only slightly adjustable with a turnbuckle. They’re not intended for adjusting to different wind…
The $tingy Sailor 