File - Canadian Wayfarer Association

moved aft a bit might avoid the entire problem, I think. Get the second entry block ready to be
installed but do not rivet it in until its rope or wire is in place.
Deal with the aft part first! If you already have a wire outhaul, you may be able to use this.
Otherwise, get about 3 metres (10’) of 2 mm 7x19 stainless steel halyard wire, and thread it
through the entry block at the aft end of the boom. If you want to reduce the risk of shackle
loss, do a fairly tight swaging around the outhaul shackle with the wire end that comes out of
the boom. Once you have done this, feed the other end towards the inboard end of the boom.
There is a large amount of leeway in its length, the only limit being that it must not be too long.
When you stretch the outhaul to its maximum tightness position, the “floating” bullet block
inside the boom must still be aft of the entry block at the inboard end, or you will not be able to
get full tightness from your outhaul. Once you have the wire at a correct length, drag it out the
outboard boom end and swage the bullet block onto its end.
On “Shades”, we use 4 mm pre-stretch for the rest of this set-up. Assuming you have made your
wire the max. length, you will need only a metre or less of 4 mm pre-stretch for the other
“inside-the-boom” part. Using a small bowline, deadend one end of this line to the inboard end
plate of the boom (while it is off the boom!) If you have someone with small, agile hands, you may
be able to reach the floating block and thread the 4 mm through it. But most likely, you’ll need
to do what I did: Pull the floating block and its wire out the outboard end of the boom. Then
take a 6 meter (20’) scrap of thin line and connect it to the 4 mm by means of duct tape. Thread
this through the boom (inboard to outboard) and then through the floating block. If you have
near max. wire length, you can merely tie a good long bowline around the sheave of the block and
pull the whole mess back to the inboard end where you can untie the bowline and proceed to pull
on the scrap line until it in turn pulls your 4 mm through the floating block. If your scrap line or
wire is too short for this, you need to feed the loose end you’ve pulled through the floating
block, back to the inboard end of the boom (which can be done but is more of an effort!)
Now detach the scrap line from the 4 mm and thread the latter through the inboard entry block.
You will be tying another bullet block to the end that emerges from the entry block. Here the
limiting factor is two-fold:
1 you don’t want any more rope than necessary hanging out of the boom here but
2 there must be enough rope to permit easing the outhaul as much as you will ever want to
In my opinion, the rope hanging down from the front of the boom should be about 45 cm (18")
long outside the boom when the main clew is pulled out to its maximum outermost point.
The block attached to the end of this rope is the mid-point of the outhaul control line system:
feed the control line through and then thread the starboard side loose end through 2S (see vang
diagram) and then aft along centreboard box, through the lower sheave of double cleat at
thwart (below vang control) and then out through the lower CL 211. Finish with Fig. 8 and six
inches of loose end. Do likewise on the port side. On “Shades”, the outhaul control line is about
4,50 meter (15’) of 5 mm soft-braid.
Outhaul Alternative
I believe the system shown below is copied from an Abbott Soling. It is nicely self-contained and
can easily be operated by the crew who tightens the outhaul by pulling on the rope end with the
ball that hangs down. Of course, as with all outhauls, it becomes difficult/impossible to tighten
in proportion to the amount of wind and vang pressure being exerted on the mainsail! To uncleat
and loosen the outhaul, the crew reaches between the bullet block and the cleat, grabs the rope
and pulls it out of the cleat:
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