climenuts

I'm liking the inverted fiddle block setup and I think that's what I'll go with. @Ultraman Anyone in town you would use to splice a Dyneema babystay to the mast fitting? Not confident in my splicing skills.

I don't want the Vang to be double ended. I've already got Halyards, Reefs, Outhaul, Cunningham, foreguy, topping lift, babystay, and inhaulers coming back on the cabin top.

With an 8:1 cascaded fiddle I might consider fixing the cascade to P and the working end/blocks to S equally to get rid of the imbalance.

I'm looking to replace my Vang setup on my C&C 29mk2 with something more suitable for leading aft to the cockpit. I'm single-handing 95% of the time. I've currently removed the cam cleat from the current 4:1 setup but it's got two big disadvantages: 1) Because the lead isn't symmetrical it's tighter on Port tack than it is on Starboard tack. I'm worried if I forget it cranked on and gybe I'll get myself into trouble. 2) It's not enough purchase and I need to put it on a winch. Any setup recommendations to resolve the symmetry issue without running two lines aft? I figure I could use a 6:1 or 8:1 double ended setup and just terminate one end in the same location (opposite side) as the working end is led. Does this make sense? Is 8:1 appropriate? I'm a running rigging novice...

@Sailor Al. The reason newbies have to post tits is so we have something decent to look at while watching you slowly realize everyone here knows more than you do.

So a Closed 40?

That doesn't make sense. If you're an airplane wing moving through air at 400kts you don't use the TWS to determine your lift and drag force vectors. Even though it has thrust it is just another lift and drag vector. You're also not looking at the lift component of the hull forces on the water, mast as part of the mainsail, hull acting as its own foil, etc.

Agreed with the easy conditions in the PNW. I haven't quite figured out if the easy conditions breeds incompetent anchoring or if incompetent anchorers just don't survive in other parts of the world.

Fire rated insulation around the support structure. It's required anytime it's more than 12" above the floor.

I've got a C&C 29mk2 with two reefs in the new main. I spend a lot of time tucking and shaking the first reef but I've never put the second one in. First reef and the #3 get me reasonably comfortably to 25kts but I'm glad I have the second reef just in case. My second reef is deeper than usual because I didn't want a third reef. I think it's in the ballpark of 30% but I would have to check. 95% of the time I don't even have the 2nd reef line rigged. If I think I might need the first reef I'll rig it but it's rare. One thing you can do is look at the Notice of Race safety requirements for races that occur where you plan on using the boat. Generally they'll refer to an OSR Category which will define what heavy weather sails are required for the races and you can use it as a guideline. My local races in Vancouver/Strait of Georgia require Cat 3 (I think it was due to a knee jerk reaction after 2010 Southern Straits) which requires a 40% reef or trysail and a heavy weather jib (#4). I think 60% of boats around here aren't compliant - at least with the 40% reef.

From what I've read the asymmetric options are much more stable than the delta's or V's. While very effective at re-centering the boat the V's and Delta's need the boat to have yaw to develop a righting force which lets the boat continue to oscillate at a reduced magnitude. The asymmetric options which are basically one side of the V's keep the boat balanced with a slight yaw to one side when cross sheeted.

My boat dances quite a bit in breeze. Before I added 200ft of chain it wasn't uncommon for me to be yawing 30°+ side to side at ~1.5kts. With the chain it's a bit more tame. I'm planning on making a riding sail to stick on one side of the split backstay to calm things down.

Redshift was moored across the fairway from me at Mosquito Creek while I was there. Ran into him our cruising in August and it was quite the setup. They peeled past me in 20kts downwind in Trincomali like I was standing still and then anchored in 5ft of water in Princess Cove.

On stationary engines and boilers a very common approach is an overflow setup for day tanks where practicable. No idea how marine setups compare. Primary pump run constantly at 2-2.5x max consumption to fill the day tank which overflows back to the primary storage tank(s). In a building you max-out the size of your day tank to what's permitted by code and have level control to start a redundant primary pump if the day tank is no longer overflowing, alarm at low level, and alarm at high level (blocked return). This allows very large storage tanks to be polished and transferred during normal operation and manually. It also provides ample warning and operating time prior to the day tank running dry. You can also add on fuel coolers to the return but generally your main tanks are large enough. (This is not engineering advice, it is for entertainment purposes only)

Nobody is saying not to have telltales or to always rely on other instruments. Telltales and a Windex are critical. All I'm saying is that when you're going downhill it can be extremely difficult to tell when the wind goes from 11 to 12 kts and your boat is now capable of planing. 30 seconds of your competition making 3kts more than you towards the mark is game over. Not all of us have Brad Butterworth standing there for a W/L race doing nothing but staring at an iPad.