Hi

Sorry to be raising another question but......

I'm going to be installing one or two additional clutches next to the existing clutches on the coach roof and would like to know if anyone has done this and if there is a balsa core here or if it is solid fibreglass?

Many thanks
Andy

Jago
Parker 235/04

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Hi Andy,

A topic that has interested me and I seem to recall it being raised earlier last year - can't of course find it now!!

Hopefully the topic will be picked-up by somebody who has done just this - even with some photos

Regards

John
235/07 Diamond

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Hi Andy, Not sure if it helps but I have just nipped out and taken a couple of photo's of the clutches aboard Juicy Blue. My fingers are itching now to get the sheets off and get on with the cleaning session but it will have to wait until later on in February.
Here they are perhaps your coachroof differs from this?

Starboard


Port



Gary/Ruth/& Skipper the Working Cocker Spaniel
Crew of Juicy Blue P235

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Hello Andy,

Yes, I've done this, so I now have four clutches each side plus a clam cleat for the jib sheets. I went for Spinlock clutches for the halyards, which are a bit bigger than the Barton ones but there was room for them.

The coachroof is solid where the clutches are, so it's a straightforward job.

Anthony Russell
235/02 Sea Wyche

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There is a 9mm plywood pad bonded into the deck moulding where the clutches are fitted.

Hi

Thank you for your replies.

Looking at the underside of the deck, on Jago, I can see the ply pad but this is just for the winch and doesn't extend to where the clutches are located .

There does appear to be something in the fibre glass but it doesn't look like wood (balsa or ply).

The reason for asking the question is just to gauge what I'm going to need for the job and how long it may take but it looks like I'll need to get some epoxy and allow a couple of days just in case.

Regards
Andrew

Jago
Parker 235/04

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I saw no evidence of wood when I fitted my clutches, and I was looking for it. Perhaps it was fitted to later boats - rather like the elusive reinforcement under the port cockpit coaming for the autohelm!

Anthony Russell
235/02 Sea Wyche

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Hi Gary/Ruth & Anthony

Thanks for the photos, very helpful. Silly question: How are the clam cleats attached? Is it nut & bolt through the coach-roof or is a ‘screw’ sufficiently robust?

Many thanks

John



John
235/07 Diamond

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Hello John,

My clam cleats are through-bolted, with nuts and penny-washers underneath, just like the clutches are. That's easy because the underside is accessible - they're in line with the clutches (sandwiched between the three original clutches and the new one I fitted each side). Mine are for the jib sheets (when not on the winch), so they need to take fairly high loads. (Incidentally, I've found that raising them slightly on plastic blocks is an improvement.)

I don't know what Gary uses the cam cleat for that's fitted at the aft edge of his coachroof but I'd like to fit one or two around there too. The underside isn't accessible though, of course.

I suppose if you want a small cleat just for light loads then screwing it to the deck might be alright, though it runs the risk of being overloaded if used for a different purpose in future.

Anthony Russell
235/02 Sea Wyche

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Anthony, I use the cam cleat you refer to for the topping lift.

Gary/Ruth/& Skipper the Working Cocker Spaniel
Crew of Juicy Blue P235

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Brilliant, many thanks.

I sail a lot single-handed and when sailing in fairly light winds, I was looking to ‘simplify’ the jib arrangement and a clam cleat seems a reasonable solution. I used this arrangement on my previous boat, although it was slightly smaller

I have just added this to my February list of ‘to-dos’


John
235/07 Diamond

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John,

As I mentioned, I've found the clam cleats work better if they're slightly raised. The sheet drops into them more readily then. The height is fairly critical, though. I initially raised them too much and then they were too effective: grabbing the sheets when they were cast off the winch. That messed up many a tack! Also, if the sheet rode on their raised sides, it could be lifted just enough to induce a riding turn on the winch.

Mine are now raised 6mm, which seems about right. (I'm not claiming that's the definitive figure, though - I just happened to have some 6mm acetal sheet to make the blocks from.)

The clam cleats are positioned directly under the paths of the sheets leading into the winches. The sheet just jumps up out of the cleat when winched. To take the sheet off the winch, you just push it down a little into the clam cleat as you ease the load off the winch.

You can use them in very light conditions instead of the winches, as you suggest. However, their most important function is to allow a sheet to be taken off the winch while underway in order to use the winch to adjust a halyard.

By the way, to help with handling the jib sheets while single-handed (and not using an autohelm), I heartily recommend a Davis Tiller Tamer, if you've not already got one.

Anthony Russell
235/02 Sea Wyche

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Thanks Anthony, I appreciate your advice.

I bought a tiller-tame last season. I found the auto helm useful if I need to be elsewhere, otherwise it tended to drain the batteries and could take the ‘fun’ out of sailing. So I ended up having the auto helm in place should it be needed; the tiller tamer and me! Worked well

Regards


John
235/07 Diamond

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