Hello and a boom hardware question

[jbgibbs99]

Hello!

First a big Thank You! to all on this board. I lurked here for over a year before I finally took the plunge and bought a 26X last summer and the board has been a great source of info.

It is my first boat, first time sailing, first time towing anything (250 miles to get her home) and although I only managed to get out several times last year it is already a bunch of fun. Even the last sail of the season, where an upper shroud snapped and I was left single-handedly lowering the mast for the first time in a choppy sea with the light failing, left me feeling happy that I had chosen the right boat for me as it was all quite straightforward.

I’ve now finished my first winter mini-overhaul – clean, anti-fouling, fixing leaks (I would never have found the locker leak without this board), new CB rope, etc. - and am just about to put her back on her mooring for the summer but I have a question about the boom hardware.

There are a couple of blocks, a cleat and a rope going inside the boom that I can’t find a use for and was wondering if anyone knows what they could be.

Hopefully there will be pictures below, but at the mast end there is one block on the left side and behind it a hole into the boom, and on the right side is a block with a cleat about 6 inches behind it. At the aft end is a block on the left just behind another hole into the boom, and on the right there is an eye. The rope (white with yellow flecks) in the pictures is attached as it was when I got it.

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Bruce

[FinallySailing]

Hi and welcome ! I cannot see any pictures (that might well be due to the firewall here at work), but I just noticed you are in Scotland ! Where abouts are you ? My boat is in Troon, but we live just outside of Lanark in the Clyde Valley.

Best wishes,
Immo

[sljury]

These Ropes look like they may line up with your 2 reefing points on your main sail.
Then may cleat back to the cam on the boom or run down the deck to cleats to the cockpit.
Running the rope inside the boom stops it from vibration when taught as well as good looks
Hope this helps

[c130king]

Definitely look like blocks for routing some sort of reefing lines.

Jim

[FinallySailing]

... definitely my firewall or browser settings then

[jbgibbs99]

Thanks all - reefing makes sense (don't know why I didn't think of that!). I'll try it out when back on the water.

Hi Finally - I'm in Edinburgh and have a swinging mooring on the Forth. Plan is to spend this summer learning more, then next summer do some trailer sailering long weekends on the West coast.

[FinallySailing]

Hi Finally - I'm in Edinburgh and have a swinging mooring on the Forth. Plan is to spend this summer learning more, then next summer do some trailer sailering long weekends on the West coast.

BTW - the UK Macgregor Club is planning a trip from Helesburgh to Inverness via the Caledonian Canal this year. Check out the MOA website. Maybe you are interested ....

http://www.macgregorowners.org.uk/

[Catigale]

Definitely a reefing arrangement of some kind. The Mac doesnt come with this, so there is no 'standard' way of doing this. Its pretty simple to figure out though.