Pearson 365 and 367

It looks like I might have an answer.  I originally got the answer from a neighbor who reads a lot about older boats, and then the suggestion was made on the Pearson Google group as well.

It looks like this is a rig for a solent stay.  This would allow me to attach a stay to the deck and hoist it inside the head sail (back about 1 - 2 feet from the head sail) for the purpose of attaching a storm sail or a second down wind sail.  This would not be a cutter because there isn't enough room between the two stays and the stay is removable.

I'm not going to worry about it this season, but next winter I may try to find a used sail that I can sew a dyneema line into, so I can hoist it for this purpose.

I was looking at the running rigging on the main mast, today, and found something puzzling.  There is a wire-to-rope line, like a halyard, that exits the front of the mast about 6 feet below the top of the mast.  Then, it attaches to a bale on the mast, about a foot above where it exits the mast; however, it also has a block mounted to it.

It looks to me like maybe the block is intended to be attached someplace on deck, and this might be a some sort of removable inner fore stay, or something like that, but I don't see anyplace to attach the block on the fore deck.  I don't remember seeing this when the mast was up.

Any idea what this is?

Thanks,
Jeff
"Jabberwocky" P-365 #269

I have searched this site for this discussion, but most of the recommendations are pretty old at this point.

I have a 1979 P365 Ketch with the original Staystream furling system.  I think it might be about time to replace this 39 year old system.  It works well, but it is also the headstay, and I know these things can't last forever.  In fact, I am looking at replacing all the standing rigging (which is of unknown age, but is over 18 years old).

What do people recommend for a modern roller furler system?

Thanks,
Jeff

Lol.  Okay, I removed it earlier today and ordered a Beckson replacement hatch.  Now, I'll have to see if I can find that emergency tiller.

Thanks for posting this.  I also have not been able to open the aluminum emergency tiller access port on my P365.  The PO said he never opened it (18 years).  I think I may just remove the whole port the whole thing and replace it with a new one.  I have tried penetrating oil for the last couple of weeks with no luck.

I have been going through the equipment, and now I know what the emergency tiller looks like.  I'm hoping I find it and don't have to make one.

Jeff

Peter,
I am finally getting to this project (the boat is finally in my yard after a long wait).  Can you offer any details about 3 things:

1.  How is the tension rod attached?  It looks like you embedded a bolt in the block (maybe countersinking it upside down in one layer) and then attached the rod to the bolt with a barrel nut.  Is that right?

2.  From the mechanical drawing that I found, it looks like you just bolted the retaining wings (for lack of a better term) to the block with carriage bolts, and then used longer carriage bolts through the block to hold it down.

3.  Did you ever consider making the through holes into slots to give you some adjustability?

Thanks,
Jeff

Thanks.  That's a much clearer, closer picture than the one in the other thread.  It's much easier to see how you did it.  I like the idea, and I'll look into it.

Jeff

Peter,

I would love to see a better picture of your fabricated phenolic step.  You can't really see much in the link you provided.  Did you build it so it fits a plug up inside the mast rather than uses "wings" on the exterior of the mast (like others I have seen)? 

I don't know where you are that they want to charge $3k to unstep the mast.  In RI, I have the mast on my P30 unstepped every year for about $180.  However, I liked your solution for listing the mast.

I did contact Rig-Rite and got a quote.  They said their aluminum step is $589, which is more reasonable than I expected.  I'm tempted to just buy the one from them because I expect that it will be more robust than one made from a composite material (like G10 or phenolic sheets), though I may be wrong, especially given that I need to step/unstep the masts every year to truck it home.

Thanks,
Jeff

I am a new owner of a P365 ketch and will be doing this job myself.  The mast has not been unstepped by the PO in 19 years, so I am not exactly sure what I will find when I have it pulled.  I expect that actually pulling the stick might be problematic because parts may have fused, or things might just crumble away.  The boat is a 4-5 hour drive from my house, so I will not be able to check it out for another couple of weeks.

Zulu40, I'm curious why you went with a stainless steel step instead of an aluminum one.  I would think that SS will cause additional corrosion issues on the base of the mast.  Rig-rite sells a custom aluminum mast step (anybody know how much) which is semi-designed for this replacement (they mention the 365 in the write up).

Rudderly, I like the idea of using G 10 under the step to raise it up.  I had thought that I would use wood (a friend suggested I fabricate a new step from wood, but I don't think so), but G 10 is stronger and rot resistant.  I have used G 10 when I replaced the sea cocks in my P30, and it is a great material, if a little pricey.

Thanks.