Jib Halyard Upgrade
From Al Sargent's Top 5 Vanguard 15 Rigging Tips.
Vanguard 15s come with 3:1 jib halyard adjusters with a "horn cleat". These are problematic for two reasons:
- Light/moderate breeze: The optimal jib halyard setting seems to be when the leeward shroud just barely goes slack in puffs. To find this optimal setting, you need to try many different settings. Having to constantly untie a halyard from a horn cleat burns up a lot of pre-start time.
- Windy conditions: You need to crank on a lot of jib halyard tension. A 3:1 system makes it harder to get enough.
The solution is to replace the horn cleat with a clam cleat and set up the jib fine-tune with a 4:1 system, tucking the tail through the vang bail and tying a bowline at the end.
What You'll Need
- Aluminum Clamcleat CL211 MK2 (anodized MK2AN version) for the jib halyard line
- About 15 feet of 1/8" (3mm) Vectran rope
Setup
You want a clam cleat with the same hole positions as the stock horn cleat — you should be able to use the same screws to mount it.
Use Vectran, not Spectra — Spectra "creeps," meaning it stretches gradually over time. Vectran is also less slippery, allowing it to hold better in a clam cleat.
Vectran-core line with high-friction cover, plus the clam cleat for the halyard. (The Velocitek shown isn't class legal — photo predates the ban.)
This setup lets you find the optimal jib halyard setting in light and moderate breeze, by intentionally rigging it on the loose side, then pulling it on bit by bit until the leeward shroud barely goes slack in puffs. Since all you need to do is luff the sails, pull on the fine-tune bowline, and sheet in again, you can find the optimal position within a couple of minutes.
In breezy conditions, having 4:1 on the jib halyard makes it easier to get enough halyard tension without heading to the dock.
Originally published on Medium