Preventer Rig on a Vagabond 47

[Ian McColgin]

Sometimes you see a U-bolt or 'biner hooked through the turnbuckle lower fork, fitting between the fork and the chainplate, but this does not seem to me much of a good idea. A selvagee is just a sort of strap loop - I make them from inner or outer bits of left-over double braid from other projects. I think one of Brion's books show how to use one on a pole, like for a safety line when aloft on a mast. But what I had in mind here was simply a loop around the chainplate itself, below the turnbuckle fork and held down by that fork.

Two ways of attaching occur to me.

You could make a nice loop, like a soft quoit. Put the loop on the preventer shackle or 'biner or whatever you have there and then hold the loop out on a finger simply pass it around the chainplate twice and bring the bight back to attach to the preventer shackle. You'd only need to unhook one side of the loop for tacking and wrapping it around the chainplate and reattaching would be dirt simple.

Alternativly you could make the selvagee a loop that's wrapped permanently around the chainplate like three loose winds of a service and just pull one wind out enough to get the preventer's shackle or 'biner attached.

Either is a nice soft attachment.

G'luck

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
First, I'm glad you let go of that shackle idea; undersize pin, unfair loading, and threat to overall rig integrity would have been unfortunate. If you do put your preventer in this area, Ian's selvagee method will be the cleanest, strongest, quietest way to do it. But I would much prefer to take preventers forward to the bow, and leading from the boom end. That way you have much more leverage, to the point that you won't need a purchase, just a single line. You also won't risk snapping your boom in a swell. We use a setup where there's a boom-length piece that lives on the boom to which you attach a long deck piece when you deploy. That way you can set or strike on any point of sail.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[Ian McColgin]

I'd not had the wit, when I've lead preventers to the bow, to have the boom length bit just there. Sure solves a lot of problems.

This assumes that you have a vang or very heavy boom to keep the sail from folding around the spreaders, of course. I'd gotten into the habit of combining the functions in part because on long legs I much prefer to tack downwind as it's mostly faster and even when not it's more restful and safer than worrying about a gybe.

Good to be reminded of the basics and the alternatives.

Thank you Brion.

[Robbie.g]

Many biggish yachts use a preventer, in the form of a line with carbide clip that runs through a block on the boom end from the bow or fwd,and then along the boom and into the cockpit, just like the main sheet.
Rob