Looking for others info on their running rigging ...

[differentroads]

Luckily I have an old boat and no clutches anywhere !! The only fittings that would require me to take care on size are the jamming cleats for genny sheats ... and they can hold down to 8mm .... but I will stay with 10mm there anyway.

Winches are Lewmar 6's so no problem there Even the mast halyard winch (which to be honest - I rarely need - can handle the 10 - 12mm easily.

So the general looks like :

Halyards / sheets all 10mm
Topping lift 8mm
Furling line and 'lock line' 6mm

All sensible. The furling line would be easier to haul on if 8mm though. It makes a big difference when the wind pipes up

 

[LittleSister]

The furling line would be easier to haul on if 8mm though. It makes a big difference when the wind pipes up

I don't think the furling drums on any of my current and previous boats would be able to take 8mm. I've currently got 6mm, and following an increase in genoa size, that only all goes on on those occasions the line deigns to go on evenly and compactly all the way.

I'm considering going tapered - down to 5mm for the business end and maybe up to 8mm for the hauling end. (Splicing braided ropes is a mystery to me, and given other things on my plate I think I'll leave the splice to a professional.)

Amended for typo - I meant going to 5mm.

 

[LittleSister]

Topping lift hum - I wonder whether 3 strand would hum less, as it will shed the wind differently to braided rope. Any views/experience?

I was plagued by this noise for a while - I didn't know where the sound was coming from at first! I discovered that not having the mainsheet so tight reduced how often and how loudly it hummed, but would like to reduce it still further.

 

[Refueler]

I don't think the furling drums on any of my current and previous boats would be able to take 8mm. I've currently got 6mm, and following an increase in genoa size, that only all goes on on those occasions the line deigns to go on evenly and compactly all the way.

I'm considering going tapered - down to 4mm for the business end and maybe up to 8mm for the hauling end. (Splicing braided ropes is a mystery to me, and given other things on my plate I think I'll leave the splice to a professional.)

That is the problem - my furling line now is 7mm and if I am not careful bunches up and I have to hand turn the drum to get last 1 - 2 turns of genny out.
8mm would be an impossible size to use ....

There is of course another size that could be used ... and its strange that you do not see it quoted more often : PRE-stretched rope.

In the case of 7mm - a Pre-stretched version of 7mm would actually measure about 6.8mm or tiny bit less ..

Anyway .... my furling line can be dropped to 6mm and that would be an improvement ... I have the sheet winch right next to it if needed !! (True but joking of course !)

 

[AntarcticPilot]

All sensible. The furling line would be easier to haul on if 8mm though. It makes a big difference when the wind pipes up

I don't know about other manufacturers, but Furlex recommend a specific size, and either larger or smaller can give trouble because of the way the line feeding system works. I had trouble with line that was larger than Furlex recommended; obviously smaller line will be hard to handle.

 

[Refueler]

Topping lift hum - I wonder whether 3 strand would hum less, as it will shed the wind differently to braided rope. Any views/experience?

I was plagued by this noise for a while - I didn't know where the sound was coming from at first! I discovered that not having the mainsheet so tight reduced how often and how loudly it hummed, but would like to reduce it still further.

The Hum is transmitted through the boom by how its fastened. Think of it like vibrations .... if the vibrations can be transmitted into the boom OR MAST - there's your hum.

I have a roller boom .... and previous owner modified main to be with slugs - so the roller boom is basically redundant - I have a solution I devised so I can now use the roller boom for reefing but that's another subject - ..... His change to slugs and not using the roller .. he fastened topping lift to the fixed sail point at end of boom. HUM ......
I wanted roller boom working again and so fastened topping lift by quick clip to the double ended sheet fastening that rotates at boom end .... NO HUM.

 

[LittleSister]

The Hum is transmitted through the boom

Perhaps primarily by the boom, but also via the masthead and the mainsheet track. That said, I will try some sort of damping material where the topping lift attaches to the boom.

Sometimes when aboard I've spiral wrapped the main halyard or some other line around the topping lift, and that has temporarily given relief, but is not practical at all times.

Conversion to gaff rig, or some other low aspect ratio rig, would allow the boom to sit in a crutch, but that does seem a bit drastic.

I've also got a spring type boom strut I could 'borrow' from another boat, but that would probably squeak instead.

 

[alahol2]

I don't think the furling drums on any of my current and previous boats would be able to take 8mm. I've currently got 6mm, and following an increase in genoa size, that only all goes on on those occasions the line deigns to go on evenly and compactly all the way.

I'm considering going tapered - down to 5mm for the business end and maybe up to 8mm for the hauling end. (Splicing braided ropes is a mystery to me, and given other things on my plate I think I'll leave the splice to a professional.)

There's no splicing involved. If you are using braid on braid the core and sheath share the load almost equally so all you do is pull the inner braid out of the sheath and cut it off. Leave the core inside the 'handleable' length.