I've just bought an older RS200 (489) and want to pop a continuous kicker system on it and also wondered what other upgrades I should be looking at doing? Its already had the twin patch conversion. 

Does anyone have any pictures they could post or email showing the routing of the continuous kicker system once it gets back into the cockpit? I did find an old thread in which someone had posted pictures but the images have been deleted now, so any help much appreciated

Cheers

Dave

....anyway back to your continuous kicker. The 4th pic in this link shows the non-continuous arrangement.

http://www.rs200sailing.org/index.asp?selection=Coaching&Fleet=RS200&subsect=Rigging%20Guide - http://www.rs200sailing.org/index.asp?selection=Coaching&Fleet=RS200&subsect=Rigging%20Guide

The continuous arrangement obviously needs a loop of rope joined with a splice. The routing is the same except that the control line exits one cleat on the thwart, passes over the center board case and goes back down the opposite cleat. Mine passes through a small fairlead on the C/B case located in the gap between the ratchet block and the thwart, this keeps things tidy. I try and keep the splice positioned so it doesn't  go through blocks or cleats when used (along side the CB case) 

I ain't no expert on 200s though.

Is it as simple as that, just splice the rope together. I was expecting there to be something nice including elastic and extra blocks on the edge of the cockpit to keep it tensioned :)

Cheers

Dave

Sorry to highjack the thread but how do you hold the main tack down? I have the velcro strap around the mast. What stops this sliding up toward the downhaul eye?.....just a piece of string?.

Just slide the strap around the mast down a bit once everything is rigged and the friction keeps it there.

If its light winds with loose outhaul and no cunningham then i guess it isnt a problem since you dont want much luff tension.

If its windier and the outhaul is pulled on and some downhaul it seems to stay where you leave it (for me).

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the pics if you get home and its not dark :)

Thanks again

Dave

Don't have mine any more to photograph, but if i remember correctly, my continuous kicker led thru a couple of stainless curtain rings attached to the black plastic grab-rails. Brings it out and to hand when hiking. Then I think there was another on the centreline as stated above.

Measure carefully and allow for the amount of rope doubled up in the splice. Better too long than too short. I used Excel Control and followed the Marlow YouTube splicing video - makes a pretty much invisible splice.

For the tack, rather than the strap, try making up a rope shackle with a spliced loop at one end and bobble on the other. Lead thru the cringle, around the mast and toggle together. I never bothered with a tack tie-down - the sneaky pig (cunning-ham, groan) does that job fine.

Whilst bimbling, I used to find the boom jumps off the gooseneck in a gybe when the kicker is off and the wind light. Cure with a slim split pin that goes thru a hole drilled in the boom and into another in the gooseneck post.

Cheers

Dave

Also remove mainsheet cleat.

Fit righting lines.

To keep the tack down run the cunningham up, through the normal larger eye, down round a pin that you add to the front of the boom and then dead end it after passing it through the bottom eye, that way when you pull the cunninghamon it also pulls the bottom down.

Definitely run the mainsheet outside the boom but support it for at least 80% of its external run, just duct tape some OHP slides under the boom to cover it.

Make sure that you dont have the original 8:1 kicker, you can change to a 12:1 using a cascade or 16:1 if you buy an extra triple (??) pulley.

Some people prefer 1:1 mainsheet, others a 2:1 so try both and see which you prefer.

You could fit a spinlock for the kite halyard if you still have the cam cleat.

Have you got a floating block behind the kite halyard cleat, you definitely need one.

You should also remove the tweaker line from the mast and you should route the kite halyard through the lower of the 2 mast pulleys, the tweaker line will inevitably fail when you dont want it to. If you only have the plastic gromet in the tweaker line hole then move the pulley from the upper hole to the tweaker line exit point.

Thanks for the detailed information. I can see I've got a busyy weekend ahead off me :)

Much appreciated everyone whos helped

Dave

I got the boat on the water for the first time yesterday (after finding and repairing a hole in it which i didn't know about, and wasn't pointed out to me when i bought it) and the continuous kicker works great.

 

Can anybody clarify, please.  I'm interested anyway because I'm about to convert our boat.

 

A bit archaic, but that is what you get with the kicker conversion kit from LDC.

 

As I say, I can't see anything in the rule that specifically says you can't do what you have done.

 

However, why would everybody use rings if blocks are allowed?

 

Hopefully, somebody more knowledgeable than me will be along in a minute .........

lol, do you think I'll get locked up 

Surely a block is a glorified ring anyway, but you're right, it isn't an eye or a bush or a handle.

Anyway, its a nice solution, my son, who I bought the boat to sail with, is only 5 so i won't be going to any open meetings or nationals in the foreseeable future, and when i do, if someone who hasnt got anything better to do wants to make a fuss about it then i'll swap them over for some 'rings' for that event. I know rules are rules, but if I was adding a few inches to the height of the mast or adding extra purchase to the rig or something that mattered then fair enough, but all i'm adding is a couple of blocks, which are extra weight, and all they do is route the loose ends of some controls around a corner :)

Sorry, rant over 

If there is no advantage why did you do it?

Good answer 

Pimp rule 101 that surely 

....oh yes, I know that rule. 

and in this case, if the boat is not class raced, worth experimenting with.......and it does look tidy.

The neat bit about it is you can pull a big handfull of kicker on and it will cleat the other side too, so you don't have to worry about cleating the kicker when you dump it at the windward mark.

It's also important that the kicker is not too long when dumped.

 

This is partly to keep the systems simple (it's a SMOD, and the rules allow the systems work well as they are), avoiding the risk of introducing illegal extra purchases, and in this case, it's also practical. If the kicker is uncleated on the wrong side, the temptation is to pull it on through the takeaway block, and so force the grab rail (which is not designed for this) to part company from the hull...

The LDC supplied continuous system also has blocks in it, at least on the 400.

 

Trust me, first hand experience!

 

EDIT - if you pull the kicker on from the 'wrong' side you also have a 2:1 purchase on the grab rail, so the load might be larger than ou think.

 

And, yes, the 400 does have blocks, but it's 'same same but different'

hum3: Pulling from the wrong side doesn't give you an extra purchase. It would just be a turning block. There's no advantage to doing this, other than being able to cleat the rope if you forgot, which you can do with a ring.   

Totally agree that being able to pull from the other side is an advantage when you've forgotten to re-cleat. However, the 200 grab rail just won't take the load. 

Putting a ring on you can still pull enough tension into the leeward side to cleat it. But you then must use the windward side to set the kicker. I'd discourage anyone from putting blocks on just as they might be tempted to try and set the kicker from the wrong side, ripping a few screws out in the process. 

I doubt anyone would ever protest though, i certainly wouldn't. But why bother taking the risk for something which is heavier, more expensive, has to performance advantage, and could damage your boat?

 

Um... it does [EDIT -  does give extra purchase. Agree it gives no advantage, unless you enjoy pulling the grab rail out of your boat!]

 

Perhaps not while there is no load in the rope, but once you load everything up, and the kicker end becomes 'fixed' you have a 2:1 purchase on the grab rail.

 

Q sailing past the leeward gate, back home to Riva... :-(

 

Or just red mist, pulling something with more 'vigour' than the design spec qualified.

 

(There you go kids - have that as a double entendre open goal...)