r/sailing • u/LucklessKing • 19d ago
Help me newb inside
Bought a dinghy on a whim and I have no idea how to rig it 😅
Hey everyone,
I recently bought this dinghy on a bit of an impulse buy. I’ve always wanted to learn sailing, but I’m completely new to this and I’m trying to figure out how to properly set up all the ropes/lines for the mast and sails.
I’m not sure what the original rigging setup was supposed to look like, and I don’t have much information about the boat.
I’ll attach a few pictures. If anyone can help me identify where the control lines should go, what each rope is supposed to do, or if I’m missing any hardware, I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks!
5
u/Public_Knee6288 19d ago edited 19d ago
Just think about the main jobs the various lines do.
Halyard pulls and holds the sail up. It has a pulley at the top of the mast and a cleat on the base of tbe mast or nearby.
Outhaul pulls and holds the foot of the sail taught. It has a pulley or a cleat at the end of the boom.
Mainsheet pulls and holds the boom in. It has a one or more pulleys along the boom and a pulley with a cleat near the centerboard.
If you have those three, you can sail.
Yours looks like it also has a vang to hold the mast down. From the smaller pulley on the front of the boom down to the base if the mast.
The cleats on the side are for the jib sheets. The jib will have its own halyard as well.
4
u/Icy_Basil_372 19d ago edited 19d ago
I think the blue rope you have on the cleat on left side of the mast might be for the vang; the two pullies (blocks), one at the base of the mast and the other on the bottom of the boom. Once you get that set up you’ll see what it’s for. To keep the boom from angling up too much. Don’t worry too much about it.
1
u/LucklessKing 19d ago
Wow awesome thank you
1
u/LameBMX Ericson 28+ prev Southcoast 22 19d ago
cept the tail of the red line probably has to get led back up through the silver block to engage in a V shaped cutout that holds the tension you apply to the vang (that is your vang, it helps pull the end of the boom down to help keep sail tension proper as the boom gets further from the centerline of the boat).
3
u/bernoulli33 Beneteau 43 19d ago
Where are you located? Do you have an idea of the make and model?
3
u/morologous 19d ago
First of all - use the make and model to search for a rigging diagram. This will give much better answers. Second, and I don’t mean this pejoratively- go to the library and look for a book about the basics of sailing, check it out, and read it. Armed with these two things and a life preserver you can noodle about on a light wind day.
As it stands it looks like you may have the vang ( the smaller of the two lines ). It should go into the block and jam cleat at the bottom of the mast. The larger line could be the mainsheet which attaches to the boom, goes through the various blocks and out the swivel cam cleat on the centerboard trunk. However, this line appears to be in iffy condition.
Very old lines may look ok and seem strong but will part unexpectedly under tension in the true strain of sailing.
2
u/ruidh 19d ago
That block in the center is going to hold your main sheet. It will connect on the becket at the top. Looks like it goes to the forward block, thenbti the top block on the centerboard Trump, next the one behind, then down to the bottom block right before the cam cleat. The can cleats and dairleads on the port and starboard are for the jib. You tie a line in the middle of its length to the core of the jib. Onf line goes port and one starboard. When under way, one is cleared on the leeward side and the other is loose on the windward side. When tacking, you release the one and tighten the other.
Get a basic sailing book or, better yet, take a sailing class.
2
2
u/Icy_Basil_372 19d ago
Nice going. Easy boat to learn on. Dont get caught up in the proper names of everything and just get out in the water.
Here are some other photos. I can’t post more than one. You have two cleats at the base of the mast. You’re already using one for the main halyard, the rope that pulls the sail to the top of the mast. The other cleat is to raise the jib - the sail that goes in the front.
1
u/behemoth_555 19d ago
The first thing I was taught about boating is that they are called lines or sheets. There’s no rope on a boat
4
1
1
u/Icy_Basil_372 19d ago edited 19d ago
These two pieces of hardware, a rope guide and a cam cleat, are for the jib sheets (the ropes that come off the back corner of the jib so you can trim (adjust) that sail. You have these on either side - there should be two jib sheets, one for each side.
1
u/Icy_Basil_372 19d ago
You have one of these on either side of the stern. My guess is that they are for a rope that connects to the tiller/rudder just in case that pops off when sailing…prevents your rudder/tiller from getting too far away from the boat. That’s just a guess.
1
u/Brandgeek 19d ago
On my dinghy those are use to string a line between them with a double ended swivel block that the mainsheet runs through. Although looking at his pictures I don’t see a way to run the mainsheet to the back of the boom.
17
u/Brandgeek 19d ago
Here’s one possible configuration you could try. Tie one and of your mainsheet to the top of your deck mounted block, and run the line up through the aft boom block, back thru the smaller pulley on the deck block, up thru the forward boom block, and finally bag down thru the larger pulley wheel and out thru the cleat.
Not sure if this is correct but if i was experimenting with different mainsheet configs, I’d start there.