How do you rig a 420 sail boat?

Answer 1

assuming your mast, stays, etc are all rigged, then:

1. point your boat into the wind

2. un-roll your mainsail, make sure you have a batten (semi-rigid support sewn into or inserted into a sleeve) in it near the top

3. thread the bottom edge of your sail into the boom, (metal support that attaches to mast at bottom of sail), with the end of the sail that has a right angle being fed in last.

4. find the main halyard, a rope extending downwards from the top of your mast, on the side nearest the back of the boat.

5. attach the halyard yo the eyelet in the top of your sail. this can be tied in using a bowline knot, or attached with a u-bolt/shackle

6.hoist your sail: a) find the other end of your halyard. it should come out of the mast near where thee mast goes into the hull.

it should loop through a pulley in the bottom of the boat so you can pull the end upwards to hoist. B) whilst one person feeds the side of the sail into the groove in the back side of the sail (this groove opens up about two feet from where the mast enters the hull. feed the fat edge of the sail into this opening), another person must pull the halyard, until the sail is almost at the top of the mast.

7. at this stage, the boom should be suspended on the sail, but not attached to the mast. there should be a hinged pin/bolt protruding from the back of the mast. while one person holds the sail at the right height with the halyard, the otherr person can push this bolt into a hole of the same size on the end of the boom

8. pull the halyard as far as it will go (ensuring the boom pin stays in place) and cleat/ tie it fast

9.take the mainsheet ( quite a fat rope ) and, if it is not already done, tie it to the metal loop attached to the smaller of the two pulleys attached to the hull of the boat (the pulley should be on a string, in the middle of the boat)

10. take the mainsheet and lead the untied end up through the pulley on the boom which is closest to the front of the boat, from the back of the pulley, through towards the front of the boat

11. lead the rope down to the small pulley attached to the bottom of the boat, the same pulley the mainsail is tied to.

12. feed the mainsheest through the pulley, from the end facing the front of the boat, to the end facing back

13.feed the mainsheet through the remaining pulley connected to the boom, coming from the front end, to the back end. now feed the mainsheet through the larger pulley in the bottom of the boat. tie a stopper knot in the end of the rope to stop it being pulled back through

14. unroll your jib (smaller sail)

15. identify the clew of your sail. this is the corner of the sail which is closest to a right angle

16. if it is not already done, tie your gib sheet, a rope about six yards long to the clew. this is done by1. folding the rope in half 2. pushing the folded middle if the rope through the eye in the clew of the sail 3. feeding the two "tails" of the rope through the loop of rope you just pushed through and 4. pulling the tails tight, ensuring they are the same length

17. identify the tack of your jib. this is the corner of your sail that is not the clew, but not also the pointiest, longest corner of your sail.

18. the tack should either have a metal loop attached to it, or an eye. use a small but strong u-bolt/shackle to attach this corner of the sail to the front most part of your boat. there should be a metal, anchoring point there, with a hole through it to attach your shackle to.( the forestay, a wire running from the front of your boat up to your mast, might also be attached to this anchoring point)

19. find your jib halyard, this is a rope