Rigging
the Banshee Sailboat- PART I
[7/20/2001]
This is usually done in the water, BUT this is a resource that seems to be needed. I've gotten a dozen or so requests myself in the last year. So I took the opportunity this weekend to go through the motions in the backyard with a digital camera handy.
Thanks
to Samuel (11) and Alex (9), both Banshee sailors too-- for their help
with the photos and making these pages.
BTW, I neglected to include insertion of the sail battens in this tutorial. Next revision!
Part I | Part II | Part III | PDF version (1 MB) | E-mail me
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Some images are imagemaps with pop-up Alt tags for various parts.
I rolled my Banshee "Doozie" into the shade and laid out all the rigging "ingredients."
| Doozie
is about 27 years old now and still going strong. On breezy weekends we
sail her on Strom
Thurmond reservoir above Augusta, Georgia, or off Pinkney
Island (near Hilton Head, South Carolina).
I've only had to do one major repair on Doozie in the nine years I've owned her. Last summer I completely replaced the transom and reglassed the entire hull. The transom was terribly dry-rotted (a VERY common problem with older Banshees) and my "git-rot" fix did not prove to be a viable solution. I spent six weeks (M-F evenings and weekends) on the project and now she is as good as new. Thanks to the on-line Banshee community for advice. I could not have done the job otherwise. I've since read advice from Skip Stanyan about doing this repair. Check it out if your Banshee requires this fix. |
With your boat still sitting on your trailer - or on the beach... insert the three rubber plugs (size 00- if you lose them) into the drain holes on the interior transom wall and in the aft side flotation cells. Only two plugs are shown here.
| You should keep some extra plugs (size 00). I have three extras in a ziplock bag inside the hull. The bag (which includes boat registration) is velcro-banded to the mast well structure. You can find rubber stoppers at Lowes (hard to find parts in the fasteners area) or other hardware stores. What's the worry? I've lost the transom wall plug during a capzise. We were taking on water quickly! If this happens to you -- use a side aircell plug until you can get a replacement (if you don't carry extras). |
In a soft grassy area unroll/unfurl mainsail (the clew (lower most aft aspect of the sail) has a red outhaul line attached in the lower right corner of the photo).
Use a bowline to tie the halyard to the head of the mainsail. I use 1/4 inch Sta-Set Polyester braid for most of my control lines (halyard, outhaul, downhaul). I've found that anything smaller is hard on the hands in cold, wet, windy conditions.
| All
the cordage you need may be purchased on-line at either Layline
or West Marine. My mainsail
has
a mast sleeve (the top is open) as opposed to many Banshees that have
mainsail
"socks" (closed at the top) instead.
The enlargement shows how to tie a bowline knot. The bowline is really useful for making a knot that will not untie or slip. I use a bowline (GIF animation | QuickTime Movie) here to attach the halyard to the mainsail, and also on the outhaul, and on the mainsheet. A good knot to know! Make the loop as small as possible so that the mainsail can be hoisted as high as possible. Learn your knots at this Scouting website if you don't know them already. |
With the mainsail completely extended, slip the bottom of the mainsail sleeve onto the upper end of the mast base (the larger of the two mast pieces).
| You may one day need to know the lengths of your spars (mast base, topmast, boom). This illustration provides some basic measurement details. |
Insert the topmast into the upper end of the mast base. Be sure to align the topmast block (sailing lingo for pulley-- see image immediately below) and the bases boom attachment.
Insert the halyard (aqua colored here) through the topmast block. On my Banshee I use a boom lift line (purple/lavender-- including clips it is 19'4" in length (More info on control lines)) that clips to the topmast eyelet and the outhaul end of the boom. That way when lowering the mainsail, the boom remains up and OUT of the cockpit. See boom lift in action. I am now using another "forestay-like" line on my Banshee. My kids are always capsizing Doozie and have turned her turtle more times than I can remember. It is pretty difficult to right a Banshee from this position! They are VERY stable once turtled. SO-- I use a homemade "turtle preventer" now. Check it out. It works like a charm- but I admit it IS pretty ugly!
| Note: If you do step the mast and these lines are tangled -- NO BIG DEAL. Grab the mast and tip the boat onto its' side- untangle the lines and hold onto them as you push the mast back up- righting the boat (make sure you will not hit electrical power lines (or people!) while doing this!) ...and NO, you will not swamp your boat when doing this. The side floatation cells on the Banshee keep the cockpit high and dry (capsize image). If your Banshee does begin to take on water (sink!) at this point your ship is in need of a deck to hull repair... and yes this is a common problem with old Banshees too. How to tell if you need work in this area. |
Slip the mast well gasket (rubber donut) onto the base end of the mast. Be careful! I've lost these little babies over the side before -- they do not float!
| If you do lose yours you can buy a replacement (as well as other Banshee parts) at Abbott Boats. |
The bottom of the mast base has notches on both fore and aft edges (see image 13 immediately above). In the bottom of the mast well there is a 5/8" bolt [referred to as the "step pin"] aligned bow to stern that the mast base notches slip down onto. This prevents the mast from rotating when the boom swings to port (left) or starboard (right).
At
this point I usually already have my Banshee in the water, pulled up to
shore so that stepping the mast is an easy task. You could do this
while
it is still trailered. However, if you do-- be especially wary of
overhead
powerlines.  The
aluminum mast is an excellent conductor of electricity and touching
such a power source could be a fatal mistake!
I should also mention that stepping the mast in windy conditions can be quite difficult. Get assistance if you have any doubts. |
