Rigging the Banshee Sailboat- PART III 

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 Step Description & Post-it Notes of Interest (inside green boxes)
Links provided in this area will open a document in a new window.		 Illustration
Some images are imagemaps with pop-up Alt tags for various parts.
 31 Connecting Rudder/Tiller
Position the pintels (twin metal pins) of the rudderhead for...
32 insertion into the transom rudder gudgeons. They will both need to be inserted simultaneously (easier said than done especially if your boat is rocking in the water!).
33 Extend tiller into cockpit.
 
I've had to jury rig a bungee (see detail) between the rudder and tiller to prevent the rudder from rising to a up/horizontal position when sailing fast.

 
34 I use a bungee sail tie as a preventer to prevent loss of the rudder in a capsize. Don't use a "heavyweight" bungee or it will be dificult to lift the tiller lever easily.
35 Rudder assembly completed.
36 Hoisting the Mainsail
The bow should be pointing into the wind during the whole rigging process but especially when hoisting the mainsail. The mainsheet MUST not be cleated or pinned inside the cockpit. The boom should swing freely as you hoist the mainsail. Keep your head clear of the boom and hoist the mainsail by pulling down on the halyard and simultaneously pulling it through the block and deck cleat. Once the sail is snug to the top of the mast-- cleat the halyard. Coil the remaining halyard and pin it beneath the portion between the deck block and the cleat (see image 39 below).

You may wish to insert the daggerboard (#37 below) prior to this step. If the wind is gusting and changeable-- I do. Otherwise it can be quite difficult to insert the dagger while the boom is swinging left and right across the daggerboard well.
37 Daggerboard insertion
Insert the daggerboard into the daggerboard well. The blunt edge of the daggerboard faces forward. My daggerboard is usually "decorated" with 4-5 sail-ties so that if I lower the mainsail it can be reefed/secured quickly.
 
I recently removed the daggerboard well trim and replaced the old original plastic gasket with inner-tube rubber to keep unwanted water from gushing into the boat via the daggerboard well. It has done a good job of keeping the daggerboard in the position required in fast sailing conditions. Prior to that job I used a figure-eighted bungee (see image 38 below) over the daggerboard well to hold the board in position. Mike Salmon has written some rigging notes on this (and other) rigging procedure(s).
38 I have found an adjustable bungee useful for providing additional daggerboard holding power. Just criss-cross it over the daggerboard. I could not push the daggerboard down any further here (it was touching the ground beneath the trailer in this shot).
 
You might notice that I've had to use "bondo" in a few places to keep a smooth trailing edge on my daggerboard.

My kicking/hiking strap is barely visible in this shot (better shots here; pict 18, pict 25). It is a white 2" webbing strap that is wrapped about the daggerboard well and connected back to the double D ring strap on the interior transom wall (visible in this shot). You may decide to pad your strap (pipe insulation foam or small hollow swim noodles work well) and or split the strap into a starboard and port strap. I tried the split strap and found it complicated movements in the cockpit too much. By the way, I drilled 1" holes in the daggerboard well stabalizer to thread these spread kicking straps through. It worked well but I since reverted back to the central placement. I sometimes switch to the spread layout when my boys are skippering. They cannot reach the straps otherwise and so cannot hike out.

 
39 Rig the Boom vang
Start the run by tying a bowline to the mast block connector (see image in frame 40 below) looping to each pulley in turn and ending with the jam cleat. This thing seems to do a good job of keeping the boom horizontal in gusty winds.

I've just started using a vang. I use a double fiddle block (Harken; about $18) with a jam cleat on the mast and a double block (Harken; about $10) on the boom.

I wish I had bought a fiddle block with a becket [see becket image here]. See vang detail and/or vang line animation.
 
I cannot begin to tell you HOW IMPORTANT(!!!) using a vang is in your Banshee! Well, maybe that came close! The vang line is 3/16" line that is 14' in length. Too long-- I think 10' would do the job. If you gamble and do not use a vang you risk compromising your mast/boom connecting hardware. Don't do it. The vang was only about $40 and the performance improvement is incredible.

 
40 The fiddle block with jam cleat.
41 The double block on the boom.
42 Rigging the Downhaul/Cunningham
I use a short rope with a double figure eight knot in the end for my downhaul line (yep-- it's aqua too! Sorry about any confusion). Feed it through the downhaul grommet, through a deck block, tighten, and cleat it. This line is about 3' long.
 
:-( Oops! I should have pushed the outhaul line through from the opposite side of the sail. The arrangement in the photo here could place undue stress on the sail (read RIP!) when the boom is pushed to the port (left) side of the boat.

This image is slightly distorted. I had to shrink it vertically to include all the areas mentioned. 

See an alternative (a "cunning cunningham") to this method that provides easy ajustment from the helm.

I'm now using a loop of line for my downhaul. See improved downhaul.

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43 A closeup of the downhaul's V-cleat .
That's my rigging technique for my Banshee (Doozie, sail #2577). I also carry a few other pieces of "essential" equipment:
A flotation vest (for each person);
Sunblock and blistex lip balm;
A waterproof FM radio that I fasten to the boom close to the mast;
A paddle (a necessity where I sail :-( ) [storing a standard paddle];
A 20 foot "painter" line to attach to a dock, an anchor line or a towing boat;
A 9 pound galvanized danforth anchor and have not found a good place or way to store such coveniently on board;
A bailer in the storage compartment. I use a bottomless 2 liter plastic soda bottle (cap is screwed on). I've tied a long (12') cord from the bottle's neck to the mast well inside the storage area. It's a little flimsy but it does the job and is easy to store and retrieve.

I hope that this helps those of you who are new to sailing the Banshee. Please let me know what suggestions you have for additions and/or corrections.

If you are interested in seeing some additional general BUT nicely detailed rigging information see the Glen-L rigging website.

May you have many happy and windy days on your boat!

Steve

P.S. Send me your "Sailing my Banshee" pictures and/or stories. I'd be glad to include them on this website. 

Part I | Part II | Part III | E-mail Steve