Issue 3
April 2012
Section 2
Starting Out
Introduction
So, you have bought your Leisure 23 and are now looking
at the boat with its sails off, its mast down, bits of rope
and wire all over the place, desperately trying to
remember what the previous owner told you. Hopefully,
the information below will be helpful. It must be said
however, that many owners have modified their boats, and
the following guidance relates to a ‘standard’ 23 – if one
exists. Also, there are slight differences in the mast and
rigging between the 23 and 23SL.
Safety
The first and essential step is to ensure that the boat is safe to work on. If she is standing on the
ground, then chock up the skeg so that she cannot tip backwards. Similarly, another piece of
wood jammed between the forward end of the hull and the ground will stop her rocking forward.
If the boat is on a trailer, ensure that she is firmly lashed to the trailer both fore and aft. Either
couple the trailer to the car, or chock up the rear of the trailer so that it cannot tip backwards.
Mast and Rigging
Diagrams for the 23SL and 23 can be found at
Rigging Diagram
23SL
and
Rigging Diagram
L23
The mast can be raised by two people, although a third pair of hands is always useful to clear the
inevitable snagging of a wire or rope (it is much safer to let the yard or sailing club staff raise the
mast with a crane). Guidance on raising (and lowering) the mast is contained in Section 5, Mast
and Standing Rigging.
First, the mast must be properly orientated and the running rigging (rope) and standing rigging
(wire) must be correctly positioned.
Make sure that the heel of the mast is over the bow, that the sail track (groove) is facing
downwards and that the furling genoa foil is lying on top of the mast and spreaders. The backstay
should be lying underneath the mast. Drape the backstay bridle over the stern. The two cap
(upper) shrouds should each run through the alloy fitments on the end of the spreaders with split
pins or screws ensuring that the shrouds cannot escape; the spreaders themselves should be
secured to the mast by split pins or nuts and bolts. The bottle screw on each upper shroud can
now be connected to the middle deck eye. The forward and aft lower shrouds can now be
connected to their deck eyes.
Next, and a most important step
loosely
tie the top of each bottle
screw to the guard wire with a
piece of shock cord.
Failure to make the bottle screws ‘stand up’ like this can result in bent or
broken bottle screws, should they become snagged on the deck eyes as the mast is raised.
Before going on to raise the mast, check that all the running rigging is in its proper place. There
should be at least three ropes – the topping lift, main halyard and genoa halyard, plus a thin
signal halyard from the starboard spreader from which you proudly fly your Leisure Owners
pennant. There may also be a cruising ‘chute or spinnaker halyard.
The:
•
topping lift runs over the rearmost sheave on the mast head (crane) and runs up and
down entirely external to the mast and should be lying underneath the spreaders
•
main halyard emerges from the mast crane in front of the topping lift but runs down inside
the mast and exits via a sheave at the foot of the mast
•
genoa halyard routes over the sheave on the front of the mast, and exits down inside the
mast and out via a sheave on the foot
•
thin signal halyard runs through an eye or small block on the underside of the starboard
spreader.
5
