Eric Kome was kind enough to share his
experiences in setting his Hyfield Lever on his C-15 "Mutineer". Eric is a
graphic designer by trade and it helps him to see these things visually. Plus,
he has fun designing things like the diagrams contained below.
While the writeup and diagrams demonstrate the process for a C-15, owners of
the other Chrysler boats with a similar configuration may be able to use this
process as well.
If your boat has the pvc/aluminum conduit jib furling system like mine, then this might be helpful.
The jib is wrapped/furled around the pvc/conduit and slid onto the forestay. The forestay is attached near the top of the mast at one end, then runs to the bow, through a hole in the deck down below, through a block/pulley, then back to the hyfield lever at the cuddy opening. (See attached drawing)
The hard part is, getting the forestay through the pulley below deck and back to the cockpit. You certainly don't want to have to crawl up there. It's no fun.
This is where I use a thin feeder line/string. I tie one end to the end of the forestay and tie the other end to the hyfield lever. The idea is, when you drop the mast and pull the forstay back out (throught the pulley and back out the hole in the deck), it trails the feeder line with it. Cnce the feeder line is through the hole in the deck at the bow, I untie it and secure it to the padeye or anything on the bow. Now you have a line fed from the lever throught the pully and through the hole in the deck. Then, next time, when you are raising the mast, you simply retie the feeder line to the end of the forstay, and gently (don' want it to come untied midway) pull the forestay back through and connect to the hyfield lever.
I used to think this is an enormous pain, but once I got used to it, I enjoy being able to set up the boat solo and this method works pretty good.
I hope that made some sense. Hard to describe.
This is the way my lever is set up.
When you get the forestay back to the lever, you decide which hole in the lever you want to pin it to. This allows you to crudely adjust the tension of the forestay. I think I put mine around 4 holes back (close to the middle) and it has always been fine for me.
Anyhoo, you clevis pin the forestay in the hyfield lever slot at the holes you select. It should fit between the 2 metal pieces of the lever.
Next, all I do is pull the lever toward the cockpit and up. Once it's parallel with the deck (horizontal position), I have a u-pin (see gaphic) that hangs from the underside of the deck and holds the hyfield lever in the "locked" position.
Warning! Always have someone supporting the mast while you're fiddling around below deck! If the lever slips out of your hands, or while your cursing at your bleeding thumbnails while wedging open the clevis pins, the mast will drop like a rock and probably pull out most of the deck with it. When setting it up solo, I walk the mast up, and secure it with a line that I run around the mast support on my trailer. this holds it upright while I get things done below deck. Works like a charm!
This is only the way my system is set up. The fellow I bought the boat from was the original owner, but he wasnt too knowlegeable about boating matters. I can only assume it is correct though.
Many thanks to Eric Kome for taking the time to write this "how to" tutorial and take create these drawings! Eric sails his "Mutineer" (sail #2593) on Lake MacBride in Iowa City, Iowa. If you would like to ask him any questions about this process, send an e-mail message to komeer@ncs.com.