Boom hardware

[merc412]

Picked up a Mercury 18' keelboat a few weeks ago and am trying to get her ready for the water again. Build date is about 1960. The boat came with wood spars but the boom is stripped of all hardware. At the end of the boom a pocket has been cut to just below the groove with a 1" x 1/16" wire sheeve at the end. I'm guessing this would be for an outhaul device of some kind. Would this have a short piece of track and a slider or some type of fold over lever? I've already contacted the MCYRA and the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle but every one seems to have aluminum after 1970. Has anyone got any ideas how this should be set up?

[JeffH]

Since no one else is responding, I'll chime in here with some probably very unhelpful info. I've only seen Mercs, never sailed them. Back in school, they had a fleet of Mercs for sailing classes, but also a fleet of Sheilds and an ever-changing stable of cruisers and racer-cruisers, which were much more interesting to sail ;) The sheave, if it is for wire, would certainly be for an outhaul, since a wire reefing outhaul would be rediculous. I would suspect the arrangement would be a metal track screwed to the top of the boom with sliders on the foot of the main (much the same as mast tracks). The outhaul would shackle into the clew, and then go around the sheave. After that, it get's murky. It could be, wiht a sail that small, that the wire gets spliced to a line and is then made off to a cleat some length down the boom. Or, there could be an eye at the end of the wire with one of those bitty bronze blocks attached, and a simple 2:1 tackle under the boom. I doubt much more than a 3:1 would be necessary. Just make it fairly compact with a short travel, and cleat off the end somewhere within reach of the helm. Anything like levers or screws would seem to me to be needlessly complicated. These aren't especially fast boats, anyway. No offense intended, of course :D :D

Jeff

[rbgarr]

Jeff,

I agree with your excellent description of how to rerig the outhaul. Another way I've seen wire outhauls rigged is with a track-mounted outhaul slide with an integral wire-sheave. The 2-1 purchase is on top of the boom, usually a T-section type. It doesn't sound like that's the fitting originally rigged on merc's boat though, which is just as well since those fittings are hard to come by.

I wonder if Merc is talking about a West Coast "Mercury' design, since his is 18 feet long. The Mercury you probably recall is 15', designed by Sparkman and Stephens in centerboard and keel models. They are still made by Cape Cod Shipbuilding, as are the Shields http://www.capecodshipbuilding.com/new_boats.htm

Did you know that Maine Maritime has listed five for their Shields for sale, asking $50k for all five?

[ 05-26-2003, 03:11 PM: Message edited by: rbgarr ]

[JeffH]

Good point... Forgot there was such a thing as a west coast merc. Ah, well, toldja it would be unhelpful.

Yup, did see the Shields for sale. Been trying to figure out how to justify buying one... :D

Jeff

[merc412]

Thanks for the info folks. Yes this is a West coast Merc designed by E. Nunes in '39. I'd post a pic but have not figured out how to do that here.