The J/109 Class Association Forum

I have a 2003 J-109, and decided to move the control for the outhaul back to an unused clutch in the cockpit. I think the outhaul is original, 1/4" diameter line that was held in an adjustable cleat on the outside of the boom. Unfortunately the cockpit clutches require minimum diameter 5/16" line to hold fast, so temporarily, until I replace the line completely, I cut the tail of the 1/4" line and tied a short stretch of 5/16" to it, so the clutch will hold the outhaul tight. What I have is functional, but messy. I would like to replace the 1/4" OEM outhaul line completely with 5/16 line.

Looking inside the boom, I see that the outhaul line enters the inside of the mast from the gooseneck, and then wraps around a pulley at the aft end inside the mast, and then the line leads back to the front third of the boom where it is tied off. All of this is inside the boom so it's a little hard to see how it is tied off at the end and how to get at the tied end. If I loosen the outhaul line completely the tied end doesn't move, and I can't reach it from either end. Externally I see a couple of cleats on the mast that look like cleats for lazy jacks, but I don't find any bolt that might be holding the tie point for the outhaul.

Can anybody offer advice as to how the outhaul is fixed inside the mast, and how to replace it? Do I need to drill out the rivets that hold the bottom plate of the mast in place to replace the line? Or, is there a bolt that just needs to be loosened somewhere to allow it to come free?

Unfortunately I have no advice to offer but I've also been scratching my head trying to figure out the very mysterious hidden outhaul system inside the boom. Ours is quite sticky and I've been meaning to fix it at some point. I have a feeling it's going to be one of those projects that ends up being far more involved than I expect. If you happen to get to it before I do or dig up some information please post about your findings. And likewise, if I run out of other low lying fruit projects I'll report on the fiasco I'm sure to encounter inside there!

Brooke Mastrorio had her rig off URSA last winter and reran the outhaul system because it was twisted in the boom. The rivets were drilled out to take off the boom fitting at the forward end. The J/Boat specs indicate there is 8:1 purchase.

For an update as to how I solved the problem, hop over to this thread in the forum. The pulley system in my boat was 14:1, very complex.
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