I want to put a pully on the top of the Centreboard case behind the spinnaker halyard cleat.  I don't think would be screwed into anything that requires a water tight seal as would be the case if I were screwing into the front tank.  thequestion is do I need to bed it down with silaflex or drill the holes and put the screws in.  I have seen a pulley in a similar place on the recent Winder boats.  BTW this is a Winder/Tales boat.

My reservation with the silaflex is that it is expensive and goes off quite quickly once a tube is started

Thanks

Whether it's really necessary or not everyone seems to do it! I would to be on the safe side.

Do you mean Sikaflex. If so it is indeed expensive, does go off once opened and it is totally over the top for a couple of screws. It is perfectly suited to large, tough jobs like laying a teak deck on a yacht! I would suggest ordinary silicon based bathroom seal, available at any hardware store or builders merchant. I completely fitted out one of the few (2?) amateur completed Winder Mk1s in year 2000, using bathroom seal on every fitting. It is number 3586 - still going strong and much loved.

Dave, may I ask why you want to put this cleat on?  I guess the answer will be that you want the halyard to automatically cleat as you (presumably the helm) hoist?

We used to use the arrangement but took it off a number of years ago for a couple of reasons:
1. It wears out the cleat in double quick time, and the first time you realise the cleat is knacked is when the halyard slips on a classic windy reach - and it will also be the day when you lead at the first mark....

2. and perhaps more important; when you come to drop the spi on a blowy day, the last thing you want is your crew head down at the foot of the mast trying to get a hand between the pulley and the cleat when you need their weight on the sidedeck.  If you don't have the pulley, the crew can lead across to just infront of the hoop, uncleat the halyard and start the drop from the deck, only going in to take off the pole and finish the drop when the load on the spin has gone. This makes the manoeuvre much more controllable for the helmsperson.

3. Having the pulley there makes it infinately more likely that the halyard will recleat during the drop.

In my experience the benefits of not having the pulley outweigh the potential advantage of  it being there, and if the cleat is correctly aligned (for line and height) between the turning block and the lead through the centre console the halyard invariably looks after itself anyway.

Just my thoughts...

GGGGGGG

Just adding to GGGG's comments, as Chambulls has the pulley and Snakey B doesn't, in my opinion the 'no pulley' option wins due to the avoidance of accidental cleating on the drop.

Just, when switching between boats, in the non-pulley boat, it is essential to remember to positively cleat the halyard on the hoist - obviously :-)

OK.  As to the cleating on the drop we have had this arrangement on the RS400 for 5 years and never had a problem with it cleating once uncleated - dont know why.  Hoisting is the motivation of adding the cleat.  Generally my crew (Celia) hoists and it she who wants the pulley to ensure it quickly goes into the cleat.  If I hoist there isn't a problem from the back it falls in neatly - even at it is currently.

As to dropping we (actually Celia) don't uncleat it until the pole has been taken off a la Dan's training - version 1 (thought take the pole of then drop seems to be suggested as an alternative).    I too am concerned that it might get to be a problem finding the string to pull.  In the 400 there is a ruddy great strop that uncleats both pole and spinnaker in one yank so no problem!

Yes I think it was Sikaflex now you mention it - I did last use it on the yacht to seal deck fittings - very good it was too!

While sailing in a boat with this pulley missing, it is a lot easier to be rolled after rounding the mark as the spinny takes an extra 3-4 seconds to get up. Also, you have to be in the boat to get it to cleat, rather than with the pulley you can hoist from the side if needed. I think that this outweighs the marginally longer dropping time, and if it really is nosedive conditions then i have never had a problem uncleating before removing most of the kite and leaving the pole on till rounding the mark.

The older Turner boats have the cleat on the c/b case and a bullseye under the thwart.  This has never been a problem, easy to reach string to uncleat, doesn't cleat accidentally and can hoist from either side deck.  Bullseyes are a much neglected fitting in my view as a pulley is fine as long as the lead is straight but it seldom is with the spinny halyard and it seems to me that tangles are much less common than with a block.  So what about a bullseye further back, though I don't know where you would put it on the Winder OD