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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Genoa Car

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Gull Lake CAT 25
Deckhand

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USA
5 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/15/2014 : 07:38:59

I solo sail my 25 Tall most of the time and want to install a genoa car system that can be adjusted from the cockpit. Anybody done this? Willing to share design?

Edited by - on

awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1144 Posts

Response Posted - 11/15/2014 : 08:56:02

I just put the Garhauer system on my Pearson. It works great, is well priced, and was a quick install.

The parts are here:
http://garhauermarine.com/catalog_process.cfm?cid=37

You need a EZ-G1UB kit, this includes two leadcars (which run on the track using ball bearings so that they can be adjusted under load) and two fixed cheek blocks that mount at the front of the tracks.

If you don't want to install a camcleat elsewhere you will also need 2x SJ1 to have cleats for the control line.

In addition you'll need a suitable amount of 1/4" line as the control line, and optionally some bungie line and another small block to pull the car backwards when you release the control line.

Edited by - on

Lee Panza
Captain

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USA
465 Posts

Response Posted - 11/15/2014 : 09:37:20

Alex;

That Garhauer system looks impressive, and I'm a fan of Garhauer hardware (their blocks will last forever and their prices are great for what they provide). But I'm surprised to read that the cars run on ball bearings, because there isn't much room between the track and the deck. Do they bear on the undersides of the track or just on the outer edges? In the picture on Garhauer's website it looks like they have plastic inserts surrounding the track edges.

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awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

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1144 Posts

Response Posted - 11/15/2014 : 18:30:57

They bear on the undersides of the track. The balls are very small, but they are the there. It isn't just a sliding plastic bearing like their pinstop cars. You also need to be careful when installing the cars on the track that you slide them from one section of track (they are delivered on a 1' section of track) to another to prevent any of the bearings from falling out.

For 1-1/4" systems they offer two sizes of ball bearings, a high load version uses larger ball bearings and requires track that sits higher off of the boat's deck. The 1" version has lower maximum load and works with regular track.

I do think that the Harken, Lewmar, and Ronstan systems that use traveller track (and larger bearings) are more robust, but they are much more expensive because you have to replace the track too. In practice the Garhauer system on my boat (with larger headsails than the Catalina 25) seems to work as well as the Harken system on other boats that I race on. I also sail on a Catalina 36 that has the Garhauer system (doesn't appear to be the high load version) and it is still working well after 15 years of heavy use.

My decision was made after pricing out the Garhauer system at $350ish and a Harken system at $1000ish, plus from reading the reviews in a recent Practical Sailor.

Edited by - on

Gull Lake CAT 25
Deckhand

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USA
5 Posts

Response Posted - 11/16/2014 : 05:56:30

Appreciate the feedback. Will give it a try.

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dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 11/16/2014 : 09:36:13

A bit off topic, but which Gull Lake does your name refer to? As a teenager, a classmate of mine's family had a summer place at Gull Lake near Brainerd, MN, and I had the opportunity to spend a week with them there. Although it took me 20 hours by Greyhound bus to get there, I still have fond memories of the trip! It is a beautiful lake.

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Lee Panza
Captain

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USA
465 Posts

Response Posted - 11/17/2014 : 07:48:48

quote:
Originally posted by Gull Lake CAT 25

I ...want to install a genoa car system that can be adjusted from the cockpit. Anybody done this? Willing to share design?

Had I seen Garhauer's system when I was researching what was available I would have gone with that (their website is pretty fundamental, and I wasn't looking in their index under 'E' for genoa cars or traveler cars or anything related). But the alternate I went with, which is a little less expensive, was Antal cars ( model 621.462, $85 each at Mauri Pro), and with Lewmar cheek blocks (Lewmar 2992 4061, $17 ea. at Mauri Pro) screwed down just ahead of the fwd end of the track (putting the lead directly in front of the car and utilizing the entire track). I used a pair of Gauhauer blocks that I had on hand, but I would have used the stand-up blocks from my old cars otherwise.

This is just a one-to-one system, requiring that I ease the sheet before moving the car, but I wouldn't want to shift a car with plastic inserts under load (remotely, or manually): I've seen those nylon inserts worn completely through on simple genoa cars, which is why ball bearings in the Gauhauer system would be a big improvement.

The advantage of a 1:1 system, however, is being able to use a continuous loop for the control line, allowing me to pull the car in either direction (it doesn't come aft on its own) without having two control lines to keep track of. The Antal car needed another eye to be added for the aft control line.

I had previously posted a photo of what I recently installed at the cockpit coaming to keep the control lines in position, and the experience I've had since then has confirmed that this was a big improvement for sailing short-handed. I, too, usually sail alone, and on SF Bay during the summer I really don't like leaving the cockpit. The loop is about 18" long from the cam cleats, which is a convenient stroke when I'm pulling on it, and it usually just lies aft between the stanchion and the coaming.

For casual sailing I think I'd use the Gauhauer system, but with just a 1:1 fwd contol line to allow the continuous loop. With the ball bearings and the relatively small headsail on a Cat25 I wouldn't mind easing the sheet a little when I decide to trim the lead angle. I sometimes just trim the windward side before tacking anyway.

I hope this gives you some ideas you can use.

Edited by - on

awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1144 Posts

Response Posted - 11/17/2014 : 22:19:12

The ones that are adjusted under load don't have two control lines per block, just one. The line pulls the block forward and has a 3:1 or 4:1 purchase. The blocks are pulled backwards using a bungie with no purchase, or even just left to float and moved by hand (it's much easier to move them aft than forward).

There are some photos here:
http://www.c470.jerodisys.com/470pix/47013.htm

That user didn't setup the bungie in the ideal way. Bungies don't like to stretch more than 2:1, and his setup has the bungie trying to go from zero length to very long. The best way way to rig the bungie is to tie one end at the forward end of the track, run it all the way to the back end of the track where the cam cleat is, around a small block (it can be a cheap one), then up to the car. When the car is all the way back the bungie is in it's resting state and the length of the track (6' on my boat). When the car is all the way forward it is stretched to twice that, or 12'. If this isn't clear I can take a photo next time I'm at my boat.

I really like being able to adjust the cars under load, it makes it easy to see the subtle changes in sail shape.

Edited by - on

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