Loosen screw at
bottom of striker
rod.
Turn dolphin
striker rod clock-
wise using a
wrench and the
flat spot on the
rod designed for
this purpose until
the bar is snug
again.
Retighten the
nylon ball and
screw.
The bolts that
connect the
striker bar to the
front crossbar
should be loos-
ened occasionally
to check for
cracks in the
crossbar. If
cracks are appar-
ent, the crossbar
should be
replaced. There
is a back-up
plate inside the
crossbar so these
bolts can be
tightened easily
from the outside. Again, do not overtighten,
since the bolts could snap.
BATTENS
Prindle 16 and 18 Catamarans are equipped
standard with solid fiberglass battens. These
are virtually unbreakable but do require
some attention.
Make sure that battens are inserted all the
way into the batten pocket with tapered end
inside the stop at the luff of the sail. If it is
not, the batten may tear the sail. The bat-
tens should extend about 1-1/2” past the
end of the batten pocket. You may wish to
trim them to this length.
Loosen battens when storing the sail for
more than a few weeks or during extreme
temperature changes. This relieves pressure
on the sail and battens and will preserve the
life of both.
Foam/Fiberglass Battens
Race equipped Prindle 16 and 18s and all
Prindle 15s are equipped with foam/fiber-
glass battens. These battens are much soft-
er and more fragile requiring more care.
Occasionally, a delamination may occur at
the tapered end where the foam narrows
towards the tip. To repair, spread the glass
and foam apart slightly and coat with 5-
minute epoxy, clamp tip together, and let
harden. This repair should be stronger than
new.
Take care when rolling a sail with foam bat-
tens. If the sail is rolled unevenly and bat-
tens are allowed to twist they will hold the
twist. This may hamper your sail shape.
You can however, remove this twist by
removing the batten from the sail and twist-
ing it in the opposite direction and holding it
for a moment or two. The batten should
spring back fairly straight.
GENERAL MAINTENANCE TIPS
After your second sail on your Prindle
Catamaran and periodically thereafter:
1) Tighten the 8 crossbar bolts. This is
very important as most of the strain on
the boat is concentrated on these bolts.
2) Check all shackles (shrouds, forestay,
etc.) and other fasteners (including nuts
and bolts on blocks and cleats). Tighten
where necessary.
3) Check all hardware attached to hulls (bow
tangs, shroud pins, gudgeons) for tight-
ness. Do not over tighten.
4) Cut off excess length on solid fiberglass
mainsail battens leaving 1-1/2” past aft
edge of sail.
36
To Next Page
Loading...