| Replacing the Halyard Clutches |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
Most, if not all, J/30's run their halyards back along the cabin top to rope clutches. The original clutches were
made by Antal (a good company) but are, frankly, horrible clutches. Antal has come a
long way in 25 years. These clutches are rough on lines and are extremely difficult to
release under load. Even after tightening the end of the line on the halyard winch, the
clutches would often have to be beaten open with a winch handle. Since I recently got
two of the Lewmar One Touch Handles, I didn't like that method of releasing the lines.
Plus, that's not fast.
I decided to use Spinlock XTS clutches to replace the Antals. The clutches have replaceable cams and are
sized to the line diameter. The jib halyards use a 6mm - 8mm clutch and the main/spin halyards use an 8mm -
14mm clutch. The XTS has three positions: fully open, fully closed, and an interim that won't release the line,
but will let you take in a locked line with less stress on the line and on the cam teeth.
Replacing the clutch was straightforward, though doing it properly is essential to protect the balsa core of the
J/30. It is critical that the balsa core is protected from water intrusion with thickened epoxy. After removing the
Antals, I marked and drilled the hole locations for the new Spinlocks. I drilled only through the top skin and
core - I did not go through the bottom skin at this point. In order to be sure I was able to isolate the core from
the fastener, I drilled the holes for the fasteners with a 1/2" drill bit. Once that was done, I filled the holes with
West System epoxy thickened with colloidal silica and the West System 410 fairing compound. I added the
fairing compound to make the epoxy easier to sand (a mixture of just epoxy and silica is very hard to sand)
and because the color of the 410 compound very closely matches the non-skid gelcoat. It took a couple
applications of epoxy to properly fill the holes. The photo below, showing the holes and the masking tape
dam, is just after the first bit of epoxy was applied.
After the holes were properly filled and sanded fair, I redrilled and tapped the holes for the four 5/16-18
flathead bolts required for each clutch. A two inch bolt is ideal for the fastener to fit through the clutch, deck,
backing plate and fender washer. It left just enough room for a cap nut to give the installation a finished look
from the interior. Tapping the holes has two advantages. The first is that it makes installation much easier if
you're working by yourself (by the way, you'll almost certainly be working by yourself if you plan to tinker on
your sailboat in a south Louisiana August). The second advantage to tapping is that it leaves less opportunity
for water to finds its way into the boat as the fastener fits much tighter into its hole.
The clutch was bedded with Boatlife Life Seal. This is a hybrid silicone/polyurethane sealant and adhesive.
My bedding compound of choice is a polysulfide, but that can attack the plastic in the Spinlock clutch. A pure
polyurethane adhesive, like 3M 4200 or 5200, is way too strong for these purposes and I won't use pure
silicone on my boat (it has poor adhesive properties and it can contaminate the deck surface as removal is
extremely difficult).
I used an FRP backing plate called G-10 Garolite, which I purchased from McMaster Carr. It's thin, but
extremely strong. It is sold in sheets and the 3/16" thick sheet is perfect for this purpose. It cuts easily with a
circular saw, though the edges will need minor sanding. In order to give the backing plate a more finished
look, I rounded the corners with sandpaper.
And that's it. This was an easy project that should keep my new running rigging in good shape longer and will
certainly be easier on the pit crew. Also, I replaced the Harken cam cleats on the traveler and on the pole
topping lift/downhaul controls. That was as simple as unscrewing the old ones and installing the new ones
with fresh sealant (I used polysulphide for the cam cleats).
Photos of the project are below. I still need to clean the minor staining on the interior headliner that was
beneath the old fender washers.
made by Antal (a good company) but are, frankly, horrible clutches. Antal has come a
long way in 25 years. These clutches are rough on lines and are extremely difficult to
release under load. Even after tightening the end of the line on the halyard winch, the
clutches would often have to be beaten open with a winch handle. Since I recently got
two of the Lewmar One Touch Handles, I didn't like that method of releasing the lines.
Plus, that's not fast.
I decided to use Spinlock XTS clutches to replace the Antals. The clutches have replaceable cams and are
sized to the line diameter. The jib halyards use a 6mm - 8mm clutch and the main/spin halyards use an 8mm -
14mm clutch. The XTS has three positions: fully open, fully closed, and an interim that won't release the line,
but will let you take in a locked line with less stress on the line and on the cam teeth.
Replacing the clutch was straightforward, though doing it properly is essential to protect the balsa core of the
J/30. It is critical that the balsa core is protected from water intrusion with thickened epoxy. After removing the
Antals, I marked and drilled the hole locations for the new Spinlocks. I drilled only through the top skin and
core - I did not go through the bottom skin at this point. In order to be sure I was able to isolate the core from
the fastener, I drilled the holes for the fasteners with a 1/2" drill bit. Once that was done, I filled the holes with
West System epoxy thickened with colloidal silica and the West System 410 fairing compound. I added the
fairing compound to make the epoxy easier to sand (a mixture of just epoxy and silica is very hard to sand)
and because the color of the 410 compound very closely matches the non-skid gelcoat. It took a couple
applications of epoxy to properly fill the holes. The photo below, showing the holes and the masking tape
dam, is just after the first bit of epoxy was applied.
After the holes were properly filled and sanded fair, I redrilled and tapped the holes for the four 5/16-18
flathead bolts required for each clutch. A two inch bolt is ideal for the fastener to fit through the clutch, deck,
backing plate and fender washer. It left just enough room for a cap nut to give the installation a finished look
from the interior. Tapping the holes has two advantages. The first is that it makes installation much easier if
you're working by yourself (by the way, you'll almost certainly be working by yourself if you plan to tinker on
your sailboat in a south Louisiana August). The second advantage to tapping is that it leaves less opportunity
for water to finds its way into the boat as the fastener fits much tighter into its hole.
The clutch was bedded with Boatlife Life Seal. This is a hybrid silicone/polyurethane sealant and adhesive.
My bedding compound of choice is a polysulfide, but that can attack the plastic in the Spinlock clutch. A pure
polyurethane adhesive, like 3M 4200 or 5200, is way too strong for these purposes and I won't use pure
silicone on my boat (it has poor adhesive properties and it can contaminate the deck surface as removal is
extremely difficult).
I used an FRP backing plate called G-10 Garolite, which I purchased from McMaster Carr. It's thin, but
extremely strong. It is sold in sheets and the 3/16" thick sheet is perfect for this purpose. It cuts easily with a
circular saw, though the edges will need minor sanding. In order to give the backing plate a more finished
look, I rounded the corners with sandpaper.
And that's it. This was an easy project that should keep my new running rigging in good shape longer and will
certainly be easier on the pit crew. Also, I replaced the Harken cam cleats on the traveler and on the pole
topping lift/downhaul controls. That was as simple as unscrewing the old ones and installing the new ones
with fresh sealant (I used polysulphide for the cam cleats).
Photos of the project are below. I still need to clean the minor staining on the interior headliner that was
beneath the old fender washers.
